WHITE PAPER

THE FUTURE OF FIELD OPERATIONS

2020 VISION:

How mobile technologies are

transforming field operations.
Zebras 2015 Field Operations Vision Study reports on how
forward-looking organizations are increasing their investment
in mobility to transform their field operations to more
proactive, customer-centric and business-driven systems.

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THE FUTURE OF FIELD OPERATIONS

Peering into the future

Field operations are in a state of strategic and tactical
transition. Todays organizations must cope with growing
pressures ranging from tougher competition to eroding
margins to the increasingly difficult task of finding and
retaining good employees. They also face a series of
formidable business challenges: improving customer

45%

relations, reducing operational costs, maximizing worker

productivity and increasing opportunities for revenue and
profit growth. In response, field operations will be changing
at an ever-increasing pace over the next five years
and more.

say business will become

more complicated in 2020

GROWING PRESSURES

BUSINESS CHALLENGES

Increased service and product

offerings

Margin pressures
Increased competition

Collaboration and knowledge

sharing

Hiring and holding good

employees

Data sharing

Historically, the job of mobile workers has been relatively

simple: the repair and maintenance of equipment or the
delivery and stocking of products and materials. Its not
that simple anymore. Today, mobile operations are also
expected to help manage inventory in vehicles, order parts
for customers, up-sell and cross-sell products and services,
provide overall supply chain visibility and much more.

70%

of field organizations
expect IT budgets to
increase.

For most companies, responding to the new realities of field

operations involves substantial new investment, especially
in mobile technology. According to Zebras 2015 Field
Operations Vision Study, more than 70 percent of field
organizations are expecting to increase IT budgets by 2020.

2015

zebra technologies

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

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THE FUTURE OF FIELD OPERATIONS

To gain up-to-the-moment insights into evolving technology

strategies in the field operations industry, Zebra conducted
a comprehensive study examining peer organizations 2015
operations and previewing planned changes in the next five
years and beyond.

Focus on the Customer

Maximizing customer service and creating customer loyalty
are essential to sustaining and growing every business. To
that end, most field organizations have decided to rededicate
themselves to the nurturing and growth of closer, longer-term
customer relationships. To help accomplish these objectives,
a great many companies are increasing their use of mobility to
help enhance customer satisfaction, lower operational costs,
generate added revenues and increase profitability.

Mobility and Revenue Generation

According to the study, a majority of field operations
organizations have recently undergoneor will soon embark
ona re-engineering of systems to move away from traditional
laptop and desktop computers to the increased use of mobile
devices. Mobile solution options include handheld computers,
smartphones, tablets, wearable technology and other devices
and accessories. Many organizations have also started
connecting digital assets and sensored equipment to provide
real-time monitoring of installed products. Machine-to-machine
communications like these are the beginning stages of the
fast-growing concept known as the Internet of Things.

These, and other mobility and automation solutions, are

critical to empowering workers to maximize their role
as a companys firstand sometimes onlycustomer
contact, helping them streamline repair and maintenance
service, improve delivery service windows, take maximum
advantage of selling opportunities and become true
customer service representatives.

EVOLUTION OF THE INDUSTRY

Then

Desktop

zebra technologies

Now

Laptop

Smartphone

Handheld
Computer

Tablet

Wearable
Technology

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THE FUTURE OF FIELD OPERATIONS

Todays industry trends,

tomorrows business challenges
Some field organizations repair industrial equipment on farms or
manufacturing plants. Some fix copiers in offices. Others maintain medical
equipment in ERs or clinics. Still others restore service for telephone,
cable or utilities customers. No matter what their business, the growing
global economy, the ubiquity of Internet communications, the rise of big
data and the impact of social media are combining to increase business
pressures and create stiff challenges for virtually every field operations
organization.
Customers want to know where products come from and when services
will be performed, leading to the increased importance of real-time
traceability, visibility and communication. At the same time, a quantum
increase in available data is pressuring organizations abilities to collect,
analyze and act on this information. Customer feedback via social media
and the need to react to it are driving them to make faster changes to
products and business processes. Increasing transportation costs are
significantly impacting margins.
The 2015 Vision Survey shows that field operations businesses are well
aware of these trends, the pressures they place on their operations and
the challenges they pose for continued business success in the next five
years and well into the future.

zebra technologies

TOP 4 TRENDS IMPACTING

FIELD OPERATIONS

58%

55%

Traceability
demands for
consumer

Increasing amount
of data to collect

50%

47%

Increasing
transportation
costs

Monitor social
media feedback

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THE FUTURE OF FIELD OPERATIONS

Field operations mobility 2020 outlook

INCREASED PRESSURES

GREATEST BUSINESS CHALLENGE

45
%
Business Becoming

32
%
Margin Pressure

More Complicated

NEW SPENDING

70%

58%

Increase IT Budget
for Mobility

Investing in Big Data

& Analytics

41%

Most Promising ROI:

Wearable Technology

INCREASED SALES

Over
50
%
Accepting Mobile

70
%
Expect Revenue from

Payment

Mobile Workforce to
Increase
SMALLER, MORE POWERFUL DEVICES

2020

MORE
OF
Smartphone

Laptop

9%

2015

LESS
OF

24%
2020

zebra technologies

5%
Tablet

13%
Mobile
Handheld

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The transformation of field operations strategies

How will organizations respond to the difficult field
operations challenges that lie ahead? Todays most
progressive companies are addressing industry changes
at the strategic level, with a focus on three crucial strategic
imperatives. As the survey shows, respondents identified the
generation of revenue as the number one strategic priority,

TOP THREE STRATEGIC

PRIORITIES TO IMPROVE

1
2
3

Generation of
Revenue
Strengthening
Customer Relations
Increasing Operational
Efficiency/Productivity

zebra technologies

reflecting the overarching goal of strengthening customer

relationships and maximizing their value. Also seen as
critical are strategies aimed at improving profitability by
increasing operational efficiency and productivity, while at
the same time, reducing operating costs.

TOP THREE
OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE

1
2
3

Increasing Operational
Efficiency/Productivity
Strengthening
Customer Relations
Generation of
Revenue

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THE FUTURE OF FIELD OPERATIONS

Moving from traditional to transformational tools

In 2015, many field organizations are still managing operations using
traditional tools, mainly laptop and desktop computers, and more
recently, smartphones. Somewhat surprisingly, some are still relying
on extremely outdated pen-and-paper-based management systems;
however, change is in the air. The survey showed that more than twothirds of respondents companies have either undergone a process reengineering of their mobile efforts within the past year, or are planning
to initiate one soon. The major objectives of this increased emphasis
on mobility are strategic and virtually universal: greater profitability,
increased customer retention and loyalty and improved operational
efficiency and productivity.

OVER 2/3

Organizations are also transitioning to greater usage of mobile computing

solutions that rely less on consumer-grade equipment and more on
more powerful, more reliable enterprise-grade handheld computers and
other mobile devices. Respondents also reported that while mobile tools
management is often accomplished internally, many organizations are
opting to use third-party providers to both manage devices and provide
insights into service issues and support operations such as implementing
a help desk.

RESPONDENTS
Have undergone/will
undergo re-engineering
process of mobility

MORE OF

2020

DESKTOP

9%

9%

LAPTOP

23%

zebra technologies

PEN & PAPER

2015

LESS OF

SMART PHONE

24%

5%

9%

13%

15%

2020

TABLET

MOBILE
HANDHELD
COMPUTER
(real-time access
to WMS)

MOBILE
HANDHELD
COMPUTER
(Batch access
to WMS)

WEARABLE
COMPUTERS

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Choosing the best business-critical mobile computers

Field organizations commitment of more and more resources to mobility
solutions reinforces the importance of the mobile computers their
representatives use in daily activities. Survey respondents generally
agreed that the top qualities they are looking for in mobile computers
and other mobile devices are ease of use and reliability. Less than six
in ten reported they were confident their current mobile systems will
support their future needs.
The need for more rugged enterprise-grade handheld computers in
field operations is leading to a decline in the use of consumer-grade
smartphones. As many have learned the hard way, smartphones are
not built to withstand the rigors of the field and often have reliability
issues; thats not good. The fact is, according to one research firm,
failure of mobile devices results in up to 140 minutes in lost productivity.
In addition, because they are phones and not computers, smartphones
are largely incapable of providing sufficient security; they also cannot
reliably perform critical field operations tasks such as scanning, printing,
credit card reading for mobile point of sale (POS), signature capture and
many others.

TIME LOST ON CONSUMER-GRADE

MOBILE PHONES

TOP QUALITIES FOR MOBILE

COMPUTERS SELECTION

1ST
2ND

Ease of use
Reliability
of hardware

Device failures result in up to

140 minutes in
lost productivity*
*Source: VDC Research, Mobility in Manufacturing and Logistics

zebra technologies

Only 56%

say current systems

will support future
needs

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The growing importance of mobile applications

In field operations, applications are as important to mobility
as are mobile computers. Experienced field operations
professionals recognize that the applications that ride on
handheld computers are business critical, empowering
field representatives to quickly gather, access and act on

information. Almost half of survey respondents reported

providing mobile applications support for field sales
activities, followed closely by support for order management,
maintenance and repair, and dispatch management and
scheduling.

TOP APPS SUPPORTED IN NEXT 5 YEARS

INCREASED PLANS TO SUPPORT

157%

76%

Mobile GIS/
Surveying

Field Sales

74%

135%
Mobile POS

73%

Order
Management

112%

Work Order
Automation

Image Capture

In conjunction with evolving mobility strategies, applications

are also crucial to implementing numerous field operational
requirements. Three of the most important of these are the
extension of enterprise data to the field, providing real-time
information that enables representatives to best serve their
customers and transforming business processes to deliver
innovative new customer service solutions that can lead to
greater profitability.

