Now, despite the relatively pricey device (a Dolphin 9500, on sale at L-TronDirect.com, is tagged at over $1,625,) you should consider it as an investment. What if the hand held computer can boost your business profitability 20% by improving order taking alone?
From my own experience, here is how a portable data collection terminal can help your business to be more productive and profitable:
Increase turnaround time
I have visited businesses using such device – in recent memory: a hardware retail store and a restaurant. Both are using the hand held computer to take orders.
The staff at the hardware retail store take my order “on the fly” – he then bring all the stuffs I ordered to be processed in cashier; all I have to do is to stroll through the store and find myself the final amount to be paid. Convenient, convenient.
In my other case – the restaurant I, with my family, dined in take orders using the portable terminal, speeding up the order-to-fulfillment process. I enjoy less waiting time, and will definitely come back again for the good food and fast serving.
More accurate package delivery
This is probably already a common use of such portable terminal: signing a package delivery receipt.
It’s probably not really a different experience for me, other than the fact that I don’t have to look for a pen to sign on the receipts. But it is definitely a great way to reduce the delivery company’s overheads in managing the receipts (including the missing ones…) and the whole goods-handling process. All are integrated into the system, online, and this (increased accuracy) increase the credibility of the delivery company, which can be translated into more business coming in.
Hassle-free survey taking
I remember while I was in the UK, a particular college student was doing a part-time job taking surveys on the high street of Birmingham, West Midlands. Maybe it’s because of my ignorance, the whole thing is new for me – she approached me for a survey and took my answers on a portable data collection terminal. Pretty cool. This way, she didn’t have to juggling with the paper-and-pen stuffs, and the survey company itself enjoy a more efficient and effective survey taking campaign. Pretty cool.
There are other uses of portable data collection terminal – despite the cost of the device, the impact on your small business profitability is measurable. Just don’t purchase the mobile computer for the sake of prestige and “fancy-ness” – doing so would only be a waste of your hard-earned cash.
Ivan Widjaya
On increasing small business profitability