DSD - Direct Store Delivery

Distributors, primarily those who deliver baked goods, dairy products, soft drinks and beer to convenience stores and grocers, car parts to automotive dealership should use a route accounting system to mange direct sales from their trucks to their customers. In the course of conducting this work the distributor will load trucks with inventory, assign routes to mobile sales professionals, and send the stocked trucks out to stock the shelves, accept return goods, present promotions, and service the customer's needs.

The mobile sales professional during the normal workday needs to wear many hats. At each customer site, these workers handle everything from the physical delivery to general order management which includes invoicing, general merchandising and complete customer service. The mobile field workforce interfaces with the customer's needs day in and day out. As the main connection to your customers, the efficiency and effectiveness of these workers directly impact customer satisfaction, retention and perception of the brand they provide.

For organizations that use paper-based forms, the mobile workforce is subjected to the tedious and error-prone capture of information throughout the day. The information collected by the drivers must then be touched a second time and entered into the computer system resulting in costly labor intensive processes and the extraordinarily slow movement of information throughout the business process flows.

With the use of wireless (WWAN) mobile computers these mobile professionals have access to information on the distributors ERP system to obtain current pricing, inventory levels, current promotions, and everything else making them a mobile Point of Sale system. Having the ability to capture a customer's signature and print a receipt or additional invoices, the sales professional can complete the sales transactions instantly and also send the transaction data to the distributor's computer systems to begin billing process and adjust inventory levels.

Field Services

Mobile Field Sales professionals need the right sales information on demand and real-time while they are in the field. With the use of wireless (WWAN) mobile computers and application software that have access to enterprise ERP data sales professionals have the data they need to make the most of every face to face meeting. Having access to this information allows a mobile sales professional the resources to process orders, submit new orders, view inventory levels, promotional information, provide the customer with expected delivery timeframes.

With the use of wireless (WWAN) mobile computers these mobile professionals have access to information on the distributors ERP system to obtain current pricing, inventory levels, current promotions, and everything else making them a mobile Point of Sale system. Having the ability to capture a customer's signature and print a receipt or additional invoices , the sales professional can complete the sales transactions instantly and also send the transaction data to the distributor's computer systems to begin billing process and adjust inventory levels.

This could also enable the mobile sales representative to capture competitor's pricing, give clients graphical display analytics and input special orders. Since the mobile sales professional is the face to an organization and has that business and personal relationship with the customer they often are in position to know what the customer needs and even what the competition is offering. Having access to sales data and information helps the mobile sales force to close additional business while on site, making them a remote Point of Sale extension to an organization. All of this will provide improve customer service and provide an advantage over the competition.

Utility Meter Reading

Utility companies are using handheld computers to collect electric, gas, and water usage while on their monthly rounds. Using a mobile computer , technicians collect consumption values and validate that the correct meter was read. This automated process eliminates the multitude of paperwork and the human errors associated with manual data collection.

Utility Field Service

A Mobile Field Service system could mean faster response times, increase the number of service calls, reduce travel costs and eliminate paperwork for both the company and the field service professional. These solutions made up of either enterprise digital assistants (EDA), mobile computers , wireless communications, and software empower mobile field service technicians with tools to work faster, track and bill labor, parts and material used, and up sell customers during service calls. Using mobile devices, from laptops to PDAs, to automate operations in the field would allow the better control and management of trouble tickets, eliminate paperwork, and streamline and standardized how work in done in the field.

Adding a Global Positioning System (GPS) to a Utility field service solution will allow the service organization to know where their trucks and technicians are at any time. This would be an aid when emergency or special dispatching is required. A field organization with this knowledge can make informed business decisions about how long a worker should arrive at a customer site or which remote worker is in the best position to handle the new or emergency. This will also allow dispatching to re-route the nearest vehicle when another vehicle is delayed.

Mobile Field Services professionals would greatly benefit by having service information on demand, real-time while still in the field. Having access to a customer's service data or a specific device service history would aid the service professional to better perform the tasks needed. Whether the work is installation, inspection, maintenance, repair, or meter reading, placing computing power and decision-making capability in the hands of field service technicians creates far greater efficiencies.

This information may include service history of the device they are working on so they will know of patterns or when required upgrades or diagnostics are due. Directions for the repair or installation of a device or parts could be downloaded to the field service technician while heshe are on site. A Mobile Field Service system could keep track of the time the technician is on site, the parts that are used, parts pricing, and calculate the charge for the service call. A system could also provide for signature capture validating worked performed and agreement for payment.

This can be accomplished by the use of wireless (WWAN) mobile computers that have access to the service organization's computer systems. Technicians will use a wireless mobile computer running some work order management software application to receive work orders, complete the service records, labor hours, rates, replacement parts, and complete the work order and send data back to the dispatching organization to start billing cycle, update service records and databases, or stored on the mobile computer and uploaded later. Portable printers can be used to provide a receipt and proof of service once the service has been completed. Depending on the mobile computers used photos can be captured, voice notes could be recorded, and barcodes could be scanned that identify parts replaced and used.

