The Mobile Pocket Office

Can you run your company out of your pocket? Perhaps not entirely, but there are many business
functions today that can be performed using an iPhone, iPad, or Android mobile handheld device. The
smartphone has been called the “Swiss Army knife of the digital age.” A flick of the finger turns it into a
web browser, a telephone, a camera, a music or video player, an e-mail and messaging machine, and,
increasingly, a gateway into corporate systems. New software applications for document sharing,
collaboration, sales, order processing, inventory management, and production monitoring make these
devices even more versatile business tools.
Mobile pocket offices that fit into a purse or coat pocket are helping to run companies large and small.
Sonic Automotive is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States with more than 100
dealerships in 14 states. Every year Sonic sells 250,000 new and used cars from approximately 25
different automotive brands, and it also sells auto parts and maintenance, warranty, collision, and vehicle
financing services. Sonic Automotive managers and employees do much of their work on the iPhone and
iPad. Sonic developed several custom iPhone and iPad applications to speed up sales and service. Virtual
Lot, a dealer inventory app, lets sales associates quickly search for vehicles held in inventory by all Sonic
dealerships. They have immediate access to vehicle information, pricing, trade-in values, interest rates,
special promotions, financing, and what competitors are charging for identical vehicles. The associates
can quickly find the best selection for each customer and often offer far more choices than the
competition. Dealers are not limited to selling only their own inventory.
A mobile app called the Sonic Inventory Management System (SIMS) has speeded up and simplified
trade-in appraisals and pricing. Sonic staff use their iPhones or iPads to take photos of a car, input the
vehicle identification number (VIN) and mileage, and note any issues. The data are transmitted to
corporate headquarters, which can quickly appraise the car. A Service Pad app simplifies the steps in
repair and warranty work. In the past, customers with cars requiring repairs had to go inside the dealership
and sit at a desk with a Sonic staff member who wrote up the repair order by hand. Now the Sonic staff
members go outside to the customer's vehicle and enter the repair order on an iPad on the spot.
SKF is a global engineering company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, with 140 manufacturing
sites in 32 countries and 48,500 employees worldwide. SKF produces bearings, seals, lubrication systems,
and services used in more than 40 industries, including mining, transportation, and manufacturing. SKF
has developed more than 30 custom iPhone and iPad applications for streamlining workflows and
accessing critical corporate data from anywhere in the world. For example, a virtual reality app uses the
iPhone or iPad camera to identify a factory machine and produce a 3-D overlay of the SKF parts it
contains. A sensor-driven app called Shaft Align is used by SKF service teams and customers in the field.
Shaft Align connects via wireless Bluetooth sensors to a piece of machinery such as a motor-driven fan to
ensure that the drive shaft is running in proper alignment. If not, the app generates step-by-step
instructions and a 3-D rendering to show how to manually align the motor. Then it checks the work and
produces a report. A mobile app called MOST enables factory operators to monitor some SKF factory
production lines.
MOST links to the back-end systems running the machinery and provides operators with key pieces of
data. Operators using this mobile app are able to use secure instant messaging to communicate with
managers and each other, update maintenance logs, and track products in real time as they move through
the factory line. SKF's Shelf mobile app allows sales engineers and customers to access on demand more
than 5,000 pieces of product literature, catalogs, product specifications, and interactive marketing
materials. Sales teams can use Shelf to create custom “shelves” to organize, annotate, and share materials
with customers right from their iPhones or iPads. The iPhone, iPad, and Shelf app save company sales
engineers as much as 25 minutes per day on processes and paperwork, freeing them up to spend more time
in the field supporting customers. This increase in productivity is equivalent to putting 200 more sales
engineers in the field. SKF auditors perform about 60 audits per year, and each audit used to take more
than a month to complete.
With the SKF Data Collect app, auditors are able to use their iPads to collect data and present customers
with detailed reports instantly. SKF Seals offers specifications and information about SKF's machined and
injection-molded seals and plastic parts, while the Seal Select app helps users select seals and accessories
using several different input parameters to find the right solution for their needs.
Sources: “Sonic Automotive: Driving Growth with iPhone and iPad” and “Driving Innovation in the Factory and in the Field with iOS,”
iPhone in Business, www.apple.com, accessed March 31, 2016; www.skf.com, accessed March 31, 2016; www.sonicautomotive.com, accessed
March 31, 2016; and “Why the Mobile Pocket Office Is Good For Business,” ITBusinesEdge.com, accessed March 6, 2015.

Questions:
1. What kinds of applications are described here? How do they improve operational efficiency and
decision making?

The applications that are described here are mobile desktop applications that create a platform for the
virtual office. They support most business functions such as document sharing, collaboration, sales, order
processing, inventory management, production tracking, auditing and data collection. They improve
operational efficiency and decision making because they give an overview of all business functions.

2. Identify the problems that businesses in this case study solved by using mobile digital devices.

The problem solved by using mobile digital devices is that most of the time-consuming and costly manual
operations can be solved with more accuracy and speed. This is a kind of automation through artificial
intelligence. There will be less human connection, so that errors and all human-made problems will be
reduced.

3. What kinds of businesses are most likely to benefit from equipping their employees with mobile
digital devices such as iPhones and iPads?
Software related companies, investment banking, e-commerce, accounting and auditing companies will
benefit from this.