Regardless of whether you are the project manager in charge of multiple installations, the head of procurement, or the field service technician servicing the end-user customer for your company, you need to have access to vendor data. As such, a number of companies have decided to upgrade their service capabilities with rugged mobile computers, devices that are part of a larger upgrade in their enterprise mobility network. The idea is to not only speed up data transfer from vendors, but more importantly, to improve how companies manage both their internal and external customers. After all, the faster your company is able to respond to internal requests, the faster it should be able to service its external customer base. In the marketplace today, speed is everything!
Each of these aforementioned positions depends heavily on interacting with suppliers. However, each also carries with it the burden of being responsible for how those suppliers perform, or put differently, how well they deliver on what they promise. As a project manager, managing multiple vendors just goes with the territory. Procurement professionals are measured by their ability to continually lower the company’s carrying costs of inventory, and for that to succeed means they must have strong vendor relationships. Field service technicians are asked to manage customer expectations, in addition to the complexity of dealing with multiple service calls. At the end of the day, each of these positions must have access to immediate information. Without it, they are left to assumptions and for customers, assumptions never work.
Imagine the damage that’s inflicted when your field service technician shows up without the right spares. Imagine how frustrating it is for a project manager when he or she is unable to reconcile onsite inventory. Finally, imagine how costly it is to either purchase too much, or too little, simply because your procurement department doesn’t have access to essential vendor data. It’s less about the accuracy of that data and more about how fast that data is made available through rugged mobile devices. Again, speed is everything and in an economy where decisions are made on the spot, your company must be able to respond accordingly. What’s at stake? Well, after reading all three of these aforementioned scenarios, it’s painfully obvious that success is at stake. The customer relationship is at stake. The project’s budget and timeline is at stake and ultimately, the company’s cost to finance its inventory is at stake. In each of these situations, improving access to vendor data via enterprise mobility devices helps to improve how these business functions operate. In the end, it reduces costs and streamlines your enterprise’s entire approach to business.
Most companies rationalize their decision to maintain the “status quo”, so to speak. These are the companies that adhere to the principle of “out of sight, out of mind”. For these companies, what they don’t know won’t hurt them. By rationalizing their failed business processes, they forever put their future business growth at risk. Does this seem somewhat exaggerated? It shouldn’t! Today’s most successful enterprises are connected in ways like never before. They have access to immediate data and they use that data to win business, better manage customer expectations and improve their core competencies. Isn’t it time your company do the same?