Undoubtedly, our business world is rapidly turning mobile-first. Smartphones and tablets are a standard deployment. In fact, several remote business operations are heavily dependent on the connectivity brought about by mobile devices. The logistics industry is one such sector that has benefitted a lot from the adoption of mobile devices for work. Logistics companies operate with countless drivers that transport numerous shipments daily. Mobile devices help logistics businesses to stay connected with their moving fleets. However, the failure to manage multitudes of mobile devices issued to the drivers and the corporate data that they contain can land the logistics companies in great trouble. Thankfully there’s a solution to this problem – MDM solutions for logistics.
Common Digitalization Challenges Faced by the Logistics Companies
There are several benefits of providing mobile devices to your drivers. It helps your on-site staff to stay connected with your drivers at all times. However, implementing mobile devices on such a large scale is a complex task. It is important for logistics companies to evaluate the risks and challenges involved in deploying mobile devices on an organizational level.
Let’s look at some of the common challenges that logistics companies face when providing mobile devices to their drivers:
Fragmentation
The logistics sector is challenged with seamless coordination and constant visibility of shipments. A majority of the logistics workforce operates remotely. The entire pipeline from the manufacturers to the warehousing staff, drivers and delivery agents are fragmented. Having a centralized view of the employees and gaining control of the device usage can be a complex task.
Corporate Security Risks
With several users accessing the corporate resources and networks from diverse locations, businesses are at a high risk of encountering security threats such as data loss. Simply providing drivers with mobile devices is not enough. Logistics companies need to take extra measures to secure their corporate data. Keeping a tab on security incidents and running compliance checks on devices remotely can be a tedious task.
Decreased Productivity
Smartphones or tablets powered by the internet present plenty of distractions for the drivers. This may eventually result in lowered productivity. Businesses need to ensure that their mobile devices are being used for work purposes only, and not for entertainment. Logistics companies are challenged with constantly tracking their employees’ performances. Ensuring the correct usage of multitudes of mobile devices is a complex task.
Hampered Customer Service
The logistics industry runs on timely and efficient deliveries. Logistics companies deploy mobile devices for various purposes and with diverse applications. Your drivers may not always be well-versed with using these digital devices and the business apps on them. The inability to navigate mobile devices, running into device issues, inability to reach out to the company IT teams to have the issues fixed and feeling unengaged are some of the prime reasons for a lowered productivity. A drop in productivity may lead to delayed deliveries and decreased customer satisfaction.
6 Key Reasons Why Businesses Should Adopt MDM Solutions for Logistics?
To make the most of the deployed mobile devices, it is crucial for logistics companies to implement a solution that helps them manage their devices remotely. MDM Solutions for logistics offer powerful remote device management capabilities that help businesses manage and monitor their driver fleet throughout.
Here are the top reasons why your logistics business requires an MDM solution:
Real-Time Visibility of Shipments
Your drivers travel hundreds of miles to deliver every shipment. MDM solutions help logistics companies keep a constant track of their drivers’ locations. You can obtain a birds-eye view of your dispersed shipments, track their speed, and record their pitstops using GPS-based location tracking. Having detailed insights about the shipment’s real-time location helps in efficient fleet management. Your warehousing staff can be notified of the estimated time of the shipment arrival. Your customers too can be given an approximate ETA of the deliveries of their goods.
Minimized System Downtime
Not all drivers are tech-savvy enough to navigate their mobile devices effortlessly. More often than not, drivers may experience technical issues with their digital devices. MDM solutions for logistics enable IT admins of companies to quickly reach out to their employees. VoIP calls, screen-sharing, Remote Cast & Control and generation of ITSM tickets are some of the efficient ways to resolve issues quickly. The ability to resolve system errors rapidly ensures minimal device downtime and helps the drivers fulfill their deliveries on time.
Remote File Sharing
When transporting cargo, drivers are required to have several documents with them onboard. Import and export customs declarations, licenses, bills of lading, packing lists, commercial invoices, etc. With MDM solutions, logistics companies can share documents with their drivers remotely. This also helps drivers to go paperless and carry their important documents in a digital format.
Monitored Device Usage
MDM solutions allow logistics businesses to be constantly aware of how their company-issued devices are being used. IT admins of logistics companies can obtain detailed reports on their devices based on their health, usage and activity logs. Some MDM solutions also provide comprehensive overviews and analytics of their organization-wide inventory. This helps businesses keep a check on the performance of their mobile devices and also track compliance violations.
Improved Driver Productivity
MDM solutions allow logistics companies to restrict the use of certain apps or websites on their drivers’ devices. You can even lockdown the drivers’ devices into a single app or multiple pre-selected apps using the Kiosk mode. This ensures that the drivers do not distract themselves with inappropriate app usage or web content. It helps to instill greater focus in drivers on-road. Furthermore, you can also leverage MDM-enabled Kiosk lockdown to lock your drivers’ devices into a single location tracking app to provide them with instant GPS monitors.
Corporate Data Security
Because the drivers’ mobile devices hold numerous corporate files and crucial business data, it is important to secure them against data leakage. When driving heavy vehicles with loads of cargo and tight delivery deadlines, drivers may tend to overlook the corporate security best practices. MDM solutions help logistics companies push several security policies on their drivers’ devices.
Passcode Policies to ensure the usage of strong passwords, data encryption, VPN configuration for a secure connection with the corporate networks and much more. The kiosk browser lockdown with pre-selected websites ensures that drivers do not browse insecure or malicious websites. Some modern-day MDM solutions like Scalefusion also allow IT admins to remotely lock devices and wipe the data off them, in case of device loss or theft.
Closing Lines
If you are ready to implement mobile devices on an organizational level, but are worried about the largescale management, then MDM solutions are the right choice for you. Scalefusion MDM helps logistics companies manage their diverse endpoints, including ELDs. You can leverage exceptional features such as Speed-based Locking in addition to extensive mobile device security and management capabilities to make your freight management safe and easy.
