With the constant refrain of the CRN Daily App, it's refreshing to see an app that does what it should, does it quickly and doesn't do much else. The D&H App for iOS from D&H Distributing happily fits that bill.

D&H Distributing is a wholesale distributor serving retail stores, websites and solution providers throughout North America. The D&H App for iOS is a powerful tool that provides direct access to the firm's product catalog and the status of all orders with the company. For retailers and e-tailers, direct access to D&H can keep supply matched to demand on the fly. With that in mind, the app has been designed with simplicity and speed as top priorities, and allows searches to move swiftly toward a product or service.

When testing the app, we imagined ourselves in the prototypical retailer scenario. The customer is looking for a product that isn't on the shelf. He needs to know how much it costs, the technical specs and how fast it can be had. D&H's app allows search by keywords, manufacturer, part number and UPC. It searches quickly and readily provides product photos, specs and price. Checkout is available through the app as well, as are package tracking options.

There are minor quibbles. The app will run on the iPad, but it does so in a tiny, iPhone sized window. In a retail world where the iPad is fast becoming an indispensable tool for a sales manager, this is a big oversight. That aside, if an iPhone app is what you need from your distributor, D&H has a great one.

PUBLISHED DEC. 17, 2012