Mobilizing the World's Largest Commercial Currency = Printer


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Apr/May = 2007=20

Mobilizing the World's Largest = Commercial=20 Currency Printer

How a mobility solution helped = De La Rue=20 achieve a 30% reduction in cell phone costs, 40% = fewer=20 1-800 calls received, and the ability to = complete 20%=20 more jobs per day

By=20 Alvaro Pombo

=20

Search=20 site

As organizations learn = from the=20 past and take steps to prepare for the = future,=20 wrapping new ideas and new technologies = into=20 existing organizational processes is a = critical=20 means for driving improvements while = providing a=20 leg-up on the competition.

A perfect example of = where the=20 past meets the future is with the company = De La=20 Rue. De La Rue is the world's largest = commercial=20 security printer and papermaker, involved = in the=20 production of over 150 national currencies = and a=20 wide range of security documents such as=20 traveler's checks and vouchers. With over = $1=20 billion in annual revenue and a global = workforce=20 of more than 6,200 people in 31 countries, = De La=20 Rue also specializes in cash-handling = equipment=20 such as cash dispensers and note = counters.

In Canada, the company = plays a=20 pivotal role in the nation's banking = system. From=20 the Atlantic to the Pacific, De La Rue has = 65=20 mobile field technicians and 7 dispatchers = who=20 specialize in currency handling in the = banking=20 industry, casinos, race tracks, and = transit=20 industries. They work hard every day to = keep the=20 ATMs, cash counting machines, and other = cash=20 handling equipment throughout the country = in=20 tip-top shape.

The challenge of=20 modernization

Last year, De La Rue = was at a=20 serious turning point in its history. Its = aging=20 business processes and technologies were = not=20 cutting it in a heated and competitive = landscape.=20 To understand how they arrived at this = point, it=20 is important to first understand where = they were=20 coming from.

De La Rue was a = typical=20 out-bound service provider, and their = Canadian=20 field service workers made nearly 230 = service=20 calls on any given day. In keeping with=20 traditional service processes, repair = requests=20 were funneled through central dispatch, = which in=20 turn passed orders on to the field = workers.

At the beginning of = each day,=20 the dispatchers prioritized the orders and = sent=20 each technician a laundry list of "to-dos" = that=20 they were expected to complete unless told = otherwise. However, in an industry where=20 emergencies can happen at the drop of a = hat, this=20 system wasn't responsive or effective = enough. Far=20 too often, dispatchers would receive = emergency=20 calls and need to re-direct technicians = over the=20 phone.

Given the mounting = frustrations=20 of workers, slow response times, and = dissatisfied=20 customers, the company came to a pivotal=20 crossroads: it could carry on with the way = things=20 were being done and risk alienating = customers, or=20 it could take the plunge and embark on a = radical=20 change in the way it conducted = business.

De la Rue chose the = latter and=20 immediately began looking for new ways to=20 dramatically overhaul its dispatch and = service=20 delivery process. After determining the = major pain=20 points, they concluded that they had all = the human=20 elements they needed for success, but were = not=20 exploiting the advantages that modern = technology=20 could provide. At that point, they began = looking=20 into a number of options to provide the = right=20 people with the right technology, = including mobile=20 technology for their field service workers = that=20 would allow them to streamline their = coordination=20 process, increase efficiencies, reduce = paperwork,=20 and reduce the number of times that = technicians=20 needed to return to the head office.

Mounting problems

By the summer of 2005, = competitive pressures were at an all-time = high for=20 De La Rue. The problems that prompted them = to=20 begin searching for technology solutions = began to=20 escalate, and they were facing a number of = service-related challenges that were = directly=20 impacting their bottom line.

First, dispatchers = lacked=20 real-time information on the whereabouts = of their=20 service technicians in the field. Without = this=20 information, they were forced to make = inefficient=20 decisions relating to both the routing and = scheduling of their technicians.

Second, the company = had=20 continued to rely on an out-of-date = voice-based=20 dispatching system via mobile phones, = which was=20 inefficient, error prone, and very costly, = with=20 field worker's average cell phone bill = reaching=20 $300 per month and caused many = frustrations=20 between dispatchers and technicians, as=20 dispatchers were constantly trying to = coordinate=20 last-minute changes with technicians on = the=20 road.

Third, when = technicians arrived=20 at the customer site, they had no access = to the=20 service history of the equipment and = sometimes=20 lacked the proper tools to complete the = job on the=20 first visit. They were also unable to give = their=20 customers an estimated time of arrival of=20 replacement equipment. Technicians = frequently=20 called the office to obtain this critical=20 information but typically weren't able to = get=20 through to dispatchers, who spent most of = their=20 day on the phone exchanging information = with field=20 technicians. This resulted in a very slow = service=20 delivery cycle, where it took an average = of 3 to 5=20 days from the time the customer requested = service=20 to successfully completing the service = call, which=20 contributed to customer = dissatisfaction.

By implementing a = wireless mobile=20 solution, De La Rue was able to decrease = paperwork=20 for their Field Technicians while = increasing their=20 productivity.

The decision to go = wireless

Understanding the = competitive=20 landscape is fundamental to any = organization=20 wishing to be successful. Service, = efficiency, and=20 customer satisfaction make or break a = company.=20 Competitors like IBM, NCR, and Diebold had = already=20 implemented costly and complex wireless = data=20 systems to optimize their scheduling and = dispatch=20 operations, which left De La Rue little = choice but=20 to implement a similar solution or risk = losing=20 customers and market share.

