Mobile Business Process Optimization By Kevin Benedict, MobileDataforce

How do you improve upon a paper forms based business process? The plumber, electrician, and appliance repair person have been using a clipboard with paper work orders/service requests forms forever. How do you improve upon this tried and true process? Kevin Benedict provides some ideas for your consideration in this article.

Here are a few of Benedict's ideas:

• The office can wirelessly dispatch new work orders directly to a handheld device
• Small service companies, with an owner/operator, can take calls from customers while on the road and enter new work orders on their mobile PDA phones. These work orders can be synchronized with the office and dispatched immediately to other service technicians
• Wireless work orders can be integrated straight into office database applications and accounting systems so there is no additional paperwork to be entered
• The wireless work orders can contain all the information on the customer, warranties, equipment type and model, history of the account, driving directions, etc. No need to call the service technician on the phone and dictate all the information.