Overview 

• Data that once took days to analyze is now accessible in real-time
• Platform integration removes hours of data entry
• Stronger forecasting and competitor understanding with real-time intelligence dashboard
• $75,000 in monthly productivity savings

Apps Used

• Club Store Price Survey
• Display Compliance Report
• Grocery Price Survey
• Retail Team Sales Summary

The Background

MOM Brands® was the largest family-owned cereal company in the United States until its acquisition by Post Holdings in 2015. Family-owned since 1919, MOM Brands built on an unwavering commitment to providing consumers with products that are of the highest quality, delivered at a better price to help consumers save money, and manufactured and distributed in a way that has a limited impact on the environment. MOM Brands and its team now operate underneath the global brand, Post. This is their story of transitioning from a paper-based operation to a streamlined mobile platform.

The Problem

Prior to their acquisition and implementation of GoCanvas, MOM Brands’ latter mission – developing innovative, environmentally sound business processes that benefit the consumer – was evident with the firm’s Bag The Box™ campaign, which emphasizes the environmental benefits of using less packaging by enclosing cereal in a bag instead of the traditional bag-and-box.

Not only is bagged cereal less expensive, but the bag-only packaging also uses 75 percent less consumer packaging than the traditional bag-and-box combination.  

In the same way, MOM Brands addressed the negative cost and environmental impact of cereal boxes, the company sought to improve the way in-store audits were conducted at the 30,000+ retail outlets in which MOM Brands products are sold.

MOM Brands has a team of sales professionals who are responsible for reporting and auditing in-store conditions. These include ensuring each item’s brand standards are being upheld, that products are placed where they are supposed to be, and that there is full compliance with distribution and retail standards.

At the same time, MOM Brands relied on these sales professionals in the field to identify new potential retail sales partners and manage relationships with existing ones.

Historically, auditing and sales management processes were done with paper forms. As a result, MOM Brands’ decision-makers did not have access to real-time data to make rapid, informed decisions. MOM Brands wanted a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to their 3-part forms.

The Solution

In 2010, MOM Brands decided to go with GoCanvas, the global leader in mobile apps for business. With their free trial, they received full support from GoCanvas as they moved from paper to mobile apps.

Each and every account gets a dedicated senior mobile app consultant. With their consultant, MOM Brands was able to explain what they wanted and to create a mobile experience for their unique needs.

MOM Brands found itself in the same position thousands of GoCanvas customers have; the GoCanvas platform—with 14,000+ customizable mobile apps, the app builder and real-time app management—strengthened their internal processes.

Their initial apps focused on enabling auditing professionals in the field to collect in-store data at retail locations for both MOM Brands’ products as well as those of competitors. Then, they could use iPads to transmit the data in real time to decision-makers via the GoCanvas cloud. 

Over the past 6 years, MOM Brands has grown to over 130 users with iPads on GoCanvas, transforming how MOM Brands’ eight sales teams collect data and report this information to others in the organization. They have experienced real, measurable benefits from implementing GoCanvas, including significant efficiency improvements, cost reductions, and environmental benefits. Key results include:

Real-time access to data

MOM Brands has leveraged GoCanvas’ cloud-based, “as-a-Service” mobile app to enjoy real-time, actionable intelligence. At the same time, the ability of sales teams to transmit in-store data from their iPads via the GoCanvas cloud has allowed MOM Brands to shift from ad hoc reporting to a systematic process for data collection that can be converted into actionable intelligence.

Making their work even easier, was integration with EnterBridge. EnterBridge was able to pull in GoCanvas submission information, format it into source data and roll it right into expanding monthly pivot table views at the click of a button.

GoCanvas frequently integrates with systems and clouds of all types and sizes.  While the list is constantly growing, the platform has the capability to integrate with more than 30 systems to date. Some of the most common include SalesForce, SAP, SQL Server Database, Oracle, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, Microsoft Office, and Quicken.

By being able to access dispatch, reference data, and submission data right from Excel the team at EnterBridge was able to seamlessly integrate raw submission data from GoCanvas into a vibrant workbook filled with slice-and-dice visuals.

Because of Enterbridge’s integration, Post Consumer Brands receives documents filled with information and visuals in real time.

The submission data pulled by data range and form flowed into pivot table-ready structures. Core data was hidden and the resulting business intelligence dashboards could be used across the organization to understand and explore the data being collected by GoCanvas.

The full power of GoCanvas in the hands of the business team was now on display and dashboards could be refreshed with the latest information on demand. 

Rapid app deployment

GoCanvas’ intuitive mobile app platform has enabled MOM Brands to create apps in a matter of days. It was intuitive enough that apps could be created and deployed by “non-IT” professionals within the organization quickly and sustainably.

Flexibility to meet evolving business needs

As a cloud-based mobile app platform, GoCanvas provided MOM Brands with the flexibility to easily add features and functionality to each app as user and business needs evolve. With other mobile app alternatives, making even minor changes within each app proved cumbersome and diluted the effectiveness of the tool.

Today, Post Consumer Brands (MOM) products are sold in more than 30,000 retail locations, from major recognizable chains to small, mom-and-pop stores. For that reason, MOM Brands needed a tool that was flexible enough to meet the diversity in the size, needs, and locations of their retail partners.

For instance, with seasonable factors or a new product launch, MOM Brands wanted to be able to add a few retail reporting questions to an app for a month and then remove or change those questions later.

GoCanvas allows MOM Brands to do this quickly and easily. This flexibility allows them to be nimble and nuanced in understanding the needs of their retail partners, and ultimately, their customers.

The Outcomes

With more than 20 apps and over 130 users, MOM Brands uses GoCanvas for detailed data analysis that can be collected and shared in real time throughout the organization. Users have the ability to reference historical data, segregate data, and pre-populate app forms on their iPads with information related to each retail partner.

As a result, MOM & Post Consumer Brands can decide each day from which of its 30,000 retail partners it wants to view real-time data.

The origins of MOM Brands as the fastest-growing cereal company date back to 1919 when John Campbell took $900 of poker winnings and started a company. While Campbell’s bet paid off, organizations today cannot afford to gamble when it comes to having access to accurate, real-time data. In 2018, MOM Brands is part of the 1 billion dollar Post Holdings company. The GoCanvas mobile app platform allows the sales team to have complete, accurate information in real-time, helping them achieve even more success as they continue their rapid expansion!

Ready to Rethink How You Work?

GoCanvas has helped a variety of businesses across multiple industries transform their safety processes and rethink their efficiency, ultimately saving them money. Why not do the same? Reach out to one of our experts today to kickstart your process revolution.