Francois Legault, VP = Service at=20 De La Rue, summed it up by stating that = their=20 "inability to report on all call status = was=20 becoming a competitive disadvantage."

To turn things around, = De La Rue=20 looked at two options: go with a mobile = solutions=20 vendor, or build in-house. Each of the = vendors=20 they looked at provided wirelessly-enabled = devices=20 that could communicate, coordinate, and = manage=20 field technicians from a central = dispatching=20 office, which was exactly what they were = looking=20 for. The alternative-building = in-house-seemed like=20 the less attractive option, and was turned = down=20 due to potentially long development times = and both=20 high upfront and on-going support = costs.

During that search, De = La Rue=20 decided to partner with TrueContext. = TrueContext's=20 mobile platform offered a simple, = out-of-the-box=20 solution that allowed De La Rue to tap = into volume=20 enterprise data services such as mobile = forms and=20 content and device management. That meant = that=20 within a few weeks, workers and = dispatchers could=20 transmit electronic versions of their = forms to and=20 from handheld devices securely and = wirelessly from=20 the field, eliminating paperwork, reducing = human=20 errors, and significantly reducing = processing=20 time.

"We were really = thrilled with=20 how fast this mobile forms solution caught = on with=20 our technicians," added Mr. Legault. "They = loved=20 having so much background information = available at=20 their fingertips while out in the field. = It truly=20 gave them the tools they needed to do = their job=20 better, faster, and smarter."

Best of all, De La Rue = was able=20 to embrace this new technology at a very=20 attractive price point with no significant = upfront=20 payments and low monthly fees for every = user using=20 the system.

Making it work

The TrueContext = solution works=20 with a wide range of mobile devices, but = in the=20 end, De La Rue selected Microsoft Windows = Mobile=20 devices because of their rich, robust, = efficient,=20 and cost-effective mobile field service = solutions.=20 For the wireless service component, De La = Rue=20 selected Rogers Wireless, Canada's largest = wireless voice and data communications = service=20 provider and the country's only carrier = operating=20 on the world standard GSM/GPRS/EDGE = technology=20 platform.

To minimize business = risk, De La=20 Rue controlled the mobile solution rollout = in=20 stages. The first stage involved a = small-scale=20 pilot of five field technicians and one=20 dispatcher. After two months of rigorous = testing,=20 the solution was rolled out nationwide.=20 TrueContext provided an after-sales = support=20 specialist to help with training and = ensuring end=20 users were comfortable with the mobile=20 solution.

Deploying a mobile = data solution=20 from TrueContext has led to many = improvements and=20 business benefits for De La Rue. When a = dispatcher=20 opens a service ticket, the work order is=20 automatically pushed to the right = technician in=20 the field with an alert message. Field = technicians=20 have 15 minutes to accept the job from the = dispatcher, thus ensuring prompt and = responsive=20 customer service. Before visiting the = customer,=20 the technician can view the service = history of the=20 equipment to make sure they have the right = tools=20 to complete the job the first time = on-site,=20 resulting in a reduction of De La Rue's = previously=20 long service delivery cycle. The time from = customer call to successful service = completion now=20 took less than a day.

Enjoying success

De La Rue has = significantly=20 increased the quality, speed, and = effectiveness of=20 both office and field communication. More=20 importantly, they have been able to = increase their=20 profit margins in a service industry where = components had been largely commoditized = over the=20 last decade.

Dispatchers now know = where=20 technicians are and technicians have the=20 information necessary to do the job right = the=20 first time. By empowering technicians with = this=20 information, they can check the status of = other=20 units in the office beyond simply the unit = they=20 were called in to repair. This = preventative=20 maintenance allows them to complete = multiple jobs=20 in the same visit and increase overall = customer=20 satisfaction. De La Rue now handles more = service=20 calls more efficiently without hiring and = training=20 new personnel or investing in costly new = service=20 vehicles and trucks. This is evident by = some=20 rather impressive stats:

A 30% reduction in cell phone costs
A 40% reduction in the number of = 1-800 calls=20 received
An increase of 20% in the number of = jobs=20 completed each day

Also, since all = information is=20 now transmitted electronically = over-the-air, the=20 amount of paperwork has gone down = dramatically, as=20 have errors from data entry and re-keying=20 handwritten information.

The rich multimedia = capabilities=20 offered by Windows Mobile have also = allowed De La=20 Rue to explore other options with the = devices,=20 including the submission of timesheets or = expense=20 reports from the field, which further = reducing the=20 number of visits technicians have to make = to the=20 head office. The solution has even allowed = De La=20 Rue to better manage their staff. In fact, = they=20 were able to completely eliminate one = dispatcher=20 position, allowing that person to be moved = to=20 another value-adding task.

Since introducing the=20 TrueContext mobile platform service to = their=20 organization, De La Rue has profited from = an=20 increase in overall productivity, a = decrease in=20 paperwork, and an overall reduction in=20 = expenses.

Alvaro Pombo is = Founder,=20 President and Executive Chairman of the = Board of=20 TrueContext. Alvaro is the founder and = visionary=20 behind TrueContext and is fundamental in = driving=20 strategy. He plays an active part in all = corporate=20 activities including research and = development,=20 product, business development, marketing, = sales=20 and day-to-day operations. apombo@truecontext.com.

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