Adding a Global Positioning System (GPS) to a field service solution will allow the service organization to know where their trucks and technicians are at any time.  A field organization with this knowledge can make informed business decisions about how long a worker should arrive at a customer site or which remote worker is in the best position to handle the new or emergency. This will also allow dispatching to re-route the nearest vehicle when another vehicle is delayed.

• Faster job reporting
• Real time status updates
• Downloadable technical diagrams and installation and repair manuals
• Real time workforce management
• Real time service history updated

Industries that could benefit:

• Energy (Oil and Gas)
• Repair Organizations
• Utilities
• Work Order Management
• Inspectors

Electronic Ticketing

The cost of paper-based citations is high, every year; millions of dollars are lost. Names and addresses can be misspelled, illegible handwriting, or technical error from entering wrong codes cause large numbers of tickets to be dismissed. Even if all this is performed correctly errors can still be made from clerks who enter that same hand written citation into various computer systems. By most estimates, between 10 and 15% of all traffic citations are dismissed due to errors related to spelling, legibility, and inconsistencies between violation codes and descriptions.

For example a police force that issues 60,000 tickets a year at an average of $75 a ticket has 10% of the tickets dismissed due to errors. This would result in loss in revenue of $400,000.

When a police force is equipped with the proper technology these errors can be reduced as well as the time to issue the citations. Using an electronic ticketing system, consisting of mobile computers or fixed terminals in the vehicles, police officers can enter most of the required citation information into an electronic form automatically. They can do this either by scanning the bar code or magnetic stripe on the violator's driver's license.

Application software on these mobile computers can provide drop down menus for violations and vehicle information and can automatically populate information such as statute violated, fine amount and court information. After the ticket is completed, a mobile or fixed printer with a WiFi or Bluetooth connection enables on-the-spot printing of the citation. The violator's signature can be captured on the mobile computers and if the mobile computer is equipped with a camera, photos can also be captured and appended to the citation records. If the mobile device has a real-time wireless connection, citation information can be immediately transmitted to the appropriate databases: one copy can be sent to the courts, and another copy to the police department.

For mobile devices without a real-time connection, the citation information can be uploaded via the in-vehicle Mobile Data Terminal (MDT), or, in the office at the end of the day by simply docking the device in its cradle. If a WiFi network is in place, the device can upload records automatically as soon as the officer enters the station.

Case Workers

Social caseworkers need to collect and access information in the office and while at remote client visits. With an integrated voice and data mobile computer caseworkers have the ability to do work the same work in the field as they would in the office. Calls and mileage can be automatically logged, photographic evidence with a time and location stamp can be recorded and instantly appended to the client file, documents can be captured and more.

The use of mobile devices would broaden the reach for the social worker to the client accelerating the flow of data back and forth so quicker decisions can be made while the worker is at the client's side, in real time providing a wireless WWAN communications are used. Data could also be stored and uploaded later when in the range of a WiFi network or when returning to the office. This would reduce the amount of paperwork generated and help prevent the human error from writing and then having to re-enter that data in to a computer system.

Those who make their living from performing inspections (safety, EPA, building, fire, toxic, utilities', etc) could easily automate this process by using a mobility solution including wireless mobile computers that can capture the data as the inspections are being performed. These are tools that would aid the inspectors to follow directed checks as well as generate follow-up service requests.

This type of mobility system would allow the inspector to view previous inspection history, and create violation notices or issues fines for non compliance. With a mobile printer these citations could be issued on the spot while the inspector is on site. The captured data associated with the inspection and any fine or violation notices could be sent automatically back to work order management, inspections and billing systems, or uploaded once the inspector returns to the office or home.

Electronically capturing this data would be more efficient and accurate than using printed forms which would later need to be re-entered into a computer system for processing and updating of inspection history. Eliminating administrative redundancy will maximize efficiency and reduce operating cost. 

• Safety
• Building
• Fire
• Toxic
• EPA
• Utilities
• Food
• Air Quality
• Pest Control

Curbside or Outdoor Dining

Whether you serve your guests in a full service restaurant, by the pool or in a stadium seat, wireless tableside ordering and payment solutions can increase your sales, enhance the productivity of your servers and ultimately increase guest satisfaction.The time-consuming process of handwriting an order, walking it to the kitchen and re-keying it later for billing is obsolete when you equip your service staff with a mobile computer . Orders can be transmitted wirelessly to the kitchen or bar from the table, the check can easily be generated directly from the order, and card payments can be processed right at the table. Mobile computers are also a great tool for fast-food line busting.