Mobility ROI Weekly - Week of July 25, 2011

This weekly ROI (return on investment) report includes ROIs that I come across in my weekly enterprise mobility, M2M and GPS vehicle tracking research.  The idea is that in the future if you need to find ROIs for companies in various industries, they will be available here.  I hope you find this useful.


Tablets, Mobile Apps and Farm Inspector ROIs

Quality Consultants of New Zealand (QCONZ) specializes in dairy farm audits, and they recently began using tablet devices to inspect New Zealand farms.  They used Motion Computing rugged F5v tablets to equip their inspectors. The ROI result:

• They have gone from 10 days to a 24-hour turnaround on dairy farm audits.  This represents significant improvements in customer service and efficiency.
• Inspectors have reduced their one hour per day spent on paperwork  to a simple sync and send process that takes only five minutes.  This is a significant efficiency gain that allows inspectors time for more productive activities.
• Including handwriting capabilities on the tablets helped with change management and user acceptance, which meant more field workers used the solution.
• Eliminating human error that occurs during data entry and controlling the consistency and parameters of quality testing enhanced their reputation and improved their brand image.
• Accessing existing records and data wirelessly improved efficiency in the field.
• Remote data collection sensors on farms can be read and adjusted using the tablets onsite.  This improves efficiency and reduces travel time going back and forth to the office.

Read original source here.

Mobile App Improves Construction Site Efficiency and Delivers ROIs

Procore Technologies has developed a mobile app for iPhones and Android devices that is designed specifically for contractors and site managers working on commercial and residential developments. The Procore app allows site managers and supervisors to communicate project data to workers through individual smartphones.  The ROI for this app includes:

• The ability for all workers to clearly view work schedules as they are revised and updated improves project quality and efficiency.
• Workers can use their smartphones as mobile time cards, which saves both paper and time when processing paychecks.
• Managers use the mobile app to access and view project documents remotely and in real time.  This eliminates project delays and improves efficiency.
• Supervisors can save time by quickly dictating notes into the mobile app rather than using paper that needs to be re-typed into the system later.

Read original source here.

Eyewear Retailer Realizes RFID ROIs

Santa Fe Optics installed RFID tracking tags on over 900 merchandise items in their stores.  These small electronic tags allow customers to wear the eyeglasses while the RFID tag remained attached to the merchandise.  They have expanded the use of RFID to more stores and these stores realized a significant drop in shoplifting.  After choosing these small RFID tags their ROI was reported to have come from:

• Reduced shoplifting - The reduction in shoplifting more than paid for the entire RFID system.
• Reduced the time needed to take inventory by automatically reading RFID tags in the store.
• Small RFID tags allow customers to try on eyewear without removing tags which improved the customer’s experience.

Read original source here.

Mobile Apps and ROIs In Healthcare

The mobile app entitled DrChrono supports a mobile healthcare services environment.  The mobile app provides hospital workers access to information and tools that are necessary for their services.  The app allows users to view x-rays and patient records on tablets and smartphones while interacting with patients and moving throughout the office.  The reported ROI is:

• Increased mobile access to data throughout clinics/hospitals.
• Speech to text feature that allows doctors to save time taking notes.
• Replacing bad handwriting with accurate readable data saves many hours of follow-up calls to doctors.
• Remote access to electronic patient medical records rather than paper files improves patient treatment, efficiency and reduces errors.
• Photos and videos are viewable on the app which saves time and improves patient education and treatment.
• ePrescribing is supported in the apps so accurate real time prescriptions can be prescribed which eliminates many steps and improves efficiencies.

Read original sources here and here.

Upcoming Events

Mobile Tablet Trends in the Enterprise featuring Samsung Mobile - July 28, 2011

Whitepapers of Note

The Business Benefits of Mobile Adoption with SAP Systems
ClickSoftware Mobility Suite and Sybase Mobility Solution
Mobile Adoption Among Gas and Electric Utilities
Mobile Adoption in Life Sciences
Mobile Adoption in Oil and Gas
Networked Field Services

Recorded Webinars of Note

3 Critical Considerations for Embracing Mobile CRM
The Future of Enterprise Mobility
The Latest m-Business Trends and How the Onslaught of Mobile Devices Affects Development Strategies
The Real-Time Mobile Enterprise:  The Benefits of Rapid, Easy Access
Syclo and SAP Deliver Mobile Apps on Sybase Unwired Platform

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Kevin Benedict, Independent Mobile and M2M Industry Analyst, SAP Mentor Volunteer

Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

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Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.