Wireless Business Solutions for Supply Chain Management
Doing more with less, that's the goal of managers faced with increasingly tight budgets across a wide spectrum of industries. For executives at transportation and distribution companies, the undertaking is especially challenging as they seek to maximize productivity in every link of the supply chain, while reducing operating costs. To achieve these goals, smart administrators turn to Nextel Communications for wireless business solutions that streamline operations and enhance customer service by optimizing resources and processes in the supply chain. Nextel's full range of integrated voice and wireless data solutions, as well as wireless global positioning system (GPS) capabilities built directly into Nextel handsets, help transportation and distribution companies tap into real-time information to make informed decisions to better manage resource allocation and delivery routes.
Nextel Wireless Business Solutions for the Supply Chain deliver many bene-fits, including:
Reduced operating costs - Integrate Nextel Wireless Business Solutions with existing back-office and ERP applications to access inventory and order information, automate customer procurement, and improve supply chain planning and management.
Maximized resources - Combine location-based technologies with real-time data transmission to put the right vehicle in the right place at the right time. Simplify communication among drivers and depot workers so they can quickly respond to breakdowns or security issues.
Enhanced customer service - User-friendly wireless data applications simplify job entry and help match drivers and vehicles to customers' needs. Track each driver's progress and give customers reliable status reports, accurate ETAs, and unquestionable proof of delivery.
Streamlined operations - Broadcasting jobs to drivers helps eliminate the errors that can result from handwritten communication. Automate day-to-day activities - such as filling out time sheets, fuel tax reports and invoices - to reduce paperwork and accelerate cash flow.
Nextel has built a strong platform that reliably supports the critical wireless business solutions that deliver the real-time information to mobile decision makers at any location. Nextel's platform includes:
Network - Nextel provides the industry's most reliable and secure data and voice network.
Applications - Nextel provides a rich array of applications including Mobile Office Email, mobile messaging, and wireless fleet and inventory management, providing a complete cost-effective solution for supply chain managers.
Wireless Services - Nextel's 4-in-1 offering of digital cellular voice, Nationwide Direct ConnectSM - the coast-to-coast walkie-talkie feature, Nextel Online wireless data, and business messaging provide an unmatched suite of services for the enterprise. In addition, Nextel also provides businesses with wireless private and in-building custom network services.
Management and Development Tools - Nextel is simplifying the way companies manage their mobile applications. For instance, Nextel's Mobile Application Manager offers direct deployment of JavaTM applications to enterprise customers, secure download of applications, and the capability to manage your own private library of applications.
Support - Nextel maintains partnerships with companies such as Motorola, Accenture, IBM, and Sun to provide not only the latest wireless handset and Java technologies in its solutions but also the best in customer care.
With Nextel Wireless Business Solutions, distributors are better able to optimize driver routes, improve supply chain visibility, and respond to dynamic conditions in real time. Investing in wireless phones - which can be deployed at key distribution hubs - is becoming a powerful alternative to expensive traditional information systems hardware, saving companies hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nextel is the preferred wireless solution, keeping distributors connected to their vehicles, drivers, and customers, as well as in control of their company's future.
Nextel's Continued Technology and Service Differentiation
Nextel uses a packet-based platform, the integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDENTM) technology, developed by Motorola. This all-digital technology provides exceptional sound and transmission quality, using state-of-the-art methods that deliver these unparalleled Nextel services:
Digital Cellular - Customers experience crystal clear calls and guaranteed message delivery in a secure environment, no matter where they travel within the Nextel National Network.
Direct Connect® Service - This digital walkie-talkie service lets customers get right through to business associates, family, and friends without placing a phone call.
Nextel Mobile Messaging - The untethered power of the Internet keeps customers connected to clients, co-workers, and family with text, numeric, and two-way messaging.
Nextel Online® Service - Ranked No. 1 in wireless Internet service satisfaction since January 2002, according to In-Stat/MDR Group, Nextel Web-based services provide anywhere access to office or personal email, wireless-enabled Internet sites, and company databases.
GPS Capabilities - Nextel GPS solutions include features such as asset tracking, location updates, user-defined landmarks, mapping capabilities, and historical reports.
Product Innovation
In
2001, Nextel became the first wireless carrier to introduce a Java-technology-enabled
wireless phone in the United States, allowing mobile professionals to personalize
and enhance their phones with the latest business tools and network applications
to improve the quality of their professional and personal lives.
In late 2002, Nextel successfully launched the only wireless, handheld BlackBerryTM device, created by Research in Motion, that offers the full suite of Nextel wireless mobile solutions: all-digital cellular, Direct Connect digital walkie-talkie service, text and numeric messaging, email, Java technology, and Nextel Online service. In the summer of 2003, Nextel took its established flagship service, Direct Connect, nationwide, allowing customers to instantly reach contacts from Maine to Hawaii at the touch of a button.
Target Audiences
Nextel's varied products and services offer unrivaled drivers for success in key business segments and verticals.
Enterprise
Nextel serves 95 percent of America's Fortune 500 companies, helping corporations and government enterprises add value through Nextel Wireless Business Solutions and Custom Network Solutions.
General Business
Demonstrating value and return on investment is another hallmark of Nextel's dedication to business customers in the wireless world. In fact, more than 90 percent of Nextel customers are business users.
Vertical Markets
The Nextel network provides an unparalleled advantage over other wireless competitors, making it possible to run custom data applications for specialized industry segments. The focus on key industries enables Nextel to pinpoint customer needs. Collaboration with market-leading partners - such as IBM, EDS, and Microsoft - also enables Nextel to offer unique solutions and improve the way business gets done.
