Ask any successful CEO about mobile tech, and they’ll go on for hours about how much of an important strategic tool it is. As mobile devices have become more and more accessible over the years, the practical applications and benefits have become more and more prevalent in the scope of modern business. All over the world, there’s a mobile revolution being felt in every sector, including manufacturing. If you’re wondering about what mobile tech can do for your manufacturing process, here’s some of the biggest ways it’s revolutionising the sector.
First of all, integrating mobile CRM with pricing and fulfilment. Customer relationship management software is now a given in any serious business venture. However, you’ll find that the firms that keep theirs on the office desktops aren’t making the most of it. When you’re providing sales information to customers, prospects, and anyone else involved in the process, it pays to have the freedom to do it wherever and whenever necessary. The secret to good customer relationship management is a mutual respect. You can better uphold this respect when you’re able to respond to customer queries in real time. If some of your prospects have gotten used to this kind of service, and you can’t provide it to them, then you could end up sacrificing a sale.
Another big thing that’s been changed by mobile manufacturing software is quoting build-to-order
products. I remember talking to one VP who boasted that after an in-depth discussion with their prospects and a complete quote has been delivered, they got the job 8 out of 10 times. If that makes your mouth water, then you should really consider some mobile inventory and pricing software. A good configure, price and quote system integrated with mobile devices will allow you to get an entire quote done and sent off within a few hours of talking to a prospect. This prompt response is steadily becoming an industry standard, so don’t brush it off.
It’s only recently that manufacturing managers have been able to monitor productivity and workflow performance through dashboards on mobile devices. This is one of the most valuable tools you can have in your mobile arsenal, as it’s been known to open people’s eyes to gaping holes in their manufacturing processes. Some build-to-order companies have been known to shave days and even weeks off of production time after they’ve introduced manufacturing execution software. Integrate it with your company, and everything you’d want to know about your productivity will be lain out in a convenient structure. From there, making changes that save you time and money will become so much easier.
Using mobile tech can also help you to make your distributed order management more transparent to your sales team, all the while increasing the accuracy of your order fulfilment. Generally, if the product is more complex, the customer will want more frequent updates. There are now several software packages that allow the purchasing and procurement teams on your customer’s side to request order updates and delivery dates. Some of these programs will even allow the customer to customise their own order alerts, which can be sent all over the world 24/7. Bringing in this kind of mobile tech will greatly reduce the admin needed to deal with good old order update calls, and will give the customer a much more convenient experience, thereby bolstering your professional reputation.
In dozens of manufacturing companies, mobile technology is being used to replace traditional inventory management systems. Inventory reporting, tracking and traceability systems are really making a splash in business tech, and when you see its application in a manufacturing operation it’s not hard to see why. Without a modern inventory management, companies have to organise and pay for hours of manual work. This is usually followed by a lot of data entry and drawn-out analysis, which is all time which could be invested elsewhere. Mobile inventory management has made a particularly big impact in the world of aerospace engineering, due to government scrutiny of their manufacturing process. By working closely with the appropriate bodies, aerospace companies can report production status to the authorities electronically, thereby cutting out all kinds of government-mandated paperwork. This, in turn, can save the company hundreds of thousands of dollars in employment hours. If you’re drowning in a sea of contracts and forms, then look into inventory management.
There you have some of the major ways that mobile tech is revolutionising the world of manufacturing. All these developments are even more exciting when you consider that we’re only seeing the beginning of it!
