Mobile Devices: Ruggedized vs. Consumer

Mobility is everywhere these days.  Here are some things to think about when you are considering mobile. 
There are two basic types of mobile devices to consider:  ruggedized and consumer.  Each has its own benefits and drawbacks depending on where it will be used, what it will be used for and by whom.  The price is the most common point to consider – ruggedized devices will cost more to purchase than consumer devices.  Depending on the criticality of the application, the environment, and who will be using the device the ruggedized unit’s reliability may far outweigh the short term cost to purchase.  Plus, ruggedized devices offer a maintenance plan.

Consumer devices will almost always cost less to purchase and generally have a shorter training period to learn to operate.  It is also possible to leverage shoppers’ devices so the investment in the consumer device will essentially be zero and with low risk.  When using consumer devices the protocol should be such that store personnel do not handle them to prevent accidental drops or other damage.  In some cases, another benefit to consider about consumer devices is that they may use a more cutting edge technology, more so than standardized ruggedized units.

Places to use mobile devices in your store:
Payments, Price Checking, File Maintenance, Frequent Shopper, Advertising, Deli Ordering, Shopping Lists, Line Busting, DSD Receiving, POS management, Picking Orders, Inventory Lookup, Special Ordering, Product Information, and others.