Working in field team management takes you away from a traditional office environment...
...and puts you in the marketplace physically removed from headquarters. A retail mobile data collection tool provides an easy method of communication between the field and personnel in office. One of the most important features within your software, however, is the ability to collect up-to-date information at the click of a button. Real-time data is an essential part of getting marketplace alerts you need to stay competitive, as well as gaining necessary visibility and optimizing your data collection processes.
Gaining Insight
Real-time data keeps you aware of significant metrics even while you’re in the field. Instead of waiting for data analytics or lengthy meetings to figure out the latest marketplace trends, you have real-time retail execution data. This insight is beneficial for adjusting strategy to adapt to the latest changes. You may need to look at different aspects of retail execution or have your team members focus more of their attention on specific metrics; when you have real-time data available, you improve your business agility and help your company stay ahead of the competition.
Your clients and partners also benefit from real-time data, as you can adjust to changing requirements or industry trends. The increased visibility into the marketplace keeps you up to date on what’s going on while it’s happening, instead of finding out crucial information after the fact. You also gain more visibility into how production, manufacturing, and distribution affects the retail world.
Improving Productivity
Access to real-time data cuts down on time analyzing and waiting for information, because data is delivered as it’s being generated. If anything needs to be changed, it can be done while field and sales reps are still in the marketplace. Real-time data is also excellent at identifying inefficiencies as they occur. Instead of allowing minor problems to affect the overall productivity of the team, you can adjust as the problem is identified. This type of predictive troubleshooting provides an excellent method of identifying issues when they are small, as opposed to dealing with major problems later.
Real-time data also fuels software solutions that improve productivity. The software creates a more streamlined work flow by taking over certain manual processes that don’t require human intervention, such as data entry and other procedures. Not only does this free up the field team’s time to work on aspects of the job that require a human element, it also cuts down on the potential for human error.
Increased Communication
Communication can be a major hang-up when you’re out in the field, whether you’re trying to communicate with team members or you need to get essential information back to the home office or to individual clients. Real-time data solutions allow you to streamline your communication. Instead of waiting to send data sets, you can funnel the information to the people who need it most. The information could go to decision makers at the home office, field team members working at specific locations, or other field team managers.
Real-time data provides many advantages for field team management since changing environments can be expected in every setting. Retail mobile data collection tools provide you with the insights you need to make decisions on the fly, as well as improving overall business productivity and agility.
