The
Location Powered Enterprise
Part One
 The
value of Global Positioning System (GPS)
technology for real-time tracking of vehicles has
been established in a number of industries. From
tracking the movements of long haul trucks on our
nation’s highways, to improving the efficiency of
field service dispatch operations, GPS has proven
its worth to enterprise and government users
alike. But as the technology continues to mature,
GPS offers organizations the prospect of turning
themselves into “location powered enterprises” to
take advantage of new capabilities that can
further improve operations in the field.
Making the location powered enterprise
possible is the integration of GPS technology
into mobile and handheld computing devices. This
technology shift is making location an intrinsic
part of field activities and the decision making
process with GPS positioning data now available
to users in the field and supervisors in the
back office. The result is greater efficiency
for mobile operations coupled with significant
return on investment.
The cost and complexity of mobile GPS solutions
had previously limited their use to very specific
engineering and asset management functions. The
technology was expensive and required
highly-trained technicians to be effective. These
constraints also limited the mindset of company
planners who could not consider the location
dimension of processes in the field when deploying
mobile automation solutions. Using low-cost GPS
receivers with handheld computers allows a much
larger percentage of the workforce in the field to
have location capabilities. Because of this, the
“where” dimension can now be considered as a key
component in any mobile project.
In the location powered enterprise
virtually every field worker can have location at
his or her disposal to do a better job. This can
mean better validation of activities in the field,
more efficient use of time and even increased
safety. This can be seen in the applications
offered by LinksPoint for vehicle history analysis
and navigation, but it doesn’t stop there. The
power of location information is such that every
manager should review their activities in the
field and challenge their processes to uncover the
specific and unique ways location can improve
their operations.
Mike Forbes
LinksPoint, Vice President
Marketing & Product Development
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