Trimble, Rail Road Maintenance and Asset Management

Trimble announced a new joint venture with China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd (CREEC). The company noted that the joint venture, 50% owned by Trimble and 50% owned by CREEC, will leverage Trimble's commercial positioning, communications and software technologies and CREEC's expertise in rail design and construction to develop and provide digital railway solutions that address the design, construction and maintenance for the Chinese railway industry.

We have also been involved in numerous projects (here in Australia) that involved how to effectively manage rail road maintenance projects and tasks using mobile handheld computers and wireless maintenance and work order management software applications. Any large company with assets and properties spread across a wide geographic area must find a way to effectively track and maintain them.

I remember riding in a train that was crossing Europe and seeing large amounts of materials and equipment disappearing beneath growing briar patches. I wondered who had originally placed the materials and equipment there, and then who had forgotten about it.

Large quantities of materials, supplies, assets and properties must be effectively managed through powerful asset management and asset tracking applications in the office. These applications in turn must synchronize with mobile handheld applications that can be used to document the GPS coordinates and condition of assets in the field.

We are experts in this field. Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of these issues.

Mobile Applications for Estimating Jobs, Service Tickets and Saving Time

Most small services companies create job estimates. These are basically inspections that result in a bid for the work. This is a very important part of the sales process, but it can also waste a lot of time. Why? Often the services companies are sending out their most experienced person to inspect the job site and prepare the bids without really knowing if the customer is serious.

Google Maps provides satellite and street views for many locations. A function of the satellite view is the ability to click on one location and then click on another and see the distance. If you zoom in on a house or property from the satellite view. You can measure the fence lines, size of the driveway, size of the yard, etc. It is accurate to within a few feet. Landscapers, concrete repair companies and fence building companies could all benefit by being able to quickly give a job estimate by zooming in on the location and measuring things via the measuring feature and the satellite images.

If the customer is good with the broad estimate, then you could schedule to inspect the job site and give a detailed and precise estimate.

Here is another area where the field services industry could be more efficient. I remember calling a plumbing services company to do some work on my house. I told them I could save them a trip by sending them a digital photo of the work space and task. They had no idea how to use a digital photo to help with job estimating. Instead, they drove all the way out to my house, spent 2 minutes looking at the work required and then drove all the way back to their warehouse to get the parts. They wasted at least 1 hour, plus fuel, and likely lost the opportunity to complete additional service work for another customer.

The plumber himself drove out, then returned to his warehouse to get the right equipment and parts. Wouldn't it have been less expensive to have a lower paid assistant drive the parts out to the job site so the plumber could do his work?

Mobile software applications now have the option to be able to play videos. They can play audio files, and they can request and receive technical manuals wirelessly. Some ruggedized mobile handheld computers also have video cameras. All of these features enable service technicians to bring a library of information with them on job sites.

If a junior field services technician needs advice from the senior manager in the office, send a quick digital image to the manager. Show the manager what the situation looks like. Provide the manager with a satellite view of the job site and a photo. There are many mobile tools available that enable the service technician to share information from the site of the work, and to document any problems.

As digital video on mobile handhelds becomes widely available, I can foresee situations where the service technician sets up a tripod and digitally record the work so a remote supervisor could provide real time advice.

Nearly all mobile handheld devices include the ability to record and listen to audio files. These can be organized to provide specific instructions on how to do various job tasks. They can also be recorded in multiple languages. If your service technician is new, and the job requires a set of specific safety measures, let them select the appropriate audio file on the mobile handheld and listen to the step by step instructions.

All of the above features are available today, but few people have considered how to bring them all together and organize them to provide value to the small field services companies.

If you would like to discuss any of these mobile applications and feature in more detail please contact us.

Small Mobile Service Businesses Using Rugged Handheld Computers and Smart Phones

Over the past few years I have spoken to many small service companies about mobilizing their business processes including field services, work orders, asset tracking, inspections, etc. These service companies were most often looking for a way to reduce administration, accounting and dispatch costs and to make their operations simpler.

