Mobility is a top priority among warehousing and distribution companies. These businesses are integrating mobility with their legacy enterprise resource planning systems or they are implementing new cloud-based systems with built-in mobility features.

Every day, the world gets more mobile. As smartphone capabilities increase, mobility makes further inroads into all kinds of places you might not expect. Smartphones are used in hospitals to track patients. Ordinary smartphones can be used as tour guides in museums and parks. Print ads at bus stops include a tag for smartphones to get more information. You can find a smartphone in a baby’s crib being used as a baby monitor. Mobility is no longer revolutionary, it’s expected; and it’s expected with ERP.

Mobile ERP is Easier in the Cloud

Cloud applications have made real-time, anywhere access a reality for enterprise software and the systems connected to it. Gone are the days when your team was tied to their terminals to answer customer calls, take orders, or respond to customer queries. Today’s employees may be on the road, visiting customers or at the warehouse, but they’re still fully connected to the home office via mobile ERP solutions.

According to an IDG survey conducted on behalf of Sage, the top concerns are integrating new technology with legacy systems, automating business processes to better manage cash flow, and using mobile technology to make sales and customer service more efficient.

In fact, fully 72 percent of respondents indicated they’ve shifted their priorities to include integrating mobile channels and ecommerce to improve sales and customer service. It’s a big priority, and an important one in an era in which real-time anywhere access via mobile devices has become commonplace.

How Mobile ERP Software Boosts Customer Service and Sales

When customers call, they don’t want their message to go to voicemail. They expect to speak immediately with their service representative. They want to deal with someone they know, not an anonymous customer service rep working in some call center miles away from your building. It’s not just a matter of answering the phones, either. People demand answers—now!

Fortunately, with mobile ERP software, those answers are at all employee’s fingertips. New cloud-based software can be accessed anywhere, anytime. As long as you have Internet access, you can look up an account, check on payments and delivery dates, and confirm inventory levels for anxious customers.

Success for Those Who Invest in Mobile ERP

When warehousing and distribution companies invest in mobile solutions, they see significant improvements in customer satisfaction, resulting in increased revenue. Some improvements you may potentially see include:

• Faster response times to customer inquiries and complaints
• Improved customer satisfaction
• Enhanced retention rates among existing customers
• Increased reorders among existing customers
• Lower complaint volume as customers receive better information

Clearly, investing in mobile ERP systems to improve sales and customer service is a win-win for most manufacturing businesses. When your sales and service teams have real-time information at their fingertips, they can do a better job serving customers, and that translates into satisfied customers who will return to order more.

Learn more about how mobile enterprise resource planning systems can make an impact on your warehousing and distribution business by downloading our whitepaper, Supporting Workplace Mobility with ERP.

Positive Vision can help you implement mobile solutions in your business. Our ERP software offerings include Sage 300 and SYSPRO. New features in Sage 300 2016 make mobility easier than ever. With SYSPRO, a cloud-based ERP system, mobility is a primary feature. Learn more about SYSPRO Espresso,  a mobile solution, by downloading our brochure here.

Contact us to learn how mobile ERP can make an impact on your business.