Technology Keeps Hatchers Landscape Business Booming

VOL. 129 | NO. 92 | Monday, May 12, 2014

SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Whether it was pagers, two-way radios, fax machines or the Internet, Michael Hatcher has always been quick to embrace technological advances as a way to help grow his small business, the landscaping firm Michael Hatcher & Associates Inc.

Landscaping, it was never considered to have much technology and was always thought of as a more hands-on business, said Hatcher, who founded the company in 1984. But weve always welcomed technology and thats where we are now, embracing the technology with the (applications) available on the smartphones and smart pads.

The company recently reinvented its entire office system to integrate it with smart mobile devices. Today, his employees no longer punch an old-school time clock. Instead, they check into work with their mobile devices. The new system helps him know exactly where his employees are, what they are doing and what type of materials theyre using, which helps with everything from ordering supplies to deploying employees.

Michael Hatcher, right, of Hatcher and Associates reviews order details with Hubert Turley in one of Dabney Nurserys greenhouses. The two businesses have been neighbors for 30 years.

(Daily News/Andrew J. Breig)

They actually clock in with their phone or pad, Hatcher said. Then when they get to a location they log in and it overlaps with a Google Earth system so we know where they are at all times. All of that information goes back to a software program so they know exactly how long they worked on a yard and what they did, what materials theyve used.

The company is currently beta testing an irrigation application where his employees can come into a clients property, take pictures and use GPS technology to show on a Google Earth map where each piece of irrigation infrastructure is located.

Read this article:
Technology Keeps Hatchers Landscape Business Booming