Wirelessly dispatching service tickets to service technicians with Smart phones or rugged handheld computers is one obvious and relatively simple way to make things more efficient. You remove the need for a person to call the service technician and read the service ticket information while the service technician takes notes.

If you have 20 service technicians in the field, the average service company would have a full time dispatcher just calling service technicians all day. Each service technician could easily spend 30 minutes a day just on the phone with the dispatcher. That is easily 600 wasted minutes per day. That equates to a lot of unnecessary expenses and lost opportunity costs (lost opportunity to complete more work orders). This should be an electronic work order that is wirelessly dispatched and just vibrates your Smart phone.

Many small companies are run by an owner/operator. The mobile owner/manager is able to take customer calls while on the road and enter work orders and job assignments on his handheld computer, dispatch the job to his team and keep working in the field. All the work is electronically documented on handhelds and synchronized back to his office accounting and work order software without human intervention. Read this article for related information.

These above capabilities are very compelling to a small business. You have full business visibility on the Smart phone or rugged handheld. You don't have the high admin cost for the office. You can run very small operations very efficiently and with built in quality assurance.

If you are here in Australia and would like to discuss your needs for mobile applications please contact us.

Integrated Solutions and Mobile Software Applications for Route Sales

I read several articles recently about strategies for improving the efficiency of mobile sales and route sales people. These strategies involved integrating several different kinds of central office software applications and then synchronizing the data to a mobile handheld or Smart Phone. The purpose of these strategies is to help the sales teams sell more product faster. Here are the links to the articles:

• The Future of Mobile and Route Sales Applications for Smart Phones, Part 1
• The Future of Mobile and Route Sales Applications for Smart Phones, Part 2

These strategies are very interesting as they help businesses realize how much more efficient they could be. So many of the activities that sales people do are not selling product, but conducting all the background research and preparation for the sales calls. All time not selling in front of customers must be considered an investment. Is the investment a good one? Not if it is simply busy work that does not help close deals.

Mobile sales people and route sales people should be out with the customers. Anything the company can do to make that time more efficient and increase sales is a good idea.

Mobile software applications don't have to be expensive. They can be done in phases so the business can start receiving value immediately. Each phase of a mobile software project can build on the last until you have a powerful solution that helps sales team maximize their sales.

If you would like to discuss mobilizing your business processes please contact us.

40 Reasons to Convert from Paper Processes to Mobile Applications on Smart Phones and Handheld Computers

This article describes the value that mobile software applications on handheld computers, Smart Phones and PDAs can provide businesses:

