Mobile technology investment a growing priority for majority of Asia-Pacific organizations: Study

Mobile technology investment will be a growing priority for up to 60% of Asia-Pacific organizations, according to Zebra Technologies Corporation’s Asia-Pacific vision study on the Future of Field Operations. The findings indicate that investments will be made in disruptive technologies and enterprise mobile devices to enhance front-line worker productivity and customer satisfaction in field operations including fleet management, field services, proof of delivery and direct store delivery workflows.

“Driven by the acceleration of e-commerce along with customer’s heightened expectations and more focus within companies on differentiating service levels, the field operations industry is rapidly adapting the way it looks at its mobile technology investments,” saidTan Aik Jin, APAC Vertical Solutions Lead, Manufacturing and Transportation & Logistics, Zebra Technologies. “Our study shows how growing challenges related to the on-demand economy drive organizations to adopt transformative, disruptive technologies such as augmented reality and intelligent labels to provide visibility and integrate business intelligence for a performance edge.”

“Based on our study, the top three trends that are driving changes for field operations across Asia-Pacific including India, are; growing expectations of performance and convenience from end customers, the replacement of paper in the field by mobile technology, and the disruptions to field operations caused by emerging technologies and faster networks,” said Deep Agarwal, Regional Sales Director of India, Zebra Technologies.“In Asia Pacific including India more than half of the organizations have a mobile-first mindset when it comes to adopting enterprise-wide mobile and emerging technologies. And these forward-thinking organizations are setting their field operations apart with three key strategies; the scaling of mobile technology and support technologies enterprise-wide, evaluating the total cost of ownership of mobile technology as a standard practice, and utilizing emerging field operations technologies more extensively to achieve a competitive edge.”

Key Survey Findings

Equipping front-line workers with enterprise mobile devices remains a priority to stay competitive.

• In Asia-Pacific, up to 44% of the organizations view mobility investment as a top priority.

• 58% of Asia-Pacific organizations are expanding mobile technology to enterprise-wide use – reaching 97% by 2023.
• From 2018 to 2023, the use of handheld mobile computers with built-in barcode scanners in Asia-Pacific is forecasted to grow by 41%, mobile printers by 60% and rugged tablets by 57%. The higher levels of inventory, shipment and asset accuracy provided by using these devices are expected to increase business revenues.

Tertiary concerns and post-sale factors are important for organizations when evaluating front-line worker enterprise mobile devices.

• Mobile-first organizations in Asia-Pacific are conducting total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis prior to a major capital expenditure on mobile technology up to 83% of the time.
• Only 34% of the survey respondents believe that consumer smartphones have better TCO than rugged devices.

Emerging technologies and faster networks are disrupting field operations.

• Mobile-first organizations in Asia-Pacific tend to be early adopters of emerging efficiency-boosting field operations technologies.
• Mobile-first organizations in Asia-Pacific are expected to:
  • Implement the use of sensors, radio frequency identification (RFID) and intelligent labels from 76% to 98% from end 2018 till 2023.
  • Make greater use of augmented reality applications from 68% to 95% from end 2018 till 2023, which can make detail-oriented workflows such as merchandising much more efficient.
  • Have greater use of blockchain from 68% to 96% from end 2018 till 2023 to track goods’ chains of custody or document service by multiple partnering firms.

Corresponding to the developments in the field operations industry, Zebra has launched a new range of enterprise-class mobile touch computing solutions, industrial tablets and high-quality mobile printer for efficient and effective field operations. The TC57 Touch Computers provide a new platform and capabilities to deliver the ultimate in enterprise-class touch computing. The TC77 series touch computer provides maximum simplicity, construction designed to withstand years of the toughest everyday use and abuse. The new Zebra L10 and R12Xplore rugged tablets offer a reliable way to capture, extract, and analyze data, especially when on the move. The new ZQ120 mobile printer, meanwhile, offers a value-for-money proposition that has the winning formula comprising; affordability, quality, versatility, durability, ‘wearability’ and ease-of-use.

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