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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?.
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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? • Nation’s 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 didn’t have a laptop or other mobile device
Who is Lloyd Construction? • provides expert demolition, excavation, roll-offs, 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 Lloyd’s construction to coordinate workers and equipment. • It is designed by GearWorks to work for Sprint Nextel’s 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 paper-and-pencil system were used side by side during the transition period. • Labor problems also rose from E-Trace’s real mapping and travel data. The system showed some people spending their breaks in unauthorized places.
Case Study Question #1In 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 EnergyBenefits 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
Lloyd’s EnergyBenefits 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 ½ faster • Improved performance by 10-12% or roughly $1M for 2007.
Case Study Question #2The 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 • Lloyd’s Construction • Employees had trouble learning the features of the smartphones • Labor issues
Fight Resistance.. Accept Change? • Why do employees counter change? Let’s face it. It’s 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 couldn’t accept and cope with changes. • Solutions: • Gradual introduction, instead of abrupt/radical • Ample training so employees become more comfortable
Case Study Question #3CPS Energy and Lloyd’s 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. • Lloyd’s Construction • Use smartphones to schedule debris pickup online • Expand into household waste, debris instead of just construction sites
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 Smartphonesin the Market • Samsung Galaxy Beam I8530 • Nokia PureView 808 • Blackberry Bold 9900 • iPhone 4S
Beam Projector Smartphone Samsung Galaxy Beam I8530 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 Uses: For salespersons/marketers on the field Ultra-portable presentation device
Most advanced in smartphone camera technology Nokia PureView 808 Features: 41 Megapixel Camera Sensor Carl Zeiss Lens Nokia Belle OS Connectivity: HDMI and DLNA outputs, NFC and Wi-Fi technology Preloaded Nokia Maps Uses: For field personnel (tasks that require high quality images and videos) Ex: Media reporters, Photography Enthusiasts
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 iPhone 4S Features: iOS Dual-core A5 chip 8MP camera iCloud Uses: For executives: Business Meetings Task Scheduling