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  1. Join Date
    Nov 2002
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    1,326
    #1
    Hi guys,

    Any of you guys know of locally available low cost PDAs that:

    - have data (GPRS or WIFI) capabilities
    - open for application development
    - locally available
    - affordable (for deployment to sales fleet)

  2. Join Date
    Oct 2002
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    29,354
    #2
    Quote Originally Posted by wowiesy View Post
    Hi guys,

    Any of you guys know of locally available low cost PDAs that:

    - have data (GPRS or WIFI) capabilities
    - open for application development
    - locally available
    - affordable (for deployment to sales fleet)

    You might be able to find a few HP iPAQ pdas in the local stores but they will still cost at least P15,000 each. You will have better luck checking out Amazon.com.

    At that price, you might be better off going with the alternative of using netbook PCs. You can find units being sold between P13,000 to P15,000 that have six-cell batteries (for longer battery time) included instead of the 3-cell batt pack for most entry level netbooks.

  3. Join Date
    Nov 2002
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    1,326
    #3
    Quote Originally Posted by ghosthunter View Post
    You might be able to find a few HP iPAQ pdas in the local stores but they will still cost at least P15,000 each. You will have better luck checking out Amazon.com.

    At that price, you might be better off going with the alternative of using netbook PCs. You can find units being sold between P13,000 to P15,000 that have six-cell batteries (for longer battery time) included instead of the 3-cell batt pack for most entry level netbooks.
    option ang netbook.. although dapat may inverter nakakabit sa trak para sure na may power lagi...

    in the scenario na FMCG distributor ako... i have sales group and delivery group.. doing Ex Truck operations (selling to Sari Sari stores talaga, instead of just the big buyers per locality).. I am thinking of a system na up to the minute ang reporting.. like for customer A, nakabenta ng 5 shampoo, 5 sabon, 10 chichirya, 10 na sigarilyo, etc..

    para by the end of the day, alam agad kung yung agent is hitting the targets / goals set by the company...

    kung manual kasi.. like write a report when nag report by end of the week sa office... by the time na encode yung information from the report... 2 - 3 weeks na nag lapse... difficult na to call the attention of the agent concerned to find out the issues / challenges na nangyari 2 - 3 weeks ago...

    The old Palm Pilots would've been okay... although it would've needed to dock and sync bago ma send sa servers yung information... I've seen sa brother ko in Aus where he was in the distribution business na may PDA (windows CE ata) that he uses.. sync lang to download the set route for the day.. as he makes delivery per outlet, update lang sa PDA... by the end of the day updated na lahat and ready to replenish stocks in the truck... the PDA he used needed to be syncd on a base, and yet it also had GPRS / WIFI capabilities..

    now with PDA phones... maaari na.. 1 problem is the hardware selection... the other is the application development... since medyo customized yung application... saan maaaring magpagawa or bumili?

    most of the apps available are more of games and general productivity...

    the lower cost alternative may be to use text... (keyword then data) but the keyword and the data need to be properly formatted and that brings up a lot of issues....

    alternatives?
    Last edited by wowiesy; February 11th, 2011 at 05:10 PM.

  4. Join Date
    Oct 2002
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    #4
    Quote Originally Posted by wowiesy View Post
    alternatives?
    The reason I suggested netbooks is because they are more flexible for you to use. Also cheaper with lots of models to choose from and easier access to repair or even replacements than PDAs. You don't even need to have the same brand and models since they all work typically the same way. (If you got PDAs, you need to train your people for them and a change of PDA might end up incompatible to your custom softwares or hardware.

    Netbooks with six cell batteries can typically last 4 to 5 hours on a full charge while those with a 3-cell battery pack will last about 2 hours.

    As for charging them in the field, car DC/AC inverters are common and you can adapt them to run on 24volt truck systems if needed.

    As for your system, I was thinking of simple spreadsheet forms that your field people will just fill in the blanks with sales information. And then he will send the file back to the head office via 3G-internet and email. Of course, this will mean a full time job for at least one person at the head office who will compile all the individual sales reports as they arrive to a single sales report per salesman.

    Given that, you can see by the end of the day or next morning the performance of your field sales people.

    Overall this would be simple to setup and only requires minimal training for your field people to know how to do data entry into software like MS Excel (or open source equivalents).
    Last edited by ghosthunter; February 11th, 2011 at 05:37 PM.

  5. Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    631
    #5
    I would recommend making your applications web-based, then you can use cheap 5,000 peso Android tablets with 3G capabilities (you can check in Sulit). You then only need a browser, no special development work needed at the hardware level. The beauty of this is that if you build the application properly, it doesn't matter if it is accessed by a tablet, netbook, PC, or smartphone: as long as the application is web standards compliant, you can access it with a web browser. Pair it with a 1,000/month 3G data plan and you're set.

