Location Based Services, Mobile Software and Dynamic Mobile Inventories

In a series of articles on the blog Mobile Strategies for Businesses the topic of dynamic and perishable inventories as they relate to LBS (location based services) and mobile handhelds and Smart phones is discussed. In summary, the article proposes LBS solutions that notify subscribers within a certain distance of the store location about limited and time sensitive discounts through email and text message alerts.

Here is an additional scenario to consider - mobile inventories in trucks or delivery vans can follow a route, and as they approach each store location the LBS alert is sent out announcing to subscribers within a 3 mile radius of the limited time discount of certain products in the delivery vehicle.

It may be that the alert will attract a small group at each store, and after visiting 9 stores the inventory is all sold. However, if the inventory was only announced at one store, it would not have sold. This is an interesting concept for retailers to consider.

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.