1. Eliminate time spent in the re-typing data collected in the field.
2. Reduce time spent on the phone dispatching service tickets, rather dispatch direct from your office computer to the mobile handheld computer in the field.
3. Send driving directions in the mobile work order to save driving time and fuel costs.
4. Save driving time by wirelessly synchronizing work orders with the office.
5. Reduce fuel costs by minimizing the need to drive back and forth to the office to deliver paper work.
6. Provide better customer service by accessing their account information via wireless connectivity on your handheld computer.
7. Improve the efficiency of field data collection by using barcode scanners or RFID readers for rapid asset tracking.
8. Improve the quality of work by providing real-time management visibility to work being done in the field.
9. Create and schedule service tickets direct from the field. Reduces the need for an administrative intermediary.
10. Immediate invoicing for faster collections and better cash management by synchronizing with the office accounting system or by using a mobile printer and credit card swipe machine on the handheld computer.
11. Proof of work – GPS audit trail of work with date and time stamp documents location and time of work. Reduces invoicing disputes.
12. Reduce introductions of human errors with automated business processes and systems integration. Move electronic data from the field to your database applications without human intervention.
13. Ensure complete data is sent from the field – incomplete data wastes time tracking down later.
14. Avoid handwriting and translation errors by pre-populating electronic form information.
15. Validate answers on mobile handheld PDA forms – to ensure data accuracy.
16. Take digital images to document work and avoid invoicing disputes.
17. Push data to the handheld and avoid time communicating information on the phone and writing on note pads.
18. GPS tracking for reduced travel time and lower fuel consumption.
19. Compute and analyze data on the handheld in the field – programmed analytics can help field users make quicker and better decisions.
20. Automated business processes - your mobile application can be configured to perform all kinds of automated business functions, queries, computations, analytics and many more time consuming features automatically based on data input or buttons pushed.
21. Enforce business processes for efficiency and best practices - mobile software solutions can be configured to ensure the field user follows the appropriate business processes.
22. Avoid lost data —capture data immediately and sync to headquarters.
23. Avoid undocumented inventory usage and unbilled time due to forgetfulness. Enforce real time data entry at point of work.
24. Require clock in and clock out at jobsites to document the accuracy of work/time estimates.
25. Train new service technicians and inspectors with audio memos or video clips.
26. Capture digital signature for proof-of-delivery and proof of work on handheld computers.
27. Query for available mobile inventory in nearby work vans to save travel time, inventory and fuel cost.
28. Use product and services information on handheld computers to up-sell.
29. Query latest shipping status and/or inventory levels via handheld computer while onsite with customer.
30. Automatically capture date and time stamps on your mobile handheld computer to document work and inspections times to limit liability and invoice disputes.
31. Use mobile technologies as a competitive advantage and show instant visibility to work, shipping status, schedules, inventory and account status.
32. Demonstrate to potential customers the competitive advantages of including GPS, time and date stamps, digital images, audio memos and more to document work and synchronize with the office using your handheld computer.
33. Download product warranty information to the handheld computer for review and presentation at the point of work.
34. Using rugged handhelds are often easier to carry around at job sites and are more durable than using laptops—lower ownership costs.
35. Mobile handheld computers with barcode scanners capture data quicker than typing on a laptop.
36. Combine your phone, GPS device, laptop, digital camera, paper forms and barcode scanner all on one mobile handheld device to save money, weight and support costs.
37. Combine job estimates, inspections, work orders, mobile inventory, time sheets all on one mobile application and one synchronization platform to mobilize and automate the entire business.
38. Scale your business by lowering administrative costs and the administrative work required to run the business.
39. Improve profits by analyzing real-time data collection on handhelds to understand the amount of time each task takes—so better scheduling and estimates can be implemented.
40. Push data to the handheld and avoid time communicating information on the phone.

How do you select the right handheld computer or Smart Phone?  This article lists 54 questions that will help you identify the right kind.

If you would like to discuss any of these topics in more detail, or to discuss your mobile project or application requirements please contact us.

Mobile Applications, Location Based Systems for Inventory Management

In this article, Kevin Benedict writes about a concept of having CPG companies or distributors of perishable products notify customers when their products are in inventory at a particular location.  The example given was The Sunday Edition of The New York Times.  Kevin wishes he received a text message or email when The New York Times was delivered to his local coffee shop.  That way he could quickly drive down and grab a copy before they were all sold out.

The LBS (location based services) system would need to be notified by the distributor when the product was delivered and available to be sold in a particular location.  The system would require the distributor to scan a bar code label on the product with a handheld computer that includes a barcode scanner.  The product, date and time stamp and location would be synchronzied with a real-time notification system that could send our text messages and emails to the subscribers.

This article, and the article linked to it, are identifying an entirely new category of mobile and real time inventory systems that could be of enormous value to wholesales distributors and CPG companies.

If you would like to learn more about these kind of mobile applications please contact us.

