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06 Sep 2016 | 15:46
Keep it in the Field — Returns Avoidance Strategy Fuels Success
We all know growth comes to companies that differentiate themselves from the competition, have long term visions and are open to change.
The Barcode Warehouse (TBW) first opened as a bar code label printing company in 1986. Today, with more than 40 managed service contracts and nearly 160,000 rugged mobile devices, tablets and smartphones in the field, we are the UK’s leading end-to-end managed service provider (MSP) for companies deploying rugged mobile computing systems.
Our proven strategy for success hinges in part on our dedication to returns avoidance. Not surprisingly, this is top-of-mind with our larger customers. They know that returning a mobile device for repair could result in late deliveries, job downtime and, ultimately, unhappy customers.
We focus on keeping devices in the field in a known operational state where they are needed most. Here are three elements to the strategy.
Proactive Help Desk
One of the keys to executing a returns avoidance program is the software that we have deployed on the devices in the field. This software enhances help desk service and remote diagnostics. The software provides a robust set of capabilities that typically fix the problem over the air, eliminating the time a customer has to wait for a replacement.
Gold Build Devices Ready to Go
Our gold build devices are literally ready out of the box. Our customers press a button, go to a log-in screen and enter their passcodes. This eliminates the need to spend valuable time going through several screens to set up the device before work can begin. The workflow applications are already downloaded onto the device. It is simply a matter of waiting for the device to download the day’s manifest or job schedule. TBW can process approximately 1,000 enterprise level gold-build, devices per day; about twice as many as any other comparable provider in the UK.
Built in Transparency - Just the Beginning
We build transparency into our deployments with customer reporting. Our customers know how their support is going, the scale of their deployment and if they are having any issues in the field. The potential here is enormous and we intend to introduce both predictive and prescriptive analytics which will enable our customers to minimize returns and maximize the value of their mobile deployments. Now that is a game change for the industry -- one that we are championing.
TBW’s dedication to returns avoidance is paying off. By constantly implementing the latest analytics capabilities we not only stay ahead of the competition, we also give our customers the mobile deployment reliability they need for profitability.
Other important components to TBW’s success will be covered in future blogs, including the importance of mobile deployment asset management and device performance.
