Myers said the stock was being managed with Post-it notes with messages like "use this last", because few of the staff used computers.

The solution was delivered by Hewlett-Packard and the wireless infrastructure consists of Cisco access points since Sanitarium had a "positive" experience with those suppliers for its wired network. VOIP and wireless telephony is also being deployed.

Myers, a strong believer that IT is a "tool to help the business", said the "middle bit" was "simple" as SAP has a standard console and the licensing model "suited our budget".

"It has a telnet client and the application only had text and color; the graphics added no value because they were harder to see than mono in poor lighting," he said.

The Symbol MC9060 terminal was chosen for mobile scanning, because it met the business and key IT requirements for operating temperature, wireless range, battery life, and scanner range.