4 November 2008

Bill Duff of Fusionsoft explains how mobile commerce is becoming increasingly influential in the average manufacturer’s enterprise resource planning process.

Mobile commerce is making steady progress in the business-to-business environment, even though it doesn’t make the headlines like the consumer stories about mobile payments and Bluetooth marketing campaigns. Mobile access to product and business data can help manufacturers’ sales people supply what their customers need.

Improvements in the usability of mobile devices and the reliability of mobile phone networks are making mobile connectivity for sales people a reality. Improved access to real-time information helps get orders right first time and contributes to the whole supply chain operating more efficiently for customer and supplier.

In the light of these improvements, Fusionsoft has revisited an established application that connects sales people with an organisation’s ERP system. Fusionsoft first deployed Weblinc, its real-time Web catalogue, back in 2001, using the solution to integrate with the back office ERP system and deliver a customer-facing interactive Web catalogue at the front end. The solution was, and still is, a real-time solution. The catalogue holds extended product descriptions, images and, bringing it right up to date, new media items such as video and audio. The ERP system delivers pricing, product codes, stock availability, product packs, customer order history and invoicing history, all of which is important when delivering a self-service B2B ordering system.

In 2002 Fusionsoft delivered its first mobile sales force automation solution. Weblinc Mobile provided a sales force with the same real-time access afforded through the Web interface. Weblinc Mobile was particularly successful in serving the retail sector. A salesman could visit his customer, log into the system using a laptop or PDA with a suitable GPRS connection via a mobile phone, take the customer’s order, agree suitable replacements for out of stock items and place the order at the point of capture. This real-time transaction enabled the manufacturer or wholesaler to pick, pack and ship the customer’s stock more quickly, which meant that the goods were on the shelf competing for the consumers’ cash when it mattered. It also reduced, by at least a week, the time from order, to shipment, to invoice.

The time was right for Fusionsoft to revisit the Weblinc Mobile code and bring it up to date using Microsoft .NET technology

Bill Duff, managing director at Fusionsoft The solution had other benefits too. The salesman was connected to the ERP system back at the office, so while taking the order he could see that some of the retailer’s normal products were out of stock. He could use his expertise to sell the retailer suitable alternatives to ensure that shelf space was not filled with competitor’s products. This also avoided the scenario of the warehouse staff making up the order value with substitute goods that the retailer didn’t sell, or struggled to sell. This also removed the costs and aggravation to the retailer of having to return the unsold substitute goods, saved the supplier the administrative pain of raising credit notes and, in the case of foodstuffs and other goods with an expiry date, destroying the products when returned.

However, the solution struggled to make ground in the market. Why? Because the technology was not reliable enough. The user had to connect a mobile phone to a laptop or PDA with a cable. The first smartphones were available but the operating systems were unsophisticated. The battery life of these devices was also poor. Laptops and PDAs were bulky and heavy and the first smartphones were as heavy, and almost of the same dimensions as the common house brick. Assuming that you could get over these hurdles, GPRS data phones were new and the signal was not as reliable as advertised. Finally, many retailers were situated in shopping centres where the cellphone signal was not strong enough to penetrate, which resulted in the salesman taking the order without the advantage of access to the ERP system, which defeated the object.

Six years on and technology has evolved enormously. There is a plethora of smartphones available; PDAs are lightweight; there is a new breed of laptops and browsing devices available such as the Ultra Mobile PC and Tablet PCs. The phone companies have improved their infrastructure and so the network can now deliver always-open 3G broadband speeds to devices. If 3G or GPRS isn’t built in, most devices will connect to wi-fi hot spots, which will provide additional connectivity.

The time was right for Fusionsoft to revisit the Weblinc Mobile code and bring it up to date using Microsoft .NET technology, including taking advantage of the new broadband speed bandwidth to improve access time and deliver new functionality. In 2005 Fusionsoft successfully integrated Weblinc eCatalogue with the SAP ERP system, delivering the same real-time access afforded to other ERP systems and now SAP can also be delivered on Weblinc Mobile.

As well as providing all of the functionality of the original sales force automation application, Weblinc Mobile now recognises when the mobile device is out of signal. Although the network operators now have excellent cell coverage and the signal is strong enough to penetrate most shopping centres, Fusionsoft wanted to cover all bases. Whilst the order is being captured, it is stored locally on the mobile device. Once the salesman and his customer are happy with the order, it is sent in real time to SAP (or any other ERP system). If the cell signal is lost or interrupted, the stored order is transmitted the next time a signal is established.

With the latest version of Weblinc Mobile, organisations have the ability to open further ERP functionality to their field sales staff, including order history – allowing a salesman to keep an eye out for a drop in product volumes, prompting them to probe - why? Has the competitor’s product replaced yours?

A salesman can identify any problem around outstanding or unpaid invoices and agree a resolution, and can also be authorised to raise credit notes against damaged deliveries or returns. Finally, Weblinc Mobile can show new product demonstrations or the latest advertising campaign, radio or television advert on the same device. All these functions help the salesman to maintain and grow their sales volumes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bill Duff is managing director at Fusionsoft – an eCommerce solutions specialist.

This article first appeared in the 2008 edition of the Prime Partner Guide.

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