Mobile Application Workflows and SAP ERPs in Australia

As mobile applications become more complex and sophisticated and used by large enterprises there will be an increasing emphasis and requirement for automated mobile workflows and supported ERP business processes. I wrote about mobile application support for ERPs in this article, but today I want to focus on the automated workflow on the mobile handheld computer, Tablet PC or laptop that is used in the field. We have designed, developed and deployed a number of very powerful SAP related mobile applications here in Australia.  ERP business processes and automated workflows have been supported within the four walls of the enterprise for decades, but they often don't extend outside the four walls to the remote jobsite and/or mobile sales and service processes. That is a big problem that needs to be addressed by mobile application vendors.


Let's begin by recognizing that it is often the service technician that is face-to-face with your customers. They are the face and personality of the service company. The actions they take, the words they say, the professionalism they display and the quality of work they perform all impact the customer's perception of your company and their willingness to continue to do business with and refer your business to others. Since the activities that happen in these remote and mobile jobsite environments can have such a big impact on your business, wouldn't it be important that you ensure the best quality work and presentation of your company? This is where automated workflows on your mobile devices comes into effect.

Let me now outline a process that you may want to consider when designing a mobile application for use in the field.

1. Outline the tasks and actions you want each service technician to perform at the customers location. Examples - Greet customer by name, give business card, thank them for their business, ask about animals or children that my be in the work area, interview the customer about the problem, understand the customer's schedule, understand how the customer will pay, is there a warranty or service plan, provide estimate, complete work, get customer's signature, etc.
2. Once all of the "best practices" tasks are identified for a generic service call, complete the same process for the other kinds of service calls you may have. For example: a warranty process has 11 tasks, an annual maintenance call has 16 tasks, an emergency system repair for HVAC equipment has 19 tasks.

Once you have identified and documented these tasks, your mobile application developers can design and develop these workflows to become part of your mobile application. Once in production, these mobile applications can direct and guide each service technician through the specific best practices that the company wants completed in a standardized manner in the field. As a result, quality and professionalism can be standardized into the company's customer interactions.

What does this process look like on a mobile handheld computer?

1. The workflow processes should be a layer in the mobile application that is tied to a specific set of screens that go with the workflow. If the mobile application has multiple workflows, then the first step is for the service technician, or the service ticket itself, to identify which automated workflow is most appropriate for the needed service. This then launches the appropriate process/workflow on the mobile device.
2. If the automated workflow consists of 17 steps/tasks, then this workflow will dictate that mobile form fields including check boxes, radio buttons and data fields are completed in the right order and with valid data entries.
3. If the service technician skips a step an alert sound or pop-up message should guide the service technician to finish the process and continue it in the appropriate manner.
4. Automated scorecards can also be created to monitor the performance of service technicians to the standards and detail any exceptions to the process so they can be analyzed for process improvements over time.
5. Brief customer surveys can also be provided for the mobile handheld computer to tie the customer's opinion of the service provided with the exact service order and service technician. It is great to reward the service technician for work well done.

The mobile workflow process is specific to the role of the user and service performed. A recent report I read said up to 40% of workers are mobile. That represents a lot of remote jobsites and customer interactions. If companies want to ensure a high level of professionalism and quality customer interactions, then means of standardizing those processes need to be employed. As more and more of these mobile workers are equipped with Smart Phones and mobile handheld computers, these processes become easier to deploy.

If you would like to discuss this topic in more detail, please contact me.

48 Questions to Help You Select the Best Mobile Handheld Computers

There are a large number of very good handheld computers, PDAs, Tablet PCs, laptops and Smart Phones to select from, however, the key is to research the business purposes and the environment in which the solution will be used before making a selection.

