A Business Week Special Advertising Section

Business Process Improvement Through Wireless Technology

A How-To Guide

The Wireless Opportunity
Companies have long sought ways to restructure their business processes to achieve greater efficiency. Now taking centerstage, and promising returns to rival earlier gains, are wireless technologies.

By shattering conventional wisdom about how and where work should be performed, wireless technologies are able to:

Free desk bound workers by letting them receive and retrieve information while on the go.
Permit functions to be performed out of the office by shifting tasks to mobile workers equipped with powerful devices and wireless applications.
Boost productivity by streamlining workflows and alleviating data entry burdens.
Improve revenue-generation capabilities by shortening sales cycles, adding new sales channels and creating new categories of product and service offerings.
Protect investments in costly assets and equipment, and monitor remote goods or personnel.

With so many possibilities, where do you start? Start with the business process. High-value processes with the right characteristics will generate the greatest ROI and likelihood of success. The choice of process simplifies solution design, and the selection of technology.

This special section will explore how to identify the “best candidate” business processes for wireless solutions; how to select the right type of wireless solution; how to overcome wireless constraints and where to find assistance.

How to identify the “best candidate” business processes for wireless solutions.

The ability to send, receive and collect data from almost anywhere creates many opportunities for business process improvement. Exchanges of even small quantities of data can provide major financial, performance and competitive benefits. With endless possibilities before us, the following questions will help identify processes that could benefit most from current wireless technologies.

Can immediate access to information hasten decision-making or responsiveness?

Wireless solutions are ideally suited for facilitating immediate action on high-value information. For example, wireless e-mail access enables traveling executives and sales people to respond quickly to issues and customer needs. Stock and auction alerts allow quick response to market fluctuations. Instant access to laboratory test results can help emergency room physicians save lives.

Does knowing the location of an asset or individual have value?
Wireless location and tracking capabilities enable companies to monitor the whereabouts of shipments, equipment and employees. Potential applications include loss prevention, more efficient routing of deliveries, accurate notification of arrival times, better inventory control and enhanced safety for remote workers.

Is data captured manually for later electronic entry?
Any process that involves a mobile worker collecting data on paper forms is a potential candidate for wireless automation. A wireless application can increase the speed and accuracy of data collection while eliminating the effort and expense of re-entering written notes, forms and reports. Automation possibilities include: laboratory notebooks, prescription writing, inspectors’ reports and trip logs.

Would greater mobility enhance work performance?
A wireless device frees professionals to spend more time on mobile tasks such as negotiating contracts, meeting customers or performing on site repairs. Potential applications include: wireless approval of purchase requisitions, mobile check-in within hospitals and hotels, and wireless dispatch and reporting for field service workers.

Is data collection costly or difficult?
Wireless devices can lower the cost, effort and/or risk of capturing and transmitting data from remote locations. For example, utilities use wireless meter readers to eliminate the cost and inefficiencies of home visits, and pharmaceutical companies are experimenting with devices to monitor patient trials. Other possibilities include monitoring conditions in shipping containers and capturing data from offshore oil rigs.

Could process steps be eliminated by moving a function closer to the customer?
The ability to provide data where needed allows companies to move or eliminate process steps. For instance, allowing a field worker to calculate the bill and produce the invoice upon the completion of a service call simplifies the billing process, shortens collection cycle times and increases customer satisfaction.

Could immediate, on-location access to data allow the creation of a new customer service?
Offering new customer services enabled by wireless capabilities can enhance customer relationships, provide competitive differentiation and increase profits. For example, airlines increase customer convenience through wireless notification of flight delays and changes. Starbucks coffee shops hope to increase store traffic by offering wireless Internet connections to their customers.