On the Road: Why Mobile ERP Could Transform Your Results

Paul Bywater

Adding mobile ERP to your business can boost your revenue, make your employees more efficient – and improve your bottom-line performance.

Mobile ERP makes a tangible difference in the front-line

ERP was conceived when IBM needed efficient inventory control in the 60s, but mobile ERP is very much a child of today.

Mobile ERP offers major benefits, especially to sales teams who spend much of their time on the road.

They can swiftly check a potential customer’s credit history and rating – perhaps after a chance encounter at a conference or trade show – take orders, and offer proof of delivery.

If you’re working with the right ERP author, whose application fits your industry’s requirements, the result should be a sales team which is:

• More efficient and more effective
  
• Earning more money
  
• Generating increased revenue
  
• Delivering improved customer service.

As your internal ‘supply chain’ increases its ROI, the benefits feed straight through to your bottom-line.

Not forgetting to BYOD of course

Increasingly, employees are using their own smart-phones and tablets, so you need to factor the Bring Your Own Devices approach into your mobile ERP strategy.

“This is about ensuring the technology, compliance, data ownership, and security over your organization’s highly sensitive data happens end-to-end, from the system to the BYOD device, without compromising user experience.” 

Taking care of (your) business

Security is vital with mobile ERP. Before your software goes live, always sit down with your author’s installation team for a final ‘What if …?’ session, and give everything one last check.

• Is your password allowing access to the ERP system saved in your device?
  
• Do you have sensitive data saved in the device memory?
  
• Are you using mobile ERP at a restaurant or your hotel?
  
• Should the session be completely encrypted?

Mobile computing is all around us, and ERP is no exception. Greater mobility means:

• Mobile access to business intelligence
  
• On the road access to proof of delivery
  
• Easy access to customer history
  
• In-store mobility
  
• Manufacturers are able to record information digitally

Are you worried about compliance in the manufacturing industry? If so, read this for some really handy hints: ‘A guide to compliance issues for manufacturers: succeed against toughening demands.’

This post first appeared on the Sanderson blog.

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