As part of our continuing series on defining MAM beyond technical terms, we’re taking close looks at its impact on various functions throughout an organization. Last week we talked about MAM and marketing. This week, let’s dive in to how MAM is proving to be a catalyst for faster, more efficient operations throughout an organization.
If you set the wayback machine to those dark, dire days of pre-mobility — when everyone was chained to their desktops and cell phones were just, well, phones — we were certainly amazed by the ability to make calls from the field, and to manage and manipulate spreadsheets via some clunky computer program. And for all the labor-saving power those innovations purported to have, they still failed to follow through on a big technological promise: killing paperwork.
Just a few years ago, going mobile still meant having a lot of paper in tow. Capturing info for later input, keeping track of contact lists, coordinating any number of operational aspects — there was still a lot of process that probably didn’t look much different than it did in the 70s.
The sea change brought about by genuine, app-driven mobility (as empowered by the mobile devices) that has created a genuine mobile workforce — one as capable, if not moreso, than any deskbound staff.
One of our clients, for example, is the country’s largest distributor of what’s probably the world’s most recognizable American beer. Their staff is one ideally suited for true mobile capability because, quite literally, they’re always in motion. Those delivery drivers who’ve been there a decade or two probably recall when they had to head back to the warehouse at days end and then input information from a stack of receipts confirming delivery and accounting for inventory.
Fast forward to today, and each delivery crew is equipped with a tablet loaded with their designated mobile app that allows them to quickly scan, track and otherwise completely control their stock, and its delivery status on their route. Manual spreadsheet entry is done. Everything is managed in real time, while on the move. This has meant faster, more accurate deliveries, happier retailers, and (we’re guessing) more refreshed consumers. We’ll raise a glass to that.
Another client, an organization of officials for one of the world’s major professional soccer associations, is using a mobile app to manage communication of rule changes and schedules to it’s global workforce of officials. Even more powerful, however, is the speed with which officials themselves can interact with the league’s governing body. Where they used to have to phone in or email scores after a game for official tabulation, they can now send info right from the sideline in between matches. Standings are updated immediately, allowing players, coaches and fans alike to enjoy updates as fast as any action on the field.
In both of these examples, the advantage is efficiency and the means to that efficiency is mobility — true mobility afforded by powerful enterprise mobile apps. And how are those powerful enterprise mobile apps distributed, managed and updated to ensure optimal performance when so much is at stake? If you said Mobile Application Management (MAM) as provided by App47, then you deserve a cold one and a free kick — though not necessarily in that order.
