AirClic MP XPress: AirClic now offers solutions for every sized-business. Our newest product, AirClic MP XPress are pre-engineered solutions that can be deployed in as few as two weeks.
Click here for more information.
Integrated Solutions
This parcel delivery provider will converge its disparate mobile systems to reduce its IT burden and increase driver productivity.
Read the full article.
![]()
September 18-22, 2005
TMC's 2005 Fall Meeting/
TMC SuperTech 2005
Valley Forge , PA
More information
September 22, 2005
Sprint/Nextel Prepared Conference
DeVos Place
Grand Rapids, Michigan
AirClic
215-504-0560
information@airclic.com
Send your comments to the editor:
elizabeth.herberg@airclic.com
Note: To assure delivery of this newsletter, please add information@airclic.com to your address book or friends list.
Dodging the Obsolescence Trap
It’s easy to understand why “rocket science” has come to represent any complex task that requires innovative thinking and meticulous planning. Sending a vehicle on a voyage of millions of miles at unimaginable speeds and hitting a distant target, more-or-less dead on, is no mean feat. But rocket science is, in many ways, easier that what businesses do every day.
In some respects, rocket scientists have it easy. Their targets travel a predictable path in a virtual vacuum. And when they launch a space shot, space doesn’t shoot back. The business environment, by comparison, is utter chaos. Markets, regulations, technology, and the economy are all in constant flux. Customers and their expectations are, at best, a moving target. And competition is an ever-changing challenge. In short, business goals are moving targets, and today’s solutions may not be tomorrow’s.
Business is about change, and investments – buildings, hardware, software, and even ideas – have lifespans. Many conspire to shorten those lifespans, but in today’s cost-conscious climate, it is important to extend them, if only to lengthen the time in which you can realize a return on your investment. The benefit of longer life lies, not just in increasing financial return but also in eliminating the disruption new systems can cause. The problem is that, whether due to changing needs or changing technology, solutions start aging the moment they are purchased.
We all know the annoyance of watching an expensive new computer age, not because it no longer functions, but because it has been supplanted in the market by newer, faster, more efficient systems. Of course, if we were to replace it, we would simply get to watch the newer system age in turn. Fortunately, however, there are ways to stave off obsolescence and boost return on investment.
The first is to place the system into service as quickly as possible. Aging on the job is bad enough, but watching a system age before it is even installed is more painful by far. Second, avoid specialized equipment if possible. Customized or proprietary gear is more expensive to buy, costlier to maintain, must stay in service longer in order to cost-justify itself, and is ultimately costlier to replace. Third, look for systems that can be inexpensively upgraded in service. The more flexible the system, the less likely you are to have to invest in custom work or replace it prematurely. And, finally, look for systems that cost less up front. The formula is simple: lower cost + longer life = maximum ROI.
The AirClic mobile process automation and optimization solution is a high-performance, low-cost solution for tracking corporate assets. It adapts readily to industry-specific and customer-specific requirements without expensive proprietary equipment or custom programming and starts generating return on investment almost immediately. The solution is based on inexpensive, non-proprietary hand-held equipment, interfaces easily with existing corporate systems, and adapts to changing demands without costly upgrade or large-scale replacement. Click here for more information.
![]()
Recent report: mobile solution veterans beat competitors by 2 to 1 margin.
Field service organizations with more than two years of mobile technology experience are currently outperforming those with less than two years or no experience by a margin of 2 to 1, that’s according to the Aberdeen Group , a leading analyst and research firm.
“Field service organizations have been plagued by the inefficiencies engendered by loose connections among field technicians and critical back-office functions like customer service and accounting. Mobile technology holds — and in many cases has delivered on — the promise of seamless and zero-latency connectivity between the field and the back office,” says Mark W. Vigoroso, Aberdeen's vice president of post-sales service research and author of the Mobile Field Service Benchmark Report.
Regardless of industry, competitive maturity, or depth of mobile technology experience, Vigoroso suggested that every field service organization can take some of the following actions to drive top- and bottom-line impact from mobile technology solutions:
- Eliminate paper- and spreadsheet-based processes.
- Identify critical KPIs and track field service performance over time.
- Evaluate existing field service processes and look for ways to leverage mobile deployments to drive improvements.
- Focus first on productivity gains, then revenue gains.
- Quantify impact on end-user's company's performance.
AirClic offers a mobile process automation and optimization solution for many business-critical operations. Customers like McCall Catering, Vanguard Security and CD&L are all seeing significant ROI with their mobile solutions from AirClic.
![]()
AVW-TELAV
With more than 1,300 full-time employees and $50 million in inventory, AVW-TELAV is the convention industry’s “go-to” company for audio-visual equipment. That means AVW-TELAV is a company that’s constantly on the move—moving equipment, that is. AVW-TELAV consistently has tens of millions of dollars of equipment in transit—out of the warehouse and in trucks. Seeking a solution to manage equipment movements across multiple locations, AVW-TELAV turned to AirClic’s powerful, complete solution for wirelessly capturing, tracking, and reporting its inventory-movement transactions, and that has translated into some significant costs savings in reduction of loss write-offs and cancelled customer orders. Payback was realized within a year of purchasing AirClic. According to the company, it all adds up to tens of thousands of dollars saved each year. Click here for more information.
