Dallas-based ArganoKeste, a tech services firm focused on commerce-to-cash solutions in the B2B space, is further stepping into the social impact space with the release of a new application serving people in need in Dallas County.

Mobile Pantry, built on the Salesforce platform, supplies convenience, accessibility, and food services in communities still recuperating from the effects of COVID-19.

It’s specifically built for Crossroads Community Services. The Dallas-based organization uses its distribution network and in-house pantry to provide nutritious food to its low-income neighbors. It also offers supportive education to change the way people think about hunger.

The beta release of Mobile Pantry comes at a time when the pandemic has drastically disrupted Crossroads Community Services’ operations. COVID had a ripple effect—it tripled the need for assistance while forcing the organization to pivot its model.

Offering choices to those in need

Crossroads Community Services shifted from a customized in-person pantry experience to a drive-through pantry with pre-packaged boxes, ensuring a clean, COVID-safe environment. Nobody was turned away, but guests were no longer able to choose which food items they wanted.

That culture of choice, according to the org, was a critical component.

“At our core, one of our strongest values is service. Service without dignity cannot be true service,” Benaye Y. Rogers, president and CEO of Crossroads Community Services, said in a statement. “We strive in every way we meet our clients’ needs in a manner that dignifies all people, regardless of their life circumstances.”

Mobile Pantry fights food insecurity in Dallas County

The application from ArganoKeste and Salesforce helps solve that need. Mobile Pantry brings back a “service of choice” to those in need in Dallas County, while allowing Crossroads Community Services to continue operating at a high volume.

In November, Mobile Pantry was deployed to five families. The companies say impact is already evident—it drastically reduces a Crossroads’ client’s time commitment from 90 to 10 minutes, allowing more people to be served by a smaller number of volunteers.

“This new application allows our clients the highest convenience and choice,” Rogers said. “We continue to focus on developing programs and tools that impact our families to make differences that last.”

Next month, Crossroads expects 20 percent of its clients to be granted access. The app’s reach, however, is far greater: 80% of the households Crossroads Community Services serves have access to internet on mobile devices.

A technology transformation

Mobile Pantry is the first step in a technology transformation for the organization. Through a partnership, Salesforce and ArganoKeste supplied the tech and resources needed to build Mobile Pantry, but Crossroads Community Services is in need of additional resources to ensure it is maintained, updated, and scalable. 

ArganoKeste is currently raising awareness and calling for donations for the cause.

“Crossroads Community Services is an indispensable organization for Dallas County and I’m proud to support them,” ArganoKeste CEO Howard Moore said in the statement. “This organization has grown over the years to provide millions of meals for families and we’re committed to helping them provide even more.”

ArganoKeste is part of recently launched Argano

In May, Plano-based Keste and Arlington-based interRel combined with United Virtualities, which has offices in New York, Guadalajara, and Buenos Aires. Together they make up Argano, a Plano-headquartered business and tech services provider of cloud-based digital operating platforms.

The foundation for the company rests on the “Digital Renaissance.” Backed by Dallas-based private-equity firm Trinity Hunt Partners, Argano aims to remove the pain points that companies traditionally face when dealing with technological debts. Those range from lost sales opportunities and distribution shortfalls to inconsistent financial management and high employee turnover.

The goal is to be a guiding hand that leads enterprises beyond legacy technology and into game-changing products, services, and experiences. Argano builds, designs, and implements the digital foundations that make businesses run better.

Within Argano is ArganoKeste; ArganoInterRel, a provider of enterprise performance management and business intelligence software; and ArganoUV, a design and technology team that will deliver commerce experiences for leading B2C brands.

ArganoKeste offers customized, cost-effective Salesforce customer experiences to effectively improve a business’ revenue and reduce costs. 

It plans to continue supporting philanthropic initiatives through Transform Dallas, its employee volunteer initiative to work with the community, improve the environment, and provide vital resources to local residents. 

Argano makes additional acquisitions

In June, Argano acquired Irvine, California-based cloud-based digital transformation company Arbela Technologies and SCMO2, an Atlanta-based supply chain management firm that helps companies improve how they plan, sell, and deliver. 

The deals came at a time when the company was looking to create a “consultancy entirely focused on all of the operations that live up to expectations being set by websites, portals, and digital commerce sites.”

SCMO2 will architect supply chains solutions for Argano that are resilient, flexible, and integral to digital foundations; Arbela Technologies will help to address the technology deficit many companies face.

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