1. What environment will you be working in - is it hot, cold, wet or dusty?
2. Are there explosive vapors or explosive powders?
3. Is it a clean office environment, or a muddy and rugged outdoors environment?
4. Is the user in and out of vehicles all day?
5. Is your software application focused exclusively on bar code scanning, RFID reading, GPS, or do you need a multi-purpose data collection device?
6. Will the hardware configuration ever need to be changed? Some handhelds can be configured at will; others are locked and can only be used with the original configuration.
7. Will the device be used as a primary phone, or is it focused on data collection?
8. What hardware requirements does your mobile application require?
9. Will the battery last long enough to complete your daily work between charges? Do you need back-up batteries? Can you use batteries purchased at the local market, or are they vendor specific?
10. What is your budget? What does the value of using a handheld computer justify spending?
11. Do you have enough budget to purchase or develop the mobile software and hardware you need?
12. Does your budget only allow for low cost consumer devices?
13. How many replacements(of a consumer device) does it take to equal the cost of a ruggedized handheld?
14. How do you replace broken devices? Can you get a replacement service in 24 hours, or must you wait a week?
15. What kind of support contracts and warranties are available?
16. How long will your new handheld computer be supported, serviced and manufactured by the vendor? Is it near end of life and being discounted for a reason?
17. Can you upgrade the operating system when Microsoft releases a new version of their mobile operating system?
18. Can you use standard laptop data cards in the handheld, or do you need to pay for high priced vendor specific cards?
19. Can you view the screen effectively in the sunlight?
20. Does the bar code scanner work effectively in real-world environment? Some scanners cannot scan effectively through glass or plastic.
21. Is the size and weight of the handheld appropriate for the user and environment?
22. Can your handheld computer support all the add-ons you require at the same time? Some devices can only support a specific number of add-on components so you are forced to choose. Some cannot support both a GPS and a data card at the same time. Some devices cannot support both a bar code scanner and a GPS add-on. This is an important consideration.
23. Do you need only a touch screen and navigation pad, a number pad or a full QWERTY keyboard? This is very important for user acceptance.
24. Is the handheld device also going to be used as a phone? Is a 2 pound industrial grade handheld really a usable phone?
25. Does your low cost consumer grade PDA need a rugged case like the ones Otterbox sells?
26. If you only have a budget for a low cost device, does it support the battery life and add-on components you require?
27. How will the device be transported around a job site? Will it strap to a belt, swing from a shoulder strap, sit in a holster or be mounted to the dashboard of your truck? Does your device support your chosen method?
28. Where is the closest inventory of extra handheld computers? Where is the closest repair depot?
29. Will your vendor loan you a device on trial?
30. Can you rent the handheld if you only need it for a short-term project?
31. Does your vendor take trade-ins on your old handheld computers?
32. Can you get the same exact handheld, under a different brand name for less?
33. How will your handheld computer send data back to the office? Cradle sync, WiFi, bluetooth, wireless data card, GPRS/GSM, CDMA?
34. What size screen do you need? Some devices like the Jett-Eye have a "landscape view" others a "portrait view" many have different sized screens. What do you require?
35. Do you need an integrated digital camera? Do you need a low or high resolution camera and does your device support it?
36. Does a refurbished device from Ryzex make better sense that a new device?
37. Where is your vendor's office? Are they in the neighborhood or on the other side of the planet? Does their location offer you the support and attention you deserve?
38. Does your handheld computer run on the same operating system that your mobile software solutions requires? I have had customers order Windows CE devices for their Windows Mobile application. It did not work.
39. Does your handheld computer come with a pistol grip or other straps that help you avoid dropping it?
40. Can you comfortably hold the device in your handheld and complete your work? Some devices have scanners on the side, on the end or underneath.
41. Can you effectively view the data you need? Some jobs simply require a full keyboard and a full screen for viewing large CAD files or Maps. Does your screen size match your requirements?
42. Where will you store the device when you use the washroom? One of my customers used Tablet PCs and they kept breaking when they slipped off of the sinks in the bathrooms.
43. Does the mobile device you select support the RFID reader you need for distance and accuracy?
44. Does the battery in the mobile handheld last long enough after you have added on all the additional hardware accessories? Each added radio uses more energy.
45. If you have dozens of handheld computers, how will you charge them all at the same time? Do you have a docking station that allows for all of your devices to both charge and synchronize at the same time?
46. Do you need wireless data plans, or does batch synchronziation after each shift work?
47. What wireless carrier and data plan provides the best service and cost for you? Does that wireless carrier support your mobile device?
48. Does the wireless carrier have sufficient coverage for your workers?

