Company Background

Sarah Raven is a celebrated teacher, gardener, and writer who has inspired countless people through her cooking, flower arranging, and gardening courses at her East Sussex farm, Perch Hill, and across the UK since 1999. The Sarah Raven brand embodies Sarah's passion and deep-rooted expertise in gardening, collaborating with specialist nurseries to provide top-quality plants using sustainable practices, and specialist advice for gardeners of all levels.

The Business Requirement

Sarah Raven turned to TouchStar to develop a solution designed to boost productivity and offer real-time visibility across their Spalding based picking and packing operation. The business requirement for was a rugged, ergonomic, and cost-effective mobile computer that could seamlessly adapt to various tasks from goods in through to picking and dispatch. The initial rollout of radio frequency technology was set to be a key component of a larger investment aimed at enhancing operational transparency and phasing out paper-based processes.  

Thomas Fearn, Head of Operations at Sarah Raven, comments, “We were aware of the productivity gains and visibility improvements Radio Frequency technology could bring. The project formed part of a broader IT investment, so we knew we needed a hardware partner with the right expertise and support for a successful integration. TouchStar have proved themselves to be instrumental in this initial phase, from device specification to expert technical advice, they have provided great support from start to finish”.

Rugged Device Recommendations

TouchStar recommended Honeywell’s EDA 52 for the operation. The EDA 52 offered Sarah Raven a robust, enterprise-class handheld computer, ergonomically built for performance and durability. Capable of full prolonged and interrupted usage between each battery charge, the device provided a user friendly and intuitive option for what would be a scan intensive operation.

Thomas continues, “Since we went live with the initial proof of concept, we have seen huge game changing improvements within the operation, goods in to stock visibility has improved from 2 days to just a few hours and we now have real time visibility of all key processes. The support from TouchStar has no doubt contributed to this success and we look forward to partnering with TouchStar to the full-scale rollout phase of the project.

Peter Marsh, Sales Director for TouchStar, comments, “As a business, we pride ourselves on our experience and the support we can offer operations such as Sarah Raven. We are proud to be associated with such a prestigious brand and have been very excited by the initial successes we have seen the business achieve. We feel that the Honeywell EDA 52 is a great technology fit for the business, and it is with great excitement that we look forward to the rollout phase of the project and further benefits this technology will secure for Thomas and the team”.