Wireless and mobile technology refer to ways of communicating on radio frequencies and electromagnetic waves without the use of wires. Communications done on wireless travel via electromagnetic waves like satellite (for very long distances), radio frequencies (for long distances), and infrared (for short distances). To make the operators work reliably there are some standards and defined parameters for wireless operations. The technology has a wider use, right from the operations done with television remote control confined to a room, to using cell phone across countries, the technology has made lives easier and enjoyable. The technology is useful in many ways, the obvious one being non-restricted to mobility - which means one does not need to be restricted to a certain place to access internet, speak to someone, or even access data on their devices (Pinola, 2016).
E-Commerce – Shopping over the mobile using various APPS available – Giving access to shopping over the mobile is one of the greatest achievement of the century. Users find it so attractive of an option that nowadays most purchases are carried out over the internet as opposed to spending time in shops (ComputerWeekly, 2016). Thus the number of shoppers has increased phenomenally.
Being Social – Due to the access of internet on devices, people have become more social than they usually were. Social media is not only used by used by people in personal interest, but it is also used by companies to launch their products, get reviews, get the users attention before launch which in turn boost sales and after sales. It also helps increase the number of users for a product.
Networking – The interactive nature of communication allows people to network and communicate with possible business prospects, send quotations online and get responses at a very fast pace. This has shortened the sales timeframe. Real-time information sharing also helps in handling customer grudges, reacting to problems and making a customer experience positive.
Delta’s journey to implementing wireless and mobile technologies has reaped many benefits for the company and is rated as “World's Most Admired Companies” in the list of airline companies. The technological advancements have been in many areas (Lines, 2012). The company has announced plan to invest more than $2 billion in enhanced global products, services and airport facilities through 2013.
In-flight experience: The airlines has Wi-Fi on more domestic flights and smartphone apps with innovative features including baggage tracking and airport check-in. of your hand to track your bag at 30,000 feet or check the status of your connecting flight, it helps eliminate the stress of travel and puts customers in control.
Social: The 24-hour customer service through its Twitter handle “@DeltaAssist” which is available in multiple languages. Customers can book tickets directly through Facebook. The “Fly Delta” app on the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Windows versions that help in e-checking, tracking and paying for luggage. In addition the app provides alerts on aircraft details.
I have chosen P&G as the company of my choice, which is one of the largest consumer products companies in the world. The company has gone digital in all its operations to improve its relationships with its customers, manufacturers, and retailers (Digital Operations for the Digital Business, 2016).
Getting real-time visibility for feedback and customer comments: The company had started a toll-free number to listen to customer’s voice and comments. They use real-time analytics to sort the type of comments and for which products. This helps to understand which products are working and which are not. That is how they could know excel their marketing efforts(McKinsey & Company, 2011).
Enhancement of productivity: The P&G plants to stores are digitized everywhere. In the P&G manufacturing facilities, for example, employees use iPads to get the production line data in real time and pass it on in case there is an issue. They also envision to get a real-time visibility into where a particular product is in the whole chain. The company has also integrated their finance with operations to one integrated picture of the whole facility. Even for transportation needs the company has integrated all its inbound and outbound shipment that can track and trace products during transit or in distribution centers.
Futuristic view: The company’s innovation strategies are also digitized. For designing and getting the products hit the manufacturing floor the company has shortened the time-to-manufacture and thus the time-to market. They use virtualization techniques to have trails on their products which are used by human like disposable diapers. They use engineering technologies heavily in their R&D efforts.
According to me both the companies are using technology in the best possible way, but I still prefer P&G over Delta. The prime reason is the company manages some 41 brands under its name, which is a tedious task (Pgshop.com, 2016). Enabling manufacturing facilities and websites for such a large company requires a lot of effort and commitment. In addition, the company is very old (established in 1837). For old companies change do not come easily, they need to work on various aspects people and processes to get to a place P&G is now. Getting mobile with employees in manufacturing facility, to dashboards in boardrooms to socially available via social media to handle complaints and requirements, and being fully digitized at all levels of operations is a challenging task, achieved successfully by the company.
The major explosion today happened in area of internet and the proliferation of data. Since the data starts coming from everywhere, assimilating it, analyzing it and putting it back to the enterprise applications with meaningful outputs is a challenge. Companies who are successfully doing it are the companies who have got rid of the challenge. The wireless and communication technologies only help in getting more data, but then a series of systems are required to feed it back to the enterprise applications. Companies take help of Information Technology companies to help them with software that can synthesize the create meaningful outputs for the company executives, customers and the users themselves. IT companies like Accenture, Cognizant, TCS and many other help the manufacturers, retailers, OEMs gain advantage of the existing technologies. They provide solutions to operational systems and other enterprise systems.
Citation:
Pinola, M. (2016). What Does the Term "Wireless" Mean?. About.com Tech. Retrieved 20 February 2016, from http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/glossary/g/wireless.htm
ComputerWeekly,. (2016). How can wireless models help my business?. Retrieved 20 February 2016, from http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/How-can-wireless-models-help-my-business
Lines, D. (2012). Delta Named Top Tech-Friendly U.S. Airline. Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 20 February 2016, from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/delta-named-top-tech-friendly-us-airline-137664258.html
McKinsey & Company,. (2011). Inside P&G’s digital revolution. Retrieved 20 February 2016, from http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/inside-p-and-ampgs-digital-revolution
Pgshop.com,. (2016). P&G Shop | Save on Your Favorite Procter and Gamble Brands. Retrieved 20 February 2016, from http://www.pgshop.com/
Digital Operations for the Digital Business. (2016) (1st ed.). Retrieved from https://www.accenture.com/in-en/~/media/Accenture/Conversion-Assets/DotCom/Documents/Global/PDF/Operations_1/Accenture-Digital-Operations-for-the-Digital-Business.pdf;
