The benefits of using mobile communications are both hard – bottom-line accountable – and soft, making return on investment calculations "more of an art than a science," according to Warren Wilson, practice director at Boston-based IT research and analysis firm Summit Strategies.
Hard return includes productivity and efficiency in customer service as well as lead management. With remote access to information, especially a change in a customer's status, a serviceperson can also take on cross- and upsell sales capacities.
On the back end, mobile workers that have access to functions such as supply chains can better mange order entry and inventory management. They can also shorten the billing cycles through rapidly processing orders.
Some of the soft benefits include employee productivity and loyalty through making support functions easier and more timely. Wilson notes that while these are often measurable, they don't necessarily have a direct impact on the financial bottom line.
For example, MobyzMedical supplies wireless applications to small medical practices that capture prescriptions and synthesize them with existing medications or patient prescription histories. The system eliminates handwriting errors due to illegibility and points out incorrect medications, such as a medication that is one line up on a form from the correct prescription. MobyzMedical estimates that the reduction in secretarial tasks can save a small office between $30,000-$40,000 a year.
Aviall, Inc., an aircraft parts manufacturer, uses a wireless inventory management system to thwart data-entry errors as well. Between its ability to have parts on-hand and avoid backlogs, and being able to jump-start the fulfillment process by linking offsite sales associates right into the supply chain, the Dallas-based firm has cut $1 million a year in expenses.
According to Wilson, most companies are piggybacking their mobile access capabilities onto existing data structures, rather than implementing entirely new systems. They do this with an eye toward cost savings – but they also skimp on training, which is a more expensive – and usually more critical – aspect of system integration.
Wilson offered his thoughts at Wireless CRM: Making it Pay, a session at the DCI Customer Relationship Management Conference and Exposition.
