NIGHTLINE, a delivery company, has doubled the volume of business it handles in the past four years, without increasing the number of customer service staff. It is all thanks to its use of mobile technology.
“This is a very tech-driven company and we use a mobile phone network in a number of ways,” said John Tuohy, who set up the firm in 1992. It now employs 181 people and has nine depots across the country.
When making presentations to potential customers, the sales team uses a laptop with wireless broadband. “It means we can do a demo without depending on the customer having internet access, worrying about their firewalls and waiting to get connected. We just open up our laptops and away we go,” said Tuohy.
“It works every time and confirms to the client that they are dealing with a professional company that takes considerable pride in what it does.”
Nightline has one of the largest vehicle-tracking systems in the country. It uses mobile phone and satellite technology to pinpoint the co-ordinates of every truck. “It means we know exactly where each vehicle is and that allows us to be more efficient,” he said.
The company’s latest investment in wireless technology will make it even more efficient. “Traditionally, when a parcel is signed for, the driver takes the details, goes back to HQ and uploads the information,” he said.
“With the new system, that information is uploaded by the driver on a hand-held device as it happens and customers can see on the intranet exactly when their parcel was delivered.”
The customer is given a reference number. He or she can then log on to the Nightline website using a password to track goods. Allowing internet access to such information 24 hours a day also cuts down on calls to customer service lines.
“We expect to double our throughput again in the next couple of years and, because of investment in technology, we can do it without having to grow our customer service staff,” said Tuohy. “It leaves us freer to work on refining and perfecting the business.”
New data cards, such as Vodafone’s Mobile Connect and O2 Ireland’s Mobile Data, provide high-speed internet services and e-mail access, letting users work anywhere, any time. The cards act in the same way as a mobile phone, have their own number and can be used to send and receive text messages, using the laptop keyboard.
Data is charged by volume, not by time, so users can keep their connection active for as long as required, paying only when material is sent or received.
That is just one of the new wireless technology solutions that have come on the market in recent years. Even though research indicates that a fully mobilised worker gains an extra hour of productivity a day, conveying the benefits of wireless technology to small business owners isn’t always easy.
“In many cases technology terms such as WiFi, 3G or hot spots can confuse the customer,” said Darragh Fitzgerald Selby, business solutions manager at Vodafone. WiFi (wireless fidelity) allows laptop users to log on to the internet without having to plug into any cables. Many airports, hotels and other services offer public access to WiFi networks so people can surf the web and receive e-mails. These locations are known as hot spots.
“The key is not to talk about the technology, but to look at what the customer does, their processes, the length of their sales cycles, for example, and find out why they want to mobilise,” he said.
The wireless options open to a business are either WiFi hot spots or 3G, which provides the same service over the mobile phone network.
“For fully mobile workers, such as a salesperson visiting different people each day, you need to use 3G,” said Fitzgerald Selby.
The key to finding the right solution is to base it on employee needs.
“We regularly come across situations where companies deploy a solution because they liked the look of a particular device, or because they were sold on a particular technology,” he said.
Pinewood Healthcare did it right when it updated its sales process with a mobile solution.
Traditionally, the sales reps took orders — many of which were complex due to the number of products the company offers — manually and logged them by telephone at night.
To replace this cumbersome process, it started using Vodafone’s BlackBerry in conjunction with an application provided by software company called PSI Mobile that enables remote users to process and access information almost instantly.
It meant orders could be entered directly by reps in the field, eliminating log jams in the warehouse where slack times traditionally alternated with very busy periods.
“The new system means our capacity to get stock out has increased 40%,” said sales director Paddy Kearney. The more efficient workflow has also reduced the number of queries from customers on invoices and orders by 60%.
One of the most popular wireless devices on the market is the BlackBerry, which is predominately used for e-mail but can also be configured to give remote workers access to their own company applications.
Ann Corcoran, the managing director of Limetree, an advertising and marketing agency, believes her BlackBerry helps make her business function more efficiently.
“I’m a technophobe but I simply couldn’t run my business without mine,” said Corcoran.
“In the US, they are often referred to as CrackBerrys because they are so addictive.”
Limetree, which was set up four years ago and now has a turnover of almost €1m, outsources all of its employment needs.
“We have just two staff but a network of about 70 professionals who we call on regularly, with teams of about 10 to 15 working on each project at any one time,” she said.
Wireless technology makes managing such a structure not just possible, but easy.
“We have people working all around the country in short bursts, so my mobile phone and BlackBerry are my lifelines, allowing me to be in constant contact with everybody,” she said. “Clients also know we are always available and service is central in my business.”
There are other advantages. “You don’t have to lug a laptop around with you or be anxious about what’s waiting for you back at the office if you are delayed getting back to it,” said Corcoran.
“When I go off on a job, having the BlackBerry means I don’t have 500 e-mails waiting for me when I get back. You deal with things as you go, which saves time and makes you more productive.”
Greater adaptation of wireless technology has provided a range of opportunities to more traditional businesses too.
Evelyn Raftery and Lisa Kirwan set up Delish, a coffee shop, in Limerick’s city centre two years ago. Last year, they opened a second outlet in Raheen and, in the near future, plan to franchise out their concept.
An intrinsic part of their offering is that both Delish cafes have WiFi hot spots, allowing customers with wireless-enabled laptops access to the web for free. The service costs the duo about €100 a month and has been a good investment, said Raftery.
“Delish is an upmarket coffee house and being a hot spot helps promote us to a business audience. We find, increasingly, that business people are coming in to have meetings or to do a little work in peace and quiet,” said Raftery.
“It suits us because they tend to come in during off-peak times. They buy coffee and a scone and we give them a voucher that allows them to log on for free.
“And, having enjoyed the food, we find they come back with their families, too, so having a WiFi hot spot has been a good marketing tool for us.”
