The apparent rise of “Bring Your Own Device” could enable home delivery businesses to soon be able to drive down mobile computing costs by as much as 15 per cent during busy trading periods, according to Paul Ridden, managing director of Skillweb.
The idea is to enable temporary staff to make use of their smart phones rather than supplying them with dedicated terminals.
Ridden said: “The consumerisation of IT and mobile technology has meant that increasingly employees and agents are using their own devices in the workplace.”
Parcel companies can increase the number of delivery staff by as much as 20 per cent during the run up to Christmas. At the moment they have to be supplied with dedicated terminals for tracking and data capture.
Ridden suggests that a temporary courier or delivery operative could simply download an application to a smart phone that connects directly with a carrier’s IT system and mirrors the functionality of their existing parcel tracking solution. Once a contract has been completed a remote wipe or block removes any sensitive data and prevent unauthorised access.
“Not only is there the added cost of the handheld terminal, there is also the added logistics of mobilising the solution in the lead up to the peak period,” he said.
