Manufacturers Go Wireless to Reduce Costs, Increase Customer Satisfaction

Published: Monday, February 14, 2005 - 23:00

The increased adoption of wireless technology in routine business operations has driven down costs and increased customer satisfaction, according to a new opinion poll of manufacturing companies.The phenomenon is being fueled by the availability of push-to-talk service, wireless local area networks and a desire by companies to extend their wireless barcode scanning capabilities to be ready for RFID applications. The survey, commissioned by Nextel Communications Inc. and conducted by Harris Interactive Inc. polled 76 top manufacturing executives and found that the industry’s top four uses of wireless technology are cellular calling for executives and sales staff (100%), push-to-talk service (59%), BlackBerry devices (68%) and barcode scanning (78%).

Fifty-five percent of respondents identified geographic coverage as the primary criterion for selecting a wireless carrier, far outpacing data network speeds (18%) and pricing (17%).

“The goal of the survey was to document the emerging role of wireless communications in large- and medium-sized enterprises in manufacturing,” says Barry Goodstadt, Harris Interactive vice president and senior consultant. “We elicited a very detailed response from participants by investigating not only the wireless devices and applications companies are using, but also by examining the wireless benefits and network attributes they most value and the return on investment and competitive advantage they are deriving. Viewed through these many lenses, this snapshot of wireless communications signals the technology’s strategic significance and growing foothold in the industry today.”

For more information, visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

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