McGuire’s Law

In The Power of Mobility, I feature case studies of seven companies who have successfully captured the power. Their success reflects the benefit of following the steps outlined in the book. Over the next few weeks, I’d like to provide some sneak peeks related to the featured companies. Last week I featured Xora, the software company behind Allstate GES’s successful mobilization.

Another company studied in the book is Sport Clips, one of the country’s fastest growing franchises. With franchisees around the country opening new locations and hiring new staff, it’s critical to Sport Clips’ continued growth and the value of the brand to all team members, that quality standards and an overall positive experience are realized at every location. With the help of Anyware Mobile Solutions, Sport Clips has mobilized regional personnel to help them monitor franchise performance, immediately deal with situations, and share best practices. You can read the full Sport Clips story when the book comes out this fall, but today I’d like to provide some background on Anyware.

On their website, Anyware describes themselves as “an experienced mobile business data, video, product and services company.” What does that mean? I think they answer that question in their mission statement: “Our mission is helping organizations eliminate manual processes, manage critical information, improve communications and productivity, and speed transactions for all types of business challenges.”

How do they do that? Many Anyware engagements begin with a Mobile Solution Assessment in which, during a 2 day process, Anyware understands the client’s business objectives, end user realities, existing technology infrastructure, and business processes. Based on that assessment, Anyware recommends how the business can build mobility into their business to increase profitability and competitiveness.

Anyware calls out three specific types of solutions:

• Mobile Data Solutions - building mobility into a company’s data architecture to improve processes and services.
• Mobile Video Solutions - using mobile video in ways that create real business value, such as remote collaboration and enabling less skilled field workers to tap the experience and knowledge of limited experts.
• Mobile Enabling Solutions - helping companies build mobility into their products, establish partnerships with key industry players, and market newly mobilized products.

Here are some quotes from case studies on the Anyware website to give a sense of how Anyware is helping clients capture the power of mobility:

• As the producers of Hertz Neverlost? systems, Navigation Solutions earns recurring revenue by managing an inventory in constant motion.
• Working with Navigation Solutions, Anyware designed a total inventory tracking system that increased efficiency, improved productivity and recaptured lost data - all resulting in an immediate return on investment.
• Navigation Solutions now uses rugged mobile devices equipped with barcode and infrared scanners to read and track its inventory of approximately 200,000 system assets. New user interfaces on the device make it faster and easier for personnel to navigate the mobile tracking system, and added intelligence allows them to record valuable new data about unit status and location. The addition of back-end improvements include real-time reporting and integration with existing office systems.
• With its Anyware mobile solution, Navigation Solutions has coast-to-coast visibility into its North American inventory, controls costs through improved management, and maximizes revenues by reporting accurate, complete information in real time.

• Alarmco is a large business and residential alarm system installation and monitoring company located in Las Vegas, NV.
• Alarmco?s mobile requirements were identified to be: GPS tracking of Alarmco customer?s assets. Asset tracking and identification tools. Dispatch and Fleet Automation. Sales Automation.
• Implementing the findings from the MSA was expected to eliminate the pain points in their current business processes as well as produce: Savings of at least $15K per month in field service, installation, investigation, and sales operations for mobile groupware and GPS services deployment vs. current processes. Business growth and competitive advantage through deployment of GPS and Asset Protection programs for Alarmco customers.

• The STOP AIDS Project works to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Recognized internationally for its grassroots efforts, the project conducts behavioral assessment surveys in the San Francisco community and reports findings to researchers and government.
• Committed to reporting accurate data about sexual behaviors, the STOP AIDS Project has canvassed the San Francisco community using paper questionnaires for over twenty years. Completed surveys were handed off to the city’s Department of Public Health where workers manually typed responses into a local, stand-alone database. As much as six months later, STOP AIDS got back a data dump and manually re-entered the data into their own system before generating valuable reports for the California Department of AIDS, Johns Hopkins, and the University of California, San Francisco.
• Over time, the number of questions increased to more than 100, and the paper survey itself became an issue. Often, respondents refused to take the lengthy survey. Misplaced surveys and data lost during the complex paper shuffle raised concerns about accuracy and completeness. And due to the effort involved, STOPS AIDS delivered reports only once a year.
• Anyware delivered a total mobile solution designed around its ReForm? mobile data collection platform, which includes a customized ReForm mobile survey running on Palm handhelds, instant Wi-Fi upload of survey data to centralized Anyware databases, and seamless integration with STOP AIDS’ in-house data platforms.
• Today, thanks to the ‘cool’ new mobile assessment, more respondents agree to take the survey and the data is more honest and accurate. Intelligent ReForm logic also helps streamline interviews and improve accuracy. If respondents indicate they practice safe sex, their “yes” response calls up questions about safe behaviors. A “no” response results in questions about unsafe behaviors.
• In addition, STOP AIDS personnel now upload responses directly to a secure, centralized Anyware database. With no paper and no re-keying, data loss has been virtually eliminated, further ensuring the highest accuracy. And because data is always current and available, reports are now generated every two weeks.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 3rd, 2007 at 3:43 am and is filed under Book. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.