Consumer grade or enterprise grade devices – what’s best for you?

In the not too distant past, pickup and delivery were relatively simple and straightforward. It seemed like one of the most essential pieces of kit your drivers had to carry was a pen that worked.

But today, your pick-up and delivery process is more complex and more integrated with your other business-critical functions, like customer service and fleet management. So much now depends on getting pickup and delivery right first time, every time, that there’s a whole raft of solutions and devices from different providers available to you - all promising to maximise your business performance and deliver ROI.

Balancing ROI with operational efficiency

Juggling ROI and total cost of ownership with SLAs, operational efficiency, supply chain management, customer satisfaction and driver productivity can be a challenge. Technology is evolving all the time and new thinking (and new regulations) can make decision making even more complicated.

But no matter which mobile computing solution and provider you choose, your decision is only as good as the device your drivers take out on the road to keep connected.

In most cases you’ll have two choices:

Consumer-grade devices (or BYOD) like smartphones and tablets that may be provided by your phone company. Or enterprise-grade devices specifically designed for the harsher, more demanding fleet environment. AKA the real world you operate in.

Cut corners now, pay later

It’s easy to think that the only real difference between consumer and enterprise grade devices is the cost. And it’s true that consumer devices usually have lower upfront costs than enterprise grade devices. Another factor that may sway you towards consumer grade devices at this point is the misapprehension that they’ll be easier to use.

However, one thing you may already know from personal experience is the fragility of consumer devices. Drop a mobile phone and the chances are it breaks. Ask it to do too many things at the same time and it can freeze. For ruggedness and reliability enterprise-grade devices are unbeatable. Drop a rugged handheld, pick it up and keep using it. Enterprise-grade devices are now just as intuitive and easy to use as consumer-grade units.

The best of both worlds

Offering what is sometimes called “converged innovation,” today’s rugged devices combine the best of enterprise and consumer grade devices. They can run on open, non-proprietary platforms, such as Android, iOS, macOS and Windows 10 and offer the full range of functions, tools and applications. They can also provide additional manageability and security features that are purpose-built for the needs of harsher, more mission-critical in-cab and out-of-cab environments. These can include making sure your employees keep to business mobility rules including phone usage, restricted application downloads and blacklisted websites. Devices can be locked down while a vehicle’s in motion and we can also write dashboard software to report on your device usage – from when it was last charged to precisely how and when it’s being used.

We’re working with some of the UK’s leading transport and logistics businesses

We’re already providing devices and smarter, faster, better solutions for our logistics clients including Hermes, DX Freight, Menzies Distribution and Tuffnells. We also have long-standing, collaborative relationships with the world’s leading and most innovative EMM and MDM solutions providers including SOTI, Mobileiron and Airwatch.

Find out how our experience translates into more efficient pickup and delivery, a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and a higher ROI for your business.