Many other applications were cited as well, one of the most

promising of which is mobile POS. In something of a surprise,
only about 25 percent of respondents organizations currently
take mobile payments in the field; thats about to change rapidly.
Over the next five years, this number is expected to double,
reaching 50 percent or even more as field organizations increase
the use of mobile applications that can help them increase
revenue opportunities.

MOBILE PAYMENTS ACCEPTED IN THE FIELD

YES

UNSURE

28%

24%
YES

NOW

zebra technologies

NOW

2020

2020

45%

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THE FUTURE OF FIELD OPERATIONS

Using automation to enhance customer service

Most field organizations are already utilizing automation to help
streamline their field operations. Survey respondents report using a
variety of automation initiatives to improve worker productivity and
strengthen customer relationships. Automation capabilities include
interactive repair procedures, access to videos for resolution information,
easy-to-use customer portals and end-to-end service management.
They also encompass machine-to-machine connectivity and other
Internet of Things solutions.

56%

of respondents have
automation plans to
improve

Automation solutions are predicted to expand substantially over the

next five years. More than half of respondents indicate that they have
automation plans specifically designed to improve revenue growth
and customer management. Automation helps ensure that field
representatives have the parts they need precisely when they need them
and the information they need to answer customer questions quickly and
accurately. Automated scheduling and dispatch helps ensure on-time
arrival for appointments. The result is improved customer satisfaction
and increased retention of valued customers. Survey respondents also
reported on their field operations automation priorities for the future,
with customer relationship management, knowledge management and
business intelligence ranking highest.

Revenue
Growth

Customer
Management

TOP 3 AUTOMATION PRIORITIES

Customer Relationship Management

3rd

2nd

44%

1st

Business Intelligence
3rd

Knowledge Management Data

3rd

10

zebra technologies

2nd

39%

1st

2nd

1st

34%

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Investing in the future of field operations

Mobility is the future of field operations. This makes it a
major driver of significant increases in IT budgeting and
investment. Two-thirds of respondents predicted that their
mobility workforces will increase over the next five years.

Accordingly, they expect their IT budgets to increase.

Respondents believe the specific technologies that will offer
them the best ROI over the next five years are wearable
technology, big data, analytics and the Internet of Things.

Over 2/3 respondents predict

mobility workforces will increase
in 5 years
BEST ROI TECHNOLOGIES

41%

WEARABLE
TECHNOLOGY

31%

BIG DATA
ANALYTICS

28%

THE INTERNET
OF THINGS

Faced with an overwhelming amount of available data between

today and 2020 and beyond, respondents indicated that field
operations will also be increasing their investments in analytics and
big data solutions, with the objective of providing more actionable
information. Bottom line, the industrys growing commitment to
mobility will enable more proactive field operations that will
enhance both revenues and profitability.

11

zebra technologies

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THE FUTURE OF FIELD OPERATIONS

Who responded to the field operations survey?

BY INDUSTRY
2.7%

2.5%

Utilities

Finance & Insurance

40.5%

16.2% 15.7% 16.7%

Manufacturing

10.1%
5.7%
3.2%

4.2%

2.5% 1.5%

Mi
5

BY TITLE

BY COMPANY SIZE

llio
n
$1 Les
5 st
Mi ha
lli n
Do on
nt
Kn
ow
Pr
to efe
an r n
sw ot
er

llio
$1

00
$1

Mi

llio
Mi
50

$2

n
llio

Mi

llio

00
$5

n
llio
Bi

Bi
$1

n
llio
Bi
0

Bi
0

$1

00

Bi

Professional &
Technical Services

$1

llio

n+
llio

21.6%

$5

Transportation &
Logistics / Warehouse /
Distribution Center

10.6%

1%

$2

1%

20.1%

11.8%

llio

Construction

7.4%

$5

Retail Trade

Mi

5.2%

BY ANNUAL REVENUE

16%

VP / Director /
Manager LOB / Ops

21.9%
19.4%

34.6%
Other

10.1%

Senior Most
IT Leader

16%
14%
9.8%

Senior Most
Finance Leader

10

0
25

0
50

00
1,0

2,0
00

00
5,0

10
,0
00

8.1%

VP / Director /
Manager IT

4.9%

10

0,0
00

Exec in line
of business/
Ops

VP / Director /
Manager
Marketing

1.5%
50
,0
0

2.5%

9.1%

3.4%

7.4% 6.9%

5.9%

VP / Director /
Manager Supply
Chain

7.9%

Senior Most
Business Leader

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.ZEBRA.COM/FIELDMOBILITY

NA and Corporate Headquarters | +1 800 423 0442 | [email protected]

2015 ZIH Corp and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Zebra and the stylized Zebra head are trademarks of ZIH Corp, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. All other trademarks are the property
of their respective owners.