Charter Baking Streamlines Direct Store Delivery Using Ross Computer Systems Mobile Application with Zebra’s RW 420 Mobile/Wireless Printers

Leading route accounting and direct store delivery application plus mobile printer and Bluetooth communications technology provide delivery efficiency for drivers and operational accountability for the business.

Vernon Hill, IL, Dec. 23, 2007 - Ross Computer Systems, a leading route accounting and direct store delivery (DSD) software company and Zebra Technologies, a global leader in specialty printing and automatic identification solutions, have announced that Boulder, Colorado-based Charter Baking Company recently deployed a complete, integrated mobile DSD solution from Ross and Zebra Technologies.

Charter Baking Company, North America’s leading supplier of natural and organic bread and baked goods, distributes branded products from Rudi’s Organic Bakery, The Vermont Baking Company, The Baker, and Matthew’s Bread to supermarkets, mass retailers and a host of independent natural food stores across the U.S. This year, Charter Baking implemented Ross Computer Systems’ mobile route accounting and direct store delivery solution in nine key distribution centers – one in Boulder and eight on the East Coast. Ross’ mobile application runs on any Microsoft Windows Mobile device and the Charter Baking implementation utilizes Motorola MC9090 handheld computers and Zebra RW 420 mobile/wireless receipt printers. Transaction data from each route is uploaded daily into the Ross host application.

Using Ross’ mobile application solution, Charter’s drivers can complete delivery route transactions quickly and conveniently. Leveraging Motorola handheld devices and the compact, rugged Zebra printer, Charter can issue invoices, print receipts, collect signatures, enter credits for returns and accept payments on the spot, then securely communicate these transactions to the primary Charter office via the Ross application.

“Implementing the Ross mobile solution has helped us streamline the delivery operations for drivers and it provides us with significantly greater accountability and accuracy on product sales across all locations,” states Andy Artzer, CIO of Charter Baking Company. “As a result, we can identify and optimize sales opportunities and ensure that production, distribution and product placement are done in the most advantageous manner to serve our customers.”

Rollout of the Ross mobile route accounting and DSD solution at Charter’s distribution depots began in April 2007, with each successive set of routes being rolled out every week. “This was an extremely challenging and demanding timetable,” Artzer adds. “Achieving full deployment and training for our mobile system – on time and within budget – required the hard work, focus and commitment of Ross Computer Systems and of our hardware vendors, and most importantly, the Charter sales management and sales operations teams.”

Kevin Glander, Implementation Manager at Ross Computer Systems notes, “This was our first implementation working with the Zebra RW 420 printer and we have been very happy with its quality and performance.” On the same topic, Artzer concludes, “We are also pleased with the hardware components. The Motorola handheld computer features a keyboard designed for driver ease of use in DSD operations and the Bluetooth-enabled Zebra mobile printers have proven to be highly stable and reliable, with the best battery performance we have ever seen.”

About Ross Computer Systems

Ross Computer Systems is a leading provider of route accounting direct store delivery (DSD) solutions for the food and beverage industries. Headquartered in New York City with offices located throughout the United States, Ross offers a full suite of DSD-specific applications to its customers. Food and beverage companies utilize Ross integrated solutions to solve all of their direct store delivery business needs. For more information, visit www.rossusa.com

About Zebra Technologies

Zebra Technologies Corporation helps companies identify, locate and track assets, transactions and people with on-demand, specialty digital printing and automatic identification solutions in more than 100 countries around the world. More than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies use innovative and reliable Zebra printers, supplies, RFID products and software to increase productivity. For more information, visit www.zebra.com