Manual Orders, Human Error, and Lost Time

For decades, Fierman Produce relied on phone calls, texts, and emails to take orders at the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market. While this model worked in the past, it created inefficiencies and strained relationships with customers.

“Before the app and before we launched an outbound sales strategy, everything was very manual,” says Scott Tepper, Director of Operations. “Customers would have to call or text or even email their orders into a human salesperson. It left a lot of room for human error. Customers couldn’t see real-time inventory, so they didn’t really know what we had.”

The limitations were clear:

• Salespeople wasted hours re-entering orders into the ERP.
• Customers had no order visibility or tracking.
• The business was reactive, dependent on walk-in traffic.

“Tradition is not a strategy,” Tepper adds. “I wanted 100% customer satisfaction—and no excuses.”

Outbound Reps With the Pepper Digital Platform

Fierman Produce partnered with Pepper to modernize its operations and reposition its business model.

“What we’re doing now is nothing short of a cultural shift at Hunts Point,” Fierman explains. “Instead of waiting for people to walk through the doors, we’ve hired reps to go out and build relationships. We’ve digitized with Pepper. We’ve integrated payments. And we’ve given our customers the tools to place orders and track them with ease. That’s revolutionary in the terminal market.”

Key elements of the solution:

• ERP Integration: Seamless connection to Produce Pro, without disruption.
• Digital Ordering: Customers can view inventory, place orders, and track deliveries in real time.
• Sales Rep Enablement: Outbound reps use Pepper to target new accounts outside Hunts Point.
• Payments Adoption: Customers can pay directly in the app, simplifying collections.

“The biggest benefit was how easily Pepper integrated into our system,” Scott notes. “No disruptions, no problems—just a clean connection that let us focus on growth.”

Efficiency, Growth, and Leadership in the Market

Since launching Pepper, Fierman has eliminated manual order entry, improved the customer experience, and set a new standard for terminal market distributors.

“Even our inside sales guys, the ones who were nervous at first, are relieved,” says Scott. “Half their nights used to be spent manually entering line after line of orders. Now they’re free to actually sell.”

Customer adoption is strong, even among skeptics. “Some buyers told me, ‘We’ve done it this way for fifty years.’ I’d ask, ‘Do you use Amazon? Do you have an iPhone?’ Once they tried the app, they said, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’”

The impact goes beyond Fierman:

• Operational efficiency: Reps sell more, enter less.
  
  
• Customer satisfaction: Buyers get real-time visibility and faster ordering.
  
  
• Scalability: Restaurants can become customers without setting foot in Hunts Point.
  
  
• Industry leadership: Fierman is setting the pace for digital adoption in terminal markets.
  
  

“This isn’t just modernization,” Scott concludes. “It’s survival. And it’s leadership.”