 By Jessica Binns
Who: Teph Seal Auto Appearance is
an Orlando, Fla.-based auto services company providing vehicle detailing and
preparation services to dealerships. The company's 200 shops and 1,500
employees relied on a paper-based data collection system for everyday
tasks, including work orders, personnel forms and payroll information. Central
to Teph Seal's business are VIN numbers; if the all-important vehicle
identification number is missing or entered incorrectly, the company cannot be
paid for services rendered. Factor in faxed, handwritten forms and data keyed in inaccurately to
Excel spreadsheets, and the need for a new, paper-free system becomes evident.
Challenge: Teph Seal needed to find a rugged solution
that reduced or eliminated paperwork from its daily operations, which would
in turn reduce errors and enhance customer confidence.
Solution:
MobileDataForce, a Boise, Id.-based mobile business process company, stepped in to help
Teph Seal chose a solution to fit its needs. The new paperless system relies
on a variety of rugged PSION Teklogix Workabout Pro handheld devices featuring
built-in bar code scanners, which automatically capture VIN numbers and ensure
the correct number is matched to the right vehicle. One of the most important
features on the PSION devices is the signature screen; this amenity reinforces
Teph Seal’s business mandate of signing off on work as soon as it is completed,
and the signature is stored electronically along with the document.
MobileDataForce also designed a new Web site for payroll processes that allows
the data to be synchronized to different locations.
Behind the scenes, Sybase iAnywhere’s SQL
Anywhere database synchronization platform formed the basis for the PointSync
Mobility Platform, which is central to the mobile solution. MobileDataForce had
considered using an XML-based product for the solution but realized that the
format was not suitable for Teph Seal’s customers’ needs; researching and
editing data from prior work in an XML environment was unwieldy and inefficient.
Results:
“Before we had this automated mobile solution,” says Dale Williams, I.T.
director for Teph Seal, “we were overwhelmed with paper. More important, the
time consumed by all of those paper-based processes cut into our profitability.
Those processes also compromised our credibility with our clients in some
instances in which there were errors or illegible entries. Since implementing
this solution, we’ve seen our labor cost reduced by 10 to 15 percent. And
we’ve seen an increase in our credibility with our clients who have witnessed
the effectiveness of this solution first hand.”
Teph Seal has reported a decrease in labor costs by more
than 30 percent in some locations, and new business has increased by as much as
15 percent. |
