For Companies Both Big and Small:

Running a Business on Smartphones

Group 4: Mon Arguelles Francis Estolano Mumty Quevedo Randy Prado Shine Villanueva Julienne Yee Shiela Zara

What is this case about?

Juxtapose two companies to show how technology can work for any company, regardless of kind of business, industry, scope, region, size, etc.

Who is CPS Energy?

Nations largest municipally owned energy utility providing both natural gas and electric service Profitable Satisfied Customer Base and Workforce

CPS Energy (Before)

Specific CPS workers had limited access to IT systems and resources if they are not in the office or warehouse. CPS workers had to be physically present to diagnose problems, which meant deploying several employees to a particular problem site. Also, the entire after sales service took several days to finish

CPS Energy Solution:

Magellan Program
Mobilize and connect its workforce to the people and systems they needed to do their jobs
Extend CPS networking infrastructure Build its own secure wi-fi networks in offices and warehouses Deploy smartphones and custom mobile applications to all CPS staffers who didnt have a laptop or other mobile device

Who is Lloyd Construction?

provides expert demolition, excavation, rolloffs, waste management, and related services. 24 year-old family business 100 employees, 30 trucks, 400 dumpsters

Lloyd Construction (Before)

The company relied on several ways of documentation spreadsheets, paper ledgers, accounting software that were rather unconsolidated. Company also relied on radios to coordinate with onsite workers.

Lloyd Construction Solution:

E-Trace
a mobile productivity suite adapted by Lloyds construction to coordinate workers and equipment. It is designed by GearWorks to work for Sprint Nextels i560 and i850 phones. However there was resistance.

Resistance to Change
Steep learning curve 18 months. Employees initially had a hard time mastering the features of the phone Accounting inconsistencies rose when E-Trace and the paperand-pencil system were used side by side during the transition period. Labor problems also rose from E-Traces real mapping and travel data. The system showed some people spending their breaks in unauthorized places.

Case Study Question #1

In what ways to smartphones help these companies be more profitable? To what extent are improvements in performance coming from revenue increases or cost reductions? Provide several examples from the case.

Both Magellan and E-Trace proved to be very beneficial to both companies!

CPS Energy

Benefits of Magellan
Using digital camera
Send only one person and take photo of the damaged part Expert diagnose the problem based on the photo; instructions sent either via sms, voice or email

Supply chain efficiency Speed up order process

Key people need not to be on the site to approve orders

Faster order times Employee and customer satisfaction are up Reduced time it takes to complete service calls

Lloyds Energy

Benefits of E-Trace
Reduced unauthorized stops
Due to integrated mapping and travel data which showed real time locator

Reduced fuel cost

Due to efficient routing

Reduced cost paid to accountant Faster process of data entry and job logging by 1 faster Improved performance by 10-12% or roughly $1M for 2007.

Case Study Question #2

The companies described in the case encountered a fair amount of resistance from employees when introducing smartphone technologies. Why do you think this happened? What could companies do to improve the reception of these initiatives? Develop two alternative propositions.

Resistance from employees

CPS Energy
Technology is costly Technology adds only a little value

Lloyds Construction
Employees had trouble learning the features of the smartphones Labor issues

Fight Resistance.. Accept Change?

Why do employees counter change?
Lets face it. Its human nature to find difficulty adjusting to change. Often we find it better to stick with what we are comfortable with. In the same way, there are employees who just couldnt accept and cope with changes.

Solutions:
Gradual introduction, instead of abrupt/radical Ample training so employees become more comfortable

Case Study Question #3

CPS Energy and Lloyds Construction used smartphones to make existing processes more efficient. How could they have used the technology to create new products and services for their customers. Include at least one recommendation for each organization.

CPS Energy
Using smartphones to pay purchases, report issues, schedule maintenance checks, etc.

Lloyds Construction
Use smartphones to schedule debris pickup online Expand into household waste, debris instead of just construction sites

Real World Activities

Question # 1
In addition to companies found in the case, others like FedEx and UPS, which have large mobile workforces, heavily use mobile communications technologies. What other companies could benefit from these innovations?

Food Delivery

Taxi Service

Hospitals

Question #2
Go online and research uses of smartphones in industries different from the ones reviewed here. Prepare a report to share your findings

Uses of Smartphones in Different Industries

Retail Sector (Clothing, etc.) Online Shopping Commercial Banking
Checking accounts Paying Bills

Uses of Smartphones in Different Industries

Newspapers Publishing
News via app instead of print

Question #3
Use the internet to research the latest technological developments in smartphones, and discuss how those could be used by companies to deliver value to customers and shareholders.

Technological Advancements in Smartphones

Larger Touchscreens Faster Processors Better cameras Software Improvements Faster Internet Connectivity Near-Field Communication (NFC) Cloud Storage Social Network Integration

General Benefits to Business

Computer functionalities Organizer Fast communication & information Navigation Networking with customers

Latest Business Smartphones in the Market

Samsung Galaxy Beam I8530 Nokia PureView 808 Blackberry Bold 9900 iPhone 4S

Beam Projector Smartphone

Features:
Android OS Projection with 15 Lumen DLP Over head Projector Support Long-lasting 2,000 mAh battery 5MP Camera with Flash Dual-Core 1 GHz Processor

Samsung Galaxy Beam I8530

Uses: For salespersons/marketers on the field Ultra-portable presentation device

Most advanced in smartphone camera technology

Features: 41 Megapixel Camera Sensor Carl Zeiss Lens Nokia Belle OS Connectivity: HDMI and DLNA outputs, NFC and Wi-Fi technology Preloaded Nokia Maps

Nokia PureView 808

Uses: For field personnel (tasks that require high quality images and videos) Ex: Media reporters, Photography Enthusiasts

Sample Images from Nokia Pureview 808

Blackberry Bold 9900 Features: QWERTY Keyboard BlackBerry OS v7 Allows pairing with BB Playbook Touch Screen NFC capabilities Easy sharing of files (just touch 2 devices)

Uses: Best messaging smartphone (emails, text messages)

Best-selling Smartphone Features: iOS Dual-core A5 chip 8MP camera iCloud Uses: For executives: Business Meetings Task Scheduling

iPhone 4S

Top iPhone Business Apps

The End. Thank You!