Proactive Use – Making the Most of Automation
Mobile Device Management in Industry and Logistics
The requirements for mobile device management in industrial and logistics applications differ from those in sales or controlling. Professional and standardized solutions are needed that reflect specific industrial requirements for the support of various business processes.
In manufacturing companies, BYOD plays a subordinate role. Instead, it is essential to significantly improve productivity and availability metrics in the company when using mobile devices. This is enabled by the proactive management of an heterogeneous infrastructure with industrial terminals, such as vehicle terminals, tablets, scanners, etc.
Proactive monitoring – ensuring availability of devices
Mobile scanners for tracking goods are used in picking and outgoing goods processes. The battery management of mobile devices is a special challenge in multi-shift operations. If scanners are not fully charged or their performance decreases, fewer goods can leave logistics. This results in the service level being lowered.
Most of these situations are addressed reactively in companies. MDM systems offer solutions by proactively monitoring battery power and other states, such as: temperature measurements in freezer compartments to ensure that the Touch does not freeze; tracking barcode scan numbers to reveal the remaining life of the respective scanner. Tracking usage can therefore reveal in advance when a terminal really needs to be replaced. This ensures timely technical availability and optimum life-cycle management.
Topic
Managing mobile devices with one platform
- Proactive monitoring
- Ensuring availability
- Using automation
- Embedding mobile applications
- Global management
Objectives
- Preventing process follow-up costs
- Increasing reliability
- Reduction in TCO through Managed Services
- Increasing service levels
- Improving user support
Mobile ERP and third-party applications ensure the necessary output in production and logistics on a daily basis. It is therefore all the more alarming that the applications rarely have the latest release. "Never change a running system" is obviously the motto here. However, this has implications for the security of the processes. If the roll-out of a new application is planned, the installation and configuration usually takes place on site over the weekend or, in the worst case, during live operation. Since this requires a lot of personnel at each site, usually only one site is served at a time.
MDM systems enable IT administrators to integrate new mobile applications into the central ERP without additional middleware and to establish M2M communication. The deployment of applications can be simulated in advance on all industrial end devices and rolled out across sites at the same time.
Barcode-supported installation routines that the user can perform himself reduce the effort considerably. Experience has shown that the safe and comprehensive introduction of a new application can be shortened by several days.
A user who gets stuck in a process will urgently need help – even at night or on weekends. Mobile devices operated by changing employees regularly lead to requests directed at IT support or the specialist department. Typical issues are incorrect entries or insufficient connectivity, such as for on-demand printing of a label for picking. A label that cannot be printed leads to delays in the downstream operations. Approximately 70% of all support requests in such processes relate to business-critical activities. A possible approach: Technically qualified call agents answer the requests of these users remotely via a standardized process around the clock. This enables companies to reduce their risks and above all possible consequential costs due to penalties or delayed deliveries.
In production, every minute counts. The production manager wants to know if the machine is processing the correct order in the right quantity and proven quality, as well as if the goods can be delivered to the customer on the same day. Add-on solutions visualize current and future production orders from SAP on mobile ruggedized tablets while passing by. The direct interaction with production equipment saves time and unnecessary paths. The increased transparency ensures the high service level of the company, which is able to react to unplanned events in real time through online applications with intelligent connectivity. In addition, mobile maintenance and customer service processes in SAP® increase quality standards. Response and decision times of the field service can be significantly reduced with the mobile SAP solution.
In-house operation of MDM requires a high-performance server environment, a holistic security concept (encryption and policies) and IT resources that are subject to regular training. Companies are therefore faced with the question of whether to implement MDM in-house or outsource the processes.
Small businesses employ a limited number of devices that the IT manager is familiar with. Here you only need a device-specific remote access. However, things look different in companies with more than 10,000 devices and multiple locations. As always, the question is: How do the benefits weigh against the capital expenditure? In medium to large companies with over four locations and a total of more than 2,000 mobile devices, a Managed Service solution may be the more economical solution. Rapid roll-out and high scalability, security and availability of the platform are arguments that point to this solution. Technical trained staff are available if companies need support in special issues of regular operation. An accompanied Go-Live Support by external specialists minimizes friction losses, downtimes and operator errors.
Unified Endpoint Management System
The Unified Endpoint Management System offers a holistic solution for the central administration of end devices. Unified Endpoint Management is a unified management interface that centrally manages mobile and stationary devices with different operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows). Functions such as the central provision of configurations, management profiles, device conformity and data protection are supported. Business and private data are strictly separated for the use of BYOD devices. The UEM system automatically provides end devices with all required settings in a few minutes and in compliance with data protection requirements, which are then fully operational.
We would be happy to introduce you to the advantages of a Unified Endpoint Management System in a personal meeting. Give us a call.
