Bassett Mirror reps to use new iPad, scanner system in showroom

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, September 21, 2012

BASSETT, Va. — Bassett Mirror will unveil new technology at next month's High Point Market, arming its sales reps with iPads and small hand-held scanners to make shopping easier and quicker for buyers, the company says.

And after market, the company promises to follow through quickly, shipping all market products by Nov. 16.

Bassett Mirror’s new technology platform uses a thumb-length scanner to record customer purchases on a sales rep’s iPad.

"This is just one component of BMC's new corporate strategy, called ‘moving at the speed of sight,'" Spencer Morten, chairman of the occasional and dining furniture, mirror, lighting and art source, said in a press release.

With the iPad system, the scanners can read unique bar codes for each of the company's 1,400 products on display at market.

The iPad will already be loaded with existing customers' account information, as well as account terms and market promotions, so buyers can begin shopping at once. New customer registrations can be loaded into the iPad in minutes and are submitted along with the order, creating a Bassett Mirror account on the spot, the company said.

"We looked outside our industry to retail banking for our new IT director, Zach McPherson, whose DNA was programmed for customer-friendly transactions, providing speed, accuracy and visibility," Morten said. "Zach has created a technology platform that saves our customers time in the showroom, ensures a mistake-free order, and allows buyers to track orders online while at market."

He said that when a buyer finishes shopping, an electronic order is submitted through the showroom's secure private network. Orders print wirelessly and immediately so they will be ready before buyers leave the showroom. Customers' copies will include pictures of every item selected.

Throughout the day, market orders make their way through credit and scheduling at Bassett Mirror. Within 24 hours, customers can track acknowledged orders through the BMC/FurnishWeb, the company's B2B e-commerce site.

Customers can start their post-market planning while the market is still under way, the company said. They can review market orders with co-workers and show them pictures of the purchased products, and can plan holiday advertising because high-resolution images will be available to download from the BMC/FurnishWeb.

In High Point, Bassett Mirror shows in the International Home Furnishings Center, G-170.