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Monday, April 23, 2007
Put simply, organizations have started to apply mobile technology to those processes where the integration of real-time information can drastically improve process quality.
Although mobile email has made some inroads in these areas, the mobile enablement of enterprise applications represents a quantum shift in capabilities. The CRM packages have arguably been in the front line of this trend. One big reason is the strong overlap between the needs of customer-facing employees and the key strengths of mobile devices, including customer-specific alerts and the ability to access and update customer records. Thus, so far, the main emphasis of application mobility has been getting information 'out' into the hands of field personnel.
Increasingly, however, this emphasis is shifting toward more 'inwardly directed' (ie less customer-centric) applications such as ERP and SCM, in which the rapid incorporation of information from the field enables the optimization of processes such as production planning, inventory management, and logistics. In both cases, the extension of enterprise applications via mobile devices has tightened processes, increased responsiveness, and improved decision making. Examples of mobile applications in specific industries are outlined below.
GOVERNMENT
Within the government sector, mobile applications are being used to support public safety, law enforcement and municipal compliance activities. To improve its responsiveness to disasters, a state emergency response agency employs mobile devices to update damage assessment databases remotely, thus enabling key decision makers to assess the situation on the ground and optimize clean-up and recovery efforts. A state police in India is providing agents on the field with mobile devices to access a central repository of data on suspects, cases and other information to increase their effectiveness in arresting and prosecuting criminals.
Faced with a construction boom, a municipality is seeking to improve the productivity of building inspectors by providing them with wireless access to the inspection system and a mobile printing solution to help them work more effectively at job sites, and provide quicker updates to build the database.
| The emphasis is shifting toward more 'inwardly directed' (ie less customer-centric) applications such as ERP and SCM, in which the rapid incorporation of information from the field enables optimization of processes |
FINANCIAL SERVICES
In the financial services sector, responsiveness to both the existing customer needs and new opportunities is a critical competitive requirement. To this end, retail financial service providers are employing mobile devices to give representatives on the field access to real-time data on their clients' portfolios during customer meetings. This access gives representatives the tools to respond to queries instantly and helps customers see opportunities faster. Financial services providers are also using mobile devices to interact with their institutional customers.
MANUFACTURING
For manufacturers, a key to improved efficiency is the tight integration of SCM and ERP, such that changes to the status of inbound material shipments (via SCM) can be closely linked to production and delivery commitments they make to the customers (via ERP). This integration improves manufacturers' overall responsiveness by enabling them to rapidly adjust their production planning based on changes in their inbound supply chain. From a mobility standpoint, the major opportunity is to use mobile devices to speed the capture of this inbound supply chain data, thereby shortening the feedback loop between the supply chain and production planning.
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