Mobility is not (only) a question for the IT department or the CIO. Mobility must be seen as a strategic investment area to help companies to reach their business objectives faster and safer. In this post I want to share tangible and intangible mobility returns for two roles that are typical of any company; the sales executive and the project manager. What business benefits do we derive from equipping these guys with mobile solutions?
Please also take the opportunity to sign up for the upcoming webinars where I and invited guests will talk about the path to mobility and looking at business transformation.
1st Webinar: The Mobility Business Case – May 29, 9:00 & 16:00 CET
Invited guest: Aly Pinder Jr, Senior Research Associate | Aberdeen Group
2nd Webinar: The Path to Mobility – June 04, 9:00 & 16:00 CET
Invited guest: Henrik Sjöstrand, CTO Mobility Nordic | IBM
3rd Webinar: Get Smarter. Get Mobility – June 12, 9:00 & 16:00 CET
Invited guest: David Andersson, Director IFS Labs | IFS
The Sales Executives
| TANGIBLE RETURNS INCLUDE | NON-TANGIBLE RETURNS |
| Pipeline growth per sales rep While sitting in a traffic jam or waiting at the airport, you can use this time better by making more calls. With access to every single customer contact in the CRM system from your smartphone, there are no excuses for not using this valuable time to discuss business challenges with a customer. |
Manage peak periods better When you are about to close a deal, you put all your energy into winning that deal. During these peak periods with lots of stress, you are very sensitive to administration obstacles and overload. |
| Quicker go/no-go decisions Thanks to access to accurate sales data, you can monitor the sales pipeline and make better informed decisions about which opportunities have the highest priority. | Keep customer promises With a system that reminds you to execute on tasks, activities and backlog items will ensure a high service level and a better customer experience. |
| Reduced costs for administration Every hour that is moved from administration to customer value-added time means improved bottom line results. |
Increase motivation Things that are fun to use will be used. Simplified administration will raise motivation because it will not be seen as a must-do thing, but as something that frees more time for value-adding activities. |
The Project Manager
| TANGIBLE RETURNS INCLUDE | NON-TANGIBLE RETURNS |
| Reduce cost overrun If you can continuously monitor job progress, react swiftly to deviations and focus on expectations, you can act much sooner on activities that are delayed or incorrect. |
Empowering self-esteem Because mobile solutions make you more efficient, they have a positive impact on your self-esteem. You feel proud that you work for a modern, innovative company. |
| Reduce non-invoiced time Non-invoiced hours are often due to incomplete reporting because of bi-weekly time reporting. Even if you’ve made notes about what you’ve done, you may still lack the details needed to justify time consumed. A time-reporting app that is quick and easy to use ensures you get all invoiceable hours reported. |
Eliminating admin back-log Administration tends to be a backpack that grows bigger at the end of every month and that causes great stress to many people. Any tools or processes that eliminate this stress will have a positive impact on motivation and work results. |
| Improved cash-flow If you can shorten the lead time from order and supply, it will have a positive impact on your cash flow. Purchase orders that have to be approved and delivered to the customer site, so as to complete a project milestone related to a payment, have a direct impact on bottom-line results. |
A better work-life balance Having a flexible work environment where you work weekends and evenings and take a few hours off on Thursday afternoon instead to watch your daughter playing that important tennis match is a top priority for the younger generation. With business apps, you can actually do both. Studies reveal that a flexible work environment ranks higher that a raise in salary. |
| Reduce paper-handling It’s 2013, and manual paper handling is still a cost driver in many companies. With new technologies, you can streamline processes for travel expense reporting and supplier invoices—and that saves money. |