If you would like to discuss this topic in more detail please contact us.

Mobile Application Development Strategies here in Australia

The mobile application framework on the mobile handheld computer, Smart Phone or PDA can be thought of as a mini-EAI application (enterprise application integration platform). In the world of SAP they have NetWeaver for integrating all of the various applications together. NetWeaver is described as an integrated technology platform. Many different mobile software applications are found on a typical mobile device and they all need to be integrated together as well including:

• Radios - Bluetooth, wifi, RFID, GPS, Phone
• Data collectors - RFID, barcode scanners, digital images, voice memos, GPS, credit card swipers, mobile applications and forms
• Databases, synchronization technologies
• OS with downloadable applications

All of these various applications need to be integrated together using some kind of mobile integration technology platform. The OS can take care of many of the simple features and functionality, but a database driven integration platform for the mobile device is required if you are going to create various application layers that are all integrated into one downloadable mobile software application that can combine all of the necessary application functionality into one synchronization platform that is integrated with your back-office business applications.

Mobile applications have many unique requirements. Among these requirements are:

• GUI that can be resized quickly based upon the mobile device used
• Data collection fields and forms
• Mobile application workflow engine and validation features
• Data validation features
• Framework for pulling in data from third-party data collection hardware and software applications (barcode scanners, RFID, GPS, voice memos, credit card swipers, databases, etc)
• Mobile database (small databases optimized for mobile devices)
• Synchronization technology on the mobile device and on a central server

Mobile software application developers will want to find a good development toolkit for efficiently creating mobile applications. These toolkits can assist in quickly creating:

• Application GUIs
• Mobile databases
• Synchronization scripts
• Business Process Workflows
• Integration with third party data collection applications
• Tools for interacting with various button configurations on mobile devices
• Data validation features
• etc.

In addition to the basics listed above, it would also be very useful to have the following:

• Mobile application workflow engine (as described in this article)
• A mobile software kit based on your back-office ERP or database

Wouldn't it be nice to bring up a "work order ticket" on your Oracle or SAP system and immediately replicate the data requirements and valid data rules on your mobile device database? Today, this is a long and painful exercise. Each field in the SAP or Oracle database for that specific application would have to be analyzed to determine what is a valid data entry. The validation rules, would need to be individually documented and recreated on the mobile application database manually. An ERP centric mobile application toolkit would quickly transfer those data validation requirements to the mobile application that would be collecting the data and synchronizing back to the office.

If you have not developed industrial strength mobile applications before, it may be good to work with some experienced mobile application developers on the first few.  If you are in Australia, you can contact us to discuss your mobile application requirements here. There are strategies that experienced mobile application developers employ that can save you much time and pain.

11 Steps to a Successful Mobile Software Development Project

Companies here in Australia are looking for ways to do more with less. Many recognize that their mobile workforce is being managed inefficiently and extending business process automation to mobile field workers is becoming a priority. The following 10 steps identify how you can get started automating and mobilizing these business processes.


Step 1 – Understand the ROI/Scope of the Project and Plan Ahead

“What’s the number one reason a mobile project fails?” is a common question we get asked. The answers are that many companies don’t put enough upfront thought into defining the requirements, scheduling testing resources and planning a deployment strategy. The results of these deficiencies are project scope creep, cost overruns, missed deadlines, poor user acceptance and sometimes even complete project failure.

Step 2 – Build a Team of Stakeholders

Make sure the members of your team have the right roles and responsibilities to help the project succeed. Mobile solutions usually tie into other corporate IT assets and business processes, therefore impacted members of your IT department and business units need to be on the project team. In addition, a representative mobile field worker(s) should be included on the project team to provide valuable “real-world” insight.  Don't forget the folks running the IT helpdesk.  They are likely to get called when the mobile handheld PDA runs out of battery, memory or needs repaired or replaced.

