Logistics & Technology
M is for Mobile
Not so long ago E-commerce burst on the business scene, redefining how both business to business and business to consumer transactions took place and, as a result, redefining the entire economy. Now we have a new letter to consider when looking at the new business model, namely, “M.” According to the IDC, the number of mobile workers — those who work outside the business campus – will grow at a compounded annual rate of nine percent and reach a total of 55 million people by 2004.
This is a significant portion of the overall workforce and presents both a challenge and an opportunity: A challenge to provide these workers access to the network as required and an opportunity to improve process by streamlining process and capturing information at the point of activity. What is M-commerce, and how, if at all, will it affect our current business practices and processes?
For enterprise workers, the business process flow and information needs are, for the most part, common and thus independent of industry and location. The mobile worker process follows a simple flow:
• The customer requests work;
• The work is assigned to a mobile worker;
• The work is completed;
• Records are updated and the invoicing process takes place.
The mobile worker markets include field service such as cable, route sales, health care, insurance, pickup & delivery, general merchandising and any worker who works beyond the four walls of the enterprise.
When looking at implementing an M-commerce strategy, one needs to consider some key factors — remember, M means mobile. The mobile worker is just that, mobile. This results in two key considerations: the first is network access and the second is the work environment.
Mobile presents some challenges that we do not face with the wired network. For example M-commerce presents a major data management issue — ensuring both network access when it is required, and delivery of the information.
Some organizations see mobile phones as a method to transfer data between a mobile computing platform and host network. One need only think of the number of times that you have had a cellular call dropped to begin to understand the scope of this problem. How do you ensure that the information is delivered, or that the entire content was received?
Others see e-mail as the answer to wireless data management. While e-mail is lowcost and effective, it is mobile messaging not wireless data. A simple example is e-mail does not allow for resequencing work orders or a route.
The use of data networks meets this challenge. Data networks have the tools to ensure the complete transfer of data. These networks charge based on data, not on connection time, and can support multiple simultaneous connections. While data networks present the best way to mange the transfer of data, they do have some issues we need to be aware of when planning our solution, specifically standards and coverage.
How can we overcome these and other wireless wide area network concerns? By the use of middleware. Middleware has a strong value proposition because it allows data to cross information domains. It creates a very reliable infrastructure to ensure the guaranteed delivery of transactions and enables the support of a variety of hardware, network and software platforms.
To understand the work environment, you must first understand that in most cases the mobile workers office is a car or truck and they operate in all environments. This means the hardware platform must be robust enough to handle the extreme conditions this presents. What are the mobile systems tradeoffs that must be considered and that affect optimum design? Everything from ruggedness to software development environment, from battery life to the cost of ownership.
We cannot address all these issues here. However, we will touch three of the most important. Ruggedness is extremely important; your hardware will be bounced around in a truck or car, dropped in the middle of winter onto a driveway and used while it is raining. Whatever platform you select must be able to withstand these type of environmental conditions. This means that standard PD’s, for example, will not withstand the rigors they would be subjected to. Check the specifications, and understand them and the testing procedures. For example, what does “withstands a 4 foot drop to concrete” mean? Does it mean at all operating temperatures, i.e., 20 below, or just at the optimal operating temperature?
Secondly, you must understand the work process and the application. This will greatly impact most of the speeds and feeds type trade offs. M-commerce is, or should be, application specific. In other words you need to select the right operating system and hardware platform for the work process and application. If you have several different processes and applications you may have several different hardware solutions. With respect to operating systems, there are currently four to consider.
DOS Plus: is a proven solution and works very well in a text environment. Minus: seen as old technology.
Palm – Plus: the software is user-friendly and synchronizing with a desktop is simple. Minus: lack of keyboard and processing power.
MS Pocket PC and CE – Plus: easy compatibility with the office and data based management. Minus: power hungry and slow.
Symbian EPOC – Plus: was developed for mobile computing and communications. Minus, limited market acceptance.
The final area we will touch on is cost of ownership. It is important to understand cost of ownership rather than just cost of purchase. If cost is your only consideration it might makes sense to go to any electronic retailer and buy a PDA. However, the first time it drops even a couple of feet your mobile worker will be unable to meet the requirements of the workday and you will be off to purchase another unit. Rather, you must consider the total cost of ownership. These include life cycle of the unit, service and support, the cost of down time and purchase price.
To summarize, M-commerce can stream line your workflow, shorten the accounts receivable process and improve productivity. Ask your self, “How would my business be different if all of my people were online, anywhere, anytime?”