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A Matter of Opinion

It was with great interest that I read Sharon Clancy’s excellent article ‘Going mobile – what’s holding you back?’ Issue 14, December 2004 such that I, Chris Wright, Managing Director of Skillweb, felt compelled to offer a view from a system integrator trying to run a business selling mobile computing solutions into the supply chain and mobile worker market place.

Firstly I agree with the opinion that the take up of mobile computing is slow, it is only the early adopters that have put their toes into the water to date. In answer to Sharon’s question what is holding businesses back I believe it is simply the challenge associated with getting a return on investment. Businesses, and in particular Financial Directors are increasingly looking for ROIs of less than one year. The single biggest issue today is therefore cost and buyers undoubtedly face a number of challenges when deciding what solution to implement.

It is however not all doom and gloom, early adopters have achieved returns on their investment and as the market place matures, prices stabilise, ROIs of under one year can be reached. If there was a magic wand the single element to improve would be the price / functionality / performance ratio of the mobile platform. Large-scale adoption by the market place needs the catalyst of lower prices. Hardware manufacturers however have a dilemma, they need to get a return themselves on their R&D investment and they still compete against each other to provide the latest technologies on their platforms. This keeps prices artificially high and is undoubtedly a barrier to large-scale adoption.

At this stage mobile phone and XDA suppliers will be suggesting their platforms are the answer and indeed for many businesses they will provide a cost effective solution. Their challenge with using them is they are fragile, don’t have integrated barcode scanners and have high cost air time contracts associated with them and are therefore inappropriate for most supply chain requirements. So the dilemma businesses face is that rugged mobile computers are too expensive, XDAs are too flimsy and the rugged fully featured sub £1,000 mobile computer not yet on the market. There are however signs that the not yet is becoming soon to be released! Perhaps Sharon’s prediction that 2005 is the year will come true!

It is also worth examining what benefits mobile computing solutions can offer, higher benefits shorten returns and will often provide the justification for the higher cost high-performance rugged computer. Benefits are not one solution fits all; every business will have its own challenges and its supply chain will be at a different stage in its development. However typical benefits will be greater productivity and control of the workforce, reduced stock outs as deliveries become assured, reduced call centre staff dealing with queries, reduced write offs as shrinkage reduces and better utilisation of assets. These bottom line benefits will be further improved by the more esoteric soft benefits of customer satisfaction and actually delivering to promise.

Finally their is merit in looking at how software costs can affect ROIs, one solution will rarely fit all, but increasingly as products mature, its about configuration rather than expensive development and customisation. Early adopter bespoke applications are being superceded by off the shelf modules configured for specific use. Solution developers are playing their part in taking cost out.

In summary the mobile computing market is in need of a catalyst, which reduces the time taken to achieve a return on investment. I suggest that the best catalyst will be a rugged mobile computer that balances price, performance and functionality enabling a ROI of less than one year.

Skillweb is a systems integrator developing and supporting solutions into the mobile computing market place. Skillweb has developed a number of cost-effective solutions for its blue chip customers, for example BT and Lynx Express. Skillweb has also developed a number of products focused on task management, proof of delivery, consignment tracking and transport management. For details of these email: info@skillweb.co.uk