Mobile and Wireless technology is a powerful tool that enables competitive advantages and greater efficiencies. Outweb delivers Mobile and Wireless opportunities to companies that want to enhance the business and improve the bottom line. The following 10 examples give specific Wireless and Mobile solutions that could benefit your company.
Mobile Data Capture and Exchange
Reduce the time and effort required to log and process new information by automating the process. Arm employees with Mobile and Wireless tools to track shipments, update inventory levels and log customer inquiries. Push information to customers and employees based on location, profile and relationship history.
- Example: Access records, file reports and process payments.
Law enforcement teams are using Mobile and Wireless to reduce risk and paperwork. When a highway patrol officer stops a speeding motorist, he or she can use on-board Mobile and Wireless devices to instantly access vehicle records and traffic statutes. The officer can scan the bar code on the driver’s license to obtain driving history and flag any outstanding violations. The officer can then write the speeding ticket and file it electronically. Likewise, the driver can pay the fine on the spot using a credit card. - Example: Make Shipping and receiving faster and more accurate.
A team of clerks use Wireless devices equipped with bar code scanners to track shipments as they arrive at a receiving dock. They can catalog the entire delivery and notify the appropriate parties of its arrival within minutes. The date, time, description of individual items within the shipment and special handling and routing instructions are captured and communicated throughout the company with speed and precision.
Location-based, Profile-driven Mobile Commerce
Take advantage of the unique ability of Mobile and Wireless to track the physical location of a customer. You can then market products and services to that customer based on demographic, psychographic, and behavior patterns. This helps you leverage the assets of your physical and Web channels to offer new value through Mobile and Wireless.
- Example: Find your way in an unfamiliar town.
A family embarks on a six-hour drive to the beach for a weeklong vacation. Upon arriving at their destination, the family uses a Wireless device to find a suitable restaurant. The device is aware of the hotel location and the fact that the parents are traveling with two young children. The result is a review of three near-by restaurants that are child-friendly. The family browses the menus and reserves a table with two high-chairs for later that night. - Example: Unify the online and offline customer experiences.
A customer browses your online clothing catalog and spends 10 minutes comparing the same shirt in two different colors. She is unable to decide and elects to buy neither. A few days later, the same customer is driving near a shopping mall where one of your retail stores is located. An alert message from her wireless device lets her know that your store has the shirt she wants in stock and in a variety of colors from which to choose.
Information On Demand
Increase the efficiency of employee service calls and field surveys by enabling access to installation instructions, customer records, warrantee agreements and equipment specifications. Likewise, leverage Mobile and Wireless as a customer-facing self-service tool that provides instant access to frequently asked questions and content.
- Example: Increase customer satisfaction through better service calls.
Service teams that install and maintain home appliances can greatly reduce the need for return visits by being prepared with the right tools and instructions. A service representative can use a Mobile and Wireless device to access the customer’s profile and up-to-date installation or repair guidelines. This knowledge increases the productivity of the service call and increases customer satisfaction. - Example: Help customers help themselves.
A homeowner is planning a major kitchen renovation project and is in the process of purchasing new appliances. While visiting a local appliance retail outlet, he identifies three refrigerators that fit his budget; however, he is not sure which one will fit his kitchen. He uses his Wireless device to access the manufacturer’s mobile Web.
Mobilized Business Applications
Corporate intranets are designed to provide access to critical business applications and information through PCs and Web browsers. Leverage the unique properties of Mobile and Wireless to extend your intranet beyond the desktop and into the field, where your employees need access the most.
- Example: Provide Mobile point of sale.
A retail store manager and other sales associates can reduce long checkout lines by using mobile cash registers anywhere in the store. Customers no longer need to be handed-off from sales associate to checkout clerk; instead, the customer can get answers to questions, receive product demonstrations and complete the sale – all with the same associate and without waiting in line. - Example: Access accounting records and legal documents.
During a customer visit you discuss an unpaid invoice and learn that it is related to a contract dispute. Using your Wireless device to access your company’s intranet and data mart, you query the accounts receivable system to determine the invoice amount, issue date, and payment terms. You also use the device to attach and e-mail a copy of the contract to your customer. Upon resolving the dispute, you e-mail the controller with an update.
Real-time Communication
Mobile and Wireless lets you alert key segments of the value chain when critical situations change. It provides your employees, suppliers, vendors, and customers with the ability to receive urgent messages, and resolve issues through two-way communication and access to key information.
- Example: Connect the supply chain.
A manufacturing plant manager carrying a Wireless information device receives an alert message that raw material supply has dropped below the critical level. Through an interface to a business-to-business (B2B) materials exchange, the plant manager also receives a list of vendors that currently carry the required ingredient, sorted by price and distance from the plant. The plant manager chooses a vendor and forwards the details to the trucking dispatcher to arrange transportation for the order. - Example: Manage the sales and delivery pipelines from the road.
Your sales team closes a major deal that requires a fast response from your production teams. Your sales manager’s first move is to use her Wireless device to confirm the order. The automated pipeline system notifies your production manager, shipping clerk, and resource manager of the new order. Providing your sales team with the ability to advance the pipeline from the road saves time and allows your company to meet customer expectations.