The Problem
Buses in certain parts of San Francisco have difficulty keeping up with the posted schedule, especially in rush hours. Generally, buses are schedule to arrive every 20 minutes, but, at times, passengers may have to wait 30 to 40 minutes. The scheduled times become meaningless.
The Solution
San Francisco bus riders carrying an Internet-enabled wireless device such as a cell phone or Palm (or other) PDA can quickly find out when a bus will actually arrive at a particular bus stop. They can find not only the scheduled arrival time, but also the actual one. The system tracks public transportation buses in real time. Knowing where each bus is and factoring in traffic patterns and weather reports, NextBus (nextbus.com) calculates the estimated arrival time of the bus to each bus stop on the route. The arrival times are also displayed on the Internet and on a screen are also displayed on the Internet and on a screen at each bus stop.
The NextBus system is used successfully in several other cities around the United States, in Finland, and in several other countries. It is an example of location-based e-commerce, which is a major part of mobile commerce.
Exhibit 8.1 (page 334) shows how the NextBus system works. The core of the NextBus system is the GPS satellite that let the NextBus information center know where a bus is. Based on a bus’s location, the scheduled arrival time at each stop can be calculated. Users can access the information from their cell phones or PCs, anytime, anywhere.
Currently, NextBus is an ad-free customer services, but in the near future advertising may be added. As the system knows exactly where you are when you request information and how much time you have until your next bus, it may send you to the nearest Starbucks for a cup of coffee, giving you an electronic $1 discount coupon.
The Results
Passengers in San Francisco are happy with the system; worries about missing the bus are diminished. Passengers may even discover they have time for a cup of coffee before the bus arrives! In rural areas in Finland, where buses are infrequent and it is very Cold in winter, passengers can stay in a warm coffee- house not far from the bus stop rather than waiting in the cold for a bus that may be an hour late. Also, using the system, a bus company can do better scheduling, arrange for extra buses when needed, and improve its operations.
What We Can Learn...
This opening vignette demonstrates an application of one of the most talked-about areas of EC, mobile commerce. Its most significant feature is that the service is provided to the customer wherever they are located. This capability, which is not available in regular EC, may change many things in our lives. The technological basis of mobile commerce, its major applications, and its limitations are the subject of this chapter.
Sources: Compiled from Itsa.org/ITSNEWS.NSF, August 10, 2001, P. Murphy, September 7, 1999, and nextbus.com.
Read More..
Friday, January 15, 2010
MOBILE WORKPLACE APPLICATIONS
The following are two scenarios of wireless applications for mobile employees.
Sales Support
Linda is a member of the field sales team at Theru Tools (a fictitious company name). Each day she drives out to her customers in a van stocked with products. For each sale, she has to note the customer, the number and type of products sold, and any special discounts made. This used to be done manually, and many errors were made, leading to customer complaints and lost sales.
The company was reluctant to invest in laptops for such a limited applications, but Linda wanted the speed and reliability of automation. With the help of SAP, Theru was able to implement a system using low-cost but powerful handheld wireless devices.
Using Mobile Sales (an application for handhelds), accessed via the mysap.com Mobile Workplace, Linda and her coworkers in the field now have information at their fingertips, including updates on new products and special promotions. She can place orders without delay and get immediate feedback on product availability and delivery times. What’s more, the system at headquarters can prompt Linda and make plausibility checks on the orders, eliminating many of the errors associated with the manual process. It can also check if she is giving the right discounts to the right customer, and immediately trigger the invoicing process or print out a receipt on the spot.
Customer Service Support
Michael works for Euroblast, Inc. (a fictitious company name) as a service engineer. It is his job to provide time-critical maintenance and support for the company’s customer’s electromechanical control systems. To do so, he needs to know immediately when a customer’s system is faltering, what is malfunctioning, and what type of service contract is in effect for billing purposes.
Using SAP’s Mobile Service, Michael does not need to carry all of this information in his head, but instead has it in the palm of his hand. With only a few taps of the stylus, Michael accesses the mysap.com Mobile Workplace for all the data he requires, including the name and address of the next customer he should visit, equipment specifications, parts inventory data, and so forth.
Once he has completed the job, he can report back on the time and materials he used, and this data can be employed for timely billing and service quality analysis. In addition, his company is able to keep track of his progress and monitor any major fluctuations in activities. As a result, both Michael and his supervisors are better informed and better able to serve the customer.
Sources: Compiled from “CRM and the mySAP.com Mobile Workplace,” SAP AG Corp., 2000 (a publicly available brochure). Read More..
Sales Support
Linda is a member of the field sales team at Theru Tools (a fictitious company name). Each day she drives out to her customers in a van stocked with products. For each sale, she has to note the customer, the number and type of products sold, and any special discounts made. This used to be done manually, and many errors were made, leading to customer complaints and lost sales.
The company was reluctant to invest in laptops for such a limited applications, but Linda wanted the speed and reliability of automation. With the help of SAP, Theru was able to implement a system using low-cost but powerful handheld wireless devices.
Using Mobile Sales (an application for handhelds), accessed via the mysap.com Mobile Workplace, Linda and her coworkers in the field now have information at their fingertips, including updates on new products and special promotions. She can place orders without delay and get immediate feedback on product availability and delivery times. What’s more, the system at headquarters can prompt Linda and make plausibility checks on the orders, eliminating many of the errors associated with the manual process. It can also check if she is giving the right discounts to the right customer, and immediately trigger the invoicing process or print out a receipt on the spot.
Customer Service Support
Michael works for Euroblast, Inc. (a fictitious company name) as a service engineer. It is his job to provide time-critical maintenance and support for the company’s customer’s electromechanical control systems. To do so, he needs to know immediately when a customer’s system is faltering, what is malfunctioning, and what type of service contract is in effect for billing purposes.
Using SAP’s Mobile Service, Michael does not need to carry all of this information in his head, but instead has it in the palm of his hand. With only a few taps of the stylus, Michael accesses the mysap.com Mobile Workplace for all the data he requires, including the name and address of the next customer he should visit, equipment specifications, parts inventory data, and so forth.
Once he has completed the job, he can report back on the time and materials he used, and this data can be employed for timely billing and service quality analysis. In addition, his company is able to keep track of his progress and monitor any major fluctuations in activities. As a result, both Michael and his supervisors are better informed and better able to serve the customer.
Sources: Compiled from “CRM and the mySAP.com Mobile Workplace,” SAP AG Corp., 2000 (a publicly available brochure). Read More..
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