Step 3 – Select a Partner That Specializes in Mobility Solutions

Performing successful data synchronization from mobile computing devices can be a challenging and complex task. There are many variables that can affect the results of synchronization. To insure you get your solution done correctly the first time, you need experienced experts in mobile technology. You need technologists in Australia, who specialize in the design, development, deployment and support of enterprise mobile solutions.

Step 4 – Know Your Target Users and Their Environment

During the planning and scoping phase of your mobile project, take time to experience the working environment of your mobile workers and observe the business processes in action. Pay specific attention to how information is collected and exchanged between the office and the mobile workers. These observations can significantly impact the design, development and deployment of a successful project! Evaluate the physical environment of the work. How do moist, cold and dirty environments impact the mobile devices? How does low light or bright sunlight affect visibility of the screen? Can workers read the small text on the PDA screen, or does the text need to be larger? Step 5 – Don’t Underestimate the Complexity of Synchronizing Field Data

Step 5 - Understand the technical challenges and issues

One of the biggest mistakes a project planner or IT department can make is to underestimate how complex data synchronization can be. Part of designing a solid and reliable mobile solution is to select robust synchronization middleware and to spend time designing and testing the data synchronization. Without the right middleware and design your end users could encounter issues such as extra long sync times (hours, not minutes), duplicate records, incomplete data, lost data and even database corruption. Every one of these issues will trickle down to your support department, so designing it right the first time is very important.

Step 6 – Build in Phases

Most successful projects involve a series of phased implementations. Each phase can be developed, tested and implemented in an orderly manner. Once a phase is deployed and proven, additional phases can be layered on top that include more features and added complexity. Remember, the more data requirements that you add the more data you must synchronize, and the longer each synchronization session will take. Only synchronize data that your remote users require in the field. In addition, most mobile devices don’t have the same CPU power or memory as a PC/laptop, so be aware of how the performance of your solution will be affected by a smaller, lower powered device.

Step 7 – Evaluate Your Hardware and Connectivity Needs

The term “mobile devices” can have many different interpretations. Today, laptops, Tablet PC’s, UMPCs, PDAs and Smart phones are all identified with this term. When determining the best mobile device for your project you will want to consider screen size, data storage capacity, security, physical working environment, required hardware accessories such as barcode scanners, GPS, digital cameras, RFID, and the ability to upgrade the device with updated hardware and software components.

How do you connect your mobile device to your enterprise database applications? You have many options including cradle, WiFi, satellite, Bluetooth, wireless, dial-up modems and satellite uplinks to name a few. The method(s) you choose will be affected by how often your mobile workers need to send/receive data. How much data will be transmitted and will they always have connectivity. Study each option, your working environment and consult your mobility partner to make the best selections.

Step 8 – Deploy to a Limited Focus Group, Evaluate and Improve

Once you have completed version 1 of your mobile solution and you are ready to deploy in the real world, roll out your solution to a small group of trusted and motivated users. Define a specific period of time to evaluate the solution, document the results and identify any required changes and improvements. The result of this evaluation should be an improved mobile solution that is ready for wide deployment.

Step 9 – Set and Enforce Hardware and Security Policies

Mobile devices are small computers with the ability to store sensitive corporate data, communicate this data over the Internet and even catch viruses. You must clearly communicate how mobile devices are to be used and for what purpose. Establish and publish guidelines for using mobile devices.

Step 10 – Provide Full Support for Mobile Users

Mobile devices are guaranteed to break. What is your plan for keeping a mobile worker productive and communicating business critical information when their mobile device ceases to function or gets misplaced? These are inevitable issues that are best planned for in advance. Have a plan and a documented back up process.

Step 11 - Select a technology partner that understands your business applications and ERP.

If you use SAP, make sure that the mobile technology partner you select is also an expert in SAP mobile.

If you would like to discuss in more detail please contact us.

