The Manufacturing industry is realizing benefits of mobile applications in driving productivity and optimization, reducing costs, improving efficiencies and enabling better field service, however, compared to other industries, enterprise mobility is not the top priority for most executives in the manufacturing sector.
Let’s discuss the various applications and benefits of mobility in manufacturing
Integration with CRM Software
Mobile app/CRM integration mobilizes your customer relationship management portal, making it possible to communicate with customers or process orders on the go. This is a major advantage since many manufacturing facilities and warehouses are so large that workers require golf carts, bikes and segways to get around.
Integration allows for faster order fulfilment and decreases response time on customer queries or concerns. A prompt response can go a long way toward maximizing sales or turning a one-time customer into a returning customer. And when a single order can translate into a sale worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, this type of manufacturing app can noticeably impact your bottom line.
Real-Time Inventory and Order Fulfilment
The past couple decades, manufacturers have used hand-held scanners to manage inventory and perform order fulfilment. But today, smartphone and tablet technology lets manufacturers use a single device to handle all tasks, whether it’s sending an email, attending a virtual meeting, fulfilling a customer’s order or taking inventory of stock.
Using one device for multiple tasks saves money on hardware purchases, and a real-time inventory and order fulfilment mobile app allows your team to perform tasks while automatically updating your databases, order tracking software and website.
The improved order accuracy and faster status notifications for orders will make customers happier. Plus, there’s no substitute for having a more up-to-date inventory database. You can avoid a missed sales opportunity due to an item being incorrectly labelled as out of stock or prevent a scenario where your sales team must contact a customer because the item they ordered online is discontinued.
Price Quote Generation
Manufacturers can deliver a price quote in moments with configure, price and quote (CPQ) mobile app. This allows sales representatives to generate a quote while on a sales call or during a meeting with a prospective customer.
The ability to provide an accurate price estimate is paramount, and according to Forbes, some manufacturers see a 70% conversion rate for prospective clients who receive a quote during or immediately after the sales pitch.
Production Monitoring and Management
Imagine you could program a production run from a remote location using your smartphone or tablet. With modern mobile apps and Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) technology, that’s absolutely possible.
Say you’re meeting with a client to approve the mock-up for a manufacturing run. Simply input the specs and print-ready files into your device, and it beams the data to your IoT-enabled manufacturing equipment. The production run may be finished before you even arrive back at headquarters.
A shorter production time means higher customer satisfaction and more money in cases where you can justify adding a surcharge for expedience.
Real-Time Machinery Monitoring and Repairs
Just a few minutes of downtime can impact your manufacturing facility’s bottom line, so it’s vital that your technicians are alerted immediately when a piece of machinery or equipment goes offline. What’s more, mobile apps give you the ability to tap into the sensors you’ve installed as part of your IoT interface, enabling your team to identify machinery needing preventative maintenance or servicing.
Most equipment sees a slight decrease in output (or the quality of that output) as parts begin to wear, while other parts wear out after a certain number of usage hours. You can configure your IoT sensors to issue an alert when this happens, so your techs can perform maintenance between production runs or at another time when it won’t harm your bottom line. Adding mobile integration to the equation allows for a faster response time, and the facility can resume operations within moments of the repair.
GPS Alerts
The GPS feature can enable manufacturers to track their vehicles and notify the receivers about their shipment. In a way, the mobile app for manufacturing sector contributes to controlling the supply-chain management. Industries can get the most accurate date and time of arrival of the shipment.
Apart from this, the notification feature is useful for sending real-time alerts to various teams in the industry. For example, manufacturers can get and send the data regarding product machinery and maintenance to the quality control team without any delay with the help of a mobile application.
Increasing Visibility
How can you increase the productivity of your employees? Well, out of several options, one is to track their activities on a daily or hourly basis. The GPS technology enables you to find them whenever you want. You can check whether safety personnel are at the place in your plant to avoid any mishaps.
What’s more, you can get accurate timing regarding the process of the work order. The exact information about the employee’s location can help you manage the complex operation without any confusion. In a way, the increased visibility of employees can benefit your business in the form of enhanced productivity.
Improving Accuracy
Accurate information about different aspects plays a vital role in growing your manufacturing business. Let us take an example of the employee productivity. How about getting the detail of completed tasks of an employee in the given time period? It certainly enables you to manage the business operations more efficiently.
Also, mobile apps can provide the accurate data on demand. It eliminates the probability of human errors. You can remain assured of accessibility and accuracy of company data for the management as well as other employees. In a way, bespoke apps can help your business perform well.
Conclusion
Mobile apps bring to your fingertips the biggest things in the world, either tangible or intangible. To the manufacturing industry, the time and personnel occupied the information required is bound by the traditional methods of working. With the acceptance of mobile apps in the manufacturing industries, they finally have a chance of breaking off from old branches and actually concentrating on the things those human personnel is really required for.
We at AppleTech have the experience and expertise in building portals, mobile and web applications for the manufacturing industry as well as many other domains. Come to us with your idea and watch it develop into a solution.
