04/03/2008 - Konica Minolta increases mobile workforce efficiency with Cognito

Improves productivity and real-time access to critical data for 270 engineers

Konica Minolta, the UK's leading document solutions company, has implemented Cognito's Mobile Workforce Management solution to significantly increase the efficiency and productivity of field operatives. The deployment enables 270 engineers to access the business' SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system via handheld devices, so they can see and add completely up-to-date information as and when needed, regardless of location.

Peter Margrave, Service Director at Konica Minolta, said: "Our engineering workforce work entirely in the field and are the backbone of our Customer Support process, so it's imperative that they are able to communicate with the service centre and access company resources as seamlessly as possible. As well as giving mobile workers access to the SAP ERP system, we're using scheduling software to deploy engineers based on their knowledge of particular products, availability and proximity to the customer. This information can be sent directly to the engineer's mobile device and they can then proceed immediately to the customer site. Our effective management of a completely integrated, end-to-end process of engineer activity, from the customer's first call to closing the call record remotely, is essential to our business success, and this is what Cognito offers us. Essentially our engineers have been able to schedule an extra customer visit a day since implementing the Cognito solution, which is obviously a big boost to productivity."

Konica Minolta UK chose Cognito as their long-term relationship with the company gives them a deep understanding of Konica's requirements, and the company's broad expertise allows them to recommend a best-fit solution. Konica Minolta has returned to Cognito following a 2004 corporate decision to use SAP NetWeaver Mobile. Unfortunately this solution was unreliable in Konica's environment, contributing to lower levels of customer service.

Margrave continues: "Cognito understands mobility and recognises that it is the mobile worker, rather than the technology, that should be at the centre of the mobile data solution. The software application we've deployed is tailored to our business requirements and we have the back-up of Cognito's support teams who manage additional communications infrastructure on our behalf, in order to ensure that we receive a real-time communications service. We have even received emails from the field staff thanking us for re-implementing the Cognito solution. Both the management team and the engineers have been really pleased with the new system."

Full integration with Konica Minolta's SAP Enterprise Resource Planning software was undertaken by Cognito's professional services team. As a result of investments in enterprise middleware tools, new consultants and training made over the past 12 months the team was able to perform more of the difficult integration work directly, rather than outsourcing to a third party. This ‘joined-up' solution moved the project forward more quickly as fewer client parties were involved.

Simon Frost, Business Development Manager at Cognito says: "When you have an organisation the size of Konica Minolta where customer service is a differentiating factor in winning and retaining new business, the end to end Cognito solution becomes really important. There are so many constituent parts to a successful mobile solution, including back office software, middleware, tailored PDA applications, the management of the communication, as well as the soft issues of project management, change management, and the support. It really pays to have one organisation like Cognito to bring all the constituent parts into one cohesive solution. Konica Minolta is now able to improve customer service through faster response times and eliminate information leakage and communication failures that can impact operating efficiencies."

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