Mobility Offers ROI

Written by Ed Hess

ROI is always part of every enterprise technology purchase. ROI is the central theme of any IT planning discussion. That's why some technology buying decisions are so baffling. In fact, a few immediately come to mind.

RFID Versus Traditional Data Collection
RFID (radio frequency identification) is the undisputed headline grabber when compared to other traditional data collection technologies (e.g. bar code printers, handheld and fixed readers, Wi-Fi). Headlines are fine, but should the smart label technology be grabbing a chunk of your budget as well? Probably not. Remember that RFID is not a replacement for traditional data collection technology, and it's certainly not a panacea for all that ails your supply chain. If you want real ROI, implement traditional data collection technologies and applications (e.g. warehouse/inventory management). Investigate RFID right now, but spend your money on bar coding. It's relatively inexpensive, very mature, and extremely accurate. RFID may one day transform the way you do business. Bar code technologies can accomplish that goal right now.

Route, Schedule Field Techs
Speaking of technologies that transform businesses, have you looked at ways to increase the productivity of your field service team? Routing and scheduling optimization would seem to be a requirement for any service-centric business. Yet, many companies still have dispatchers manually scheduling and routing field techs. Without software, a dispatcher can schedule 12 techs on a good day. With software, that number increases to 30 or 40 or more. Combine scheduling software with mapping and routing solutions, and individual field tech productivity increases. Instead of eight appointments per day, your techs might handle nine. Before you know it, you can centralize dispatch centers and increase on-site stops. It's a slam dunk, but you stick to your spreadsheets and white boards.

Rugged Hardware Worth The Investment
Oh, by the way, make sure you have an excuse ready for the CFO when he asks about the bill for repairing mobile hardware in the field. Issuing iPaqs to your mobile employees seemed like a good idea at the time. They were half as much as the next closest rugged devices. They looked slick, and they were lighter. Now, you're replacing them like light bulbs. Who would have thought you white collar workers could abuse equipment like that? An oft-cited Venture Development Corp. report says rugged mobile device sales will increase to $1.9 billion by 2006. Odds are that you should be contributing some part of your budget to that overall total.

There are plenty of mature technologies with solid ROI that get overlooked. They may not be the most exciting, but they are the most effective.