Modern Materials Handling - October 2011

modern 60 Seconds with...David KrebsVDC ResearchTitle: Vice president of mobile & wireless divisionLocation: Natick, Mass.Experience: 12 years at VDCPrimary Focus: Enterprise and governmentmobilityModern: We’ve heard a lot about mobility over thelast year, especially in the consumer world, thanksto tablets, smart phones and solutions like mobilebanking. What does mobility mean in the supplychain world?Krebs: Fundamentally, I don’t think mobility in the supplychain has changed. It’s still the right information at theright point to support the right decision. For years, we’vetalked about mobile computing as a critical access andentry mechanism to the data that supports businessprocesses. That remains unchanged. Mobility is aboutfreedom. It’s about fluidity. And it’s about untetheringpeople from workstations. It’s not yet about your latestand greatest smart phone on the shop floor becausethose devices can’t support the rigors of an industrialenvironment. We still see purpose-built devices tosupport workflows on the shop floor.Modern: Is mobility growing and, if so, what’s drivingthe growth?Krebs: Yes, it’s growing. There is an acute focus onmobility, and I think in part that’s a result of consumerstories, like Apple-inspired smart phone and tablettechnologies. The growth is also a reflection of the factthat mobile technology has played a role in enabling thereal-time business. We want to make a decision whereverwe might be, whether that’s at work, in an airport or at thebeach. I think the big realization is that mobile computingcan free us to spend more time on the areas where weshould be spending more time, like being in front ofcustomers or managing assets instead of doing the moreChris Lewismundane things like looking for assets. The other changeis that mobility was once viewed as a point solution,such as picking in the warehouse. Now, organizations arelooking at mobility more strategically. They are lookingat all of their workflows and asking whether mobility canaddress operational pain points and efficiencies.Modern: Is business adopting smart phones and tabletson the floor or in logistics?Krebs: In the warehouse and on the shop floor,ruggedized tablets may have a role to play, but it willbe as a mounted solution and not a handheld solution.Where these devices are seeing an uptake is in very highlycustomer-centric situations. The interface and sleeknessof the devices makes them appealing candidates forthose applications. They’re not great for daylight visibility;they’re not great in a hot environment; and they’renot great in an industrial environment. Organizationsare asking questions about them, but I think there areelements of a rugged mobile computer that you can’treplicate in a tablet or smart phone. M50 O c t o b e r 2 0 1 1 / Modern Materials Handling mmh.com