SAP and Mobile Software Application Workflows in the Field

The way business processes are designed, implemented and standardized within a company can often mean the difference between success and failure. If often takes years of trial and error, and sometimes flashes of brilliance to come up with just the right business process that will mean success and competitive advantages.

Once the perfect business process is proven it needs to be implemented and automated. Why automated? Because humans are forgetful and have even been known to be from time to time lazy. They want to cut corners and avoid that which is tiresome. Automation enforces and manages the perfect business process.

For years software vendors and ERP developers like SAP have developed applications that help design workflows and workflow engines to run them. These provide the technology infrastructure within the enterprise to automate these business processes and to ensure they are followed, however, once an employee exits the building and drives away in a company van to perform a task remotely, the automated business process breaks down. Suddenly, the business processes that you have spent years perfecting are useless. The employee has broken the "connection" and walked out the door to freedom.

Even today, most mobile field service workers leave the building with a clipboard and a stack of paper service tickets or work orders. How they perform their work, in what order and the processes they utilize in the field are now unsupervised and up for interpretation. The field service technicians often don't much care for the business processes designed by the teams of MBAs in suits at the office. They have their own preferences and opinions about how things should be done, and in remote jobsites who is going to argue?

Many large companies have up to 40% of their employees working remotely and/or in the field on jobsites. How can the SAP or other ERP Business Process Expert design and implement business processes that can be utilized and enforced in mobile and remote locations? This is a challenge worth resolving.

Think about it, a company pays tens of millions of dollars implementing SAP internally and designing business processes and workflows to operate their enterprise. Yet for many services based businesses the money is earned outside the office at remote locations. The location where the customer interaction takes place and where the money is made is often devoid of best in class business process automation.

Mobile applications that need to synchronize with ERPs, should implement mobile workflow support. This requires a client server architecture whereby the mobile client software understands that a workflow or event manager is associated with a particular process and the server also understands that it is both producing and consuming data with the mobile device that is part of an event or workflow. Let me provide a scenario.

A service technician has a ruggded PDA or other mobile device on his belt. He receives an alert that he needs to be dispatched to a jobsite. This initiates a business process with a workflow associated with it. A series of tasks that make up the dispatch and completion of a service ticket are now initiated. The tasks may include:

1. Dispatch receives a service call
2. This initiates a series of tasks including estimating the availability and analyzing the location of all service technicians in the area.
3. Once the nearest available service technician is identified a service dispatch can be sent
4. Service technician confirms availability and accepts the job
5. Least cost and fastest routing information is sent
6. Service technician arrives at the jobsite and pushes a button on his mobile device annoucing his arrival.
7. Arrival message synchronizes with the server workflow or event manager notifying dispatch of his location on site.
8. The workflow may include an inspection, detailed findings, proposed solution, repair and collection of the fee
9. Any parts needed will be automatically deducted from the service vehicle's inventory
10. The workflow can also include sales and marketing activities such as promoting an Annual Service plan or equipment upgrade to the customer
11. The repair is complete, the customer's digital signature is captured and dispatch is notified
12. The service technician is available for another job

In this scenario, the mobile client application using a workflow engine that interacts with the server side application steps the service technician through the various tasks included in the business process. These steps can be directions in the form of alerts, messages, next steps, data fields that require input, and feedback from the dispatch office. Each step of the workflow required input from the service technician to confirm that the step had been completed and this information was in turn synchronized with the server side workflow engine. This enables the best practices supported by the company to be practiced and supervised in the field.

SAP has a solution called Event Manager. It is designed to manage activities happening across a geographically dispersed supply chain. It requires data input via B2B and EDI data communications. Similarly, mobile applications can feed data into a centralized workflow or event management solution that helps support and ensure best practices across remote jobsites.

A workflow engine and a mobile client version of a mobile workflow engine is required by companies that want to standardize business processes in the field where interactions with customers take place and where revenue is earned.

To discuss this subject in more detail or other mobile applications we have implemented in Australia please visit our website or contact us.