    One advantage of this approach is that if you have updates or changes to your application, you only need to update the web server files: no need to install into individual devices, and no need to recompile for different operating systems/processors/platforms... your staff will instantly see the updates wherever they are.

  6. Join Date
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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by digitalron View Post
    I would recommend making your applications web-based, then you can use cheap 5,000 peso Android tablets with 3G capabilities (you can check in Sulit). You then only need a browser, no special development work needed at the hardware level. The beauty of this is that if you build the application properly, it doesn't matter if it is accessed by a tablet, netbook, PC, or smartphone: as long as the application is web standards compliant, you can access it with a web browser. Pair it with a 1,000/month 3G data plan and you're set.

    One advantage of this approach is that if you have updates or changes to your application, you only need to update the web server files: no need to install into individual devices, and no need to recompile for different operating systems/processors/platforms... your staff will instantly see the updates wherever they are.
    pwede din... although web apps are a bit a challenge in the area of GUI options... kung netbook ang hardware nila.. i suppose it will do...

  7. Join Date
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    #7
    Quote Originally Posted by wowiesy View Post
    pwede din... although web apps are a bit a challenge in the area of GUI options... kung netbook ang hardware nila.. i suppose it will do...
    But downside with web-based apps, you are assuming good internet connection is available all the time, which may get expensive quickly with more and more field people.

    My proposed solution only requires a short connection with the internet to send an email attachment (spreadsheet reports) either once a day to one per customer visited.

  8. Join Date
    Jan 2009
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    5,576
    #8
    If your merchandise have UPC codes, you can use bar code readers:

    1. Send codes to a spreadsheet that can be emailed to HQ immediately or at the end of the day/delivery. USB bar code scanner, a netbook, and a USB internet dongle required. This is a variation of GH's suggestion
    2. Low-end smartphones that can utilize the built-in camera to capture the bar codes using a suitable (usually free) app. Captured codes are put inside a csv file and can be sent to HQ via 3G either immediately or at the end of the day.

    If all delivery trucks go back to HQ at the end of the day, you can setup a WiFi AP near your fleet so they can upload the data as soon as they're within range. That would reduce the cost of using 3G.

  9. Join Date
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    631
    #9
    Quote Originally Posted by ghosthunter View Post
    But downside with web-based apps, you are assuming good internet connection is available all the time, which may get expensive quickly with more and more field people.

    My proposed solution only requires a short connection with the internet to send an email attachment (spreadsheet reports) either once a day to one per customer visited.
    Cost really shouldn't be that bad since Sun already has a monthly Php 999 (or Php 995?) plan that incorporates unlimited calls, text, and browsing with an android phone thrown in. Globe also has an unlimited internet plan at Php 995 which I use for my iPad. But then again, this can still be expensive for others.

    However, I do agree that here in the Philippines, it's good-luck with consistent internet connectivity, which might make a web-based approach iffy especially in the more remote areas, or places that are unfortunately located in low-signal areas (or worse, no-signal).

    In the end, it's really a matter of judging the overall expected behaviour of the sales force and environment they will operate in, as well as how important instantly updated information is.

    Netbooks would offer the best option in terms of power, with a slightly higher initial expense being the main downside, and perhaps slightly lower battery life as the other potential downer (though car inverters/chargers could easily solve that). Another potential downside (though this is rare) is that if using a netbook and fat-client (locally run app), and the disk crashes, data is compromised and may be difficult to recover.

    Tablets represent the best option for a web-enabled solution, being light, instant-on, direct update to the server via web-apps (low risk of losing data), though consistent connectivity would be the biggest hindrance (apart from higher operating cost in the long run due to net connectivity requirements).

    An SMS solution might be viable, if the amount of information is small. GSM signal is basically everywhere, and everyone basically knows how to send an SMS. Downside to this is a very unwieldy input process, limited input capability, and this is prone to user error.

    Another solution is to call it in to an encoder. If the amount of data updates isn't that big, then the sales person can just call it to the office and an encoder can then key-in the data. This is very low cost from a hardware capex point of view, though it doesn't really look sophisticated from a marketing standpoint.. and is also prone to errors.

    Or.. maybe something hybrid? A mix of these different approaches depending on where the salesforce is deployed.

    So the question is.. how important is instant update, how much data will need to be sent, and what will be the operating environment/jurisdiction.

  10. Join Date
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    #10
    Quote Originally Posted by digitalron View Post
    Netbooks would offer the best option in terms of power, with a slightly higher initial expense being the main downside, and perhaps slightly lower battery life as the other potential downer (though car inverters/chargers could easily solve that). Another potential downside (though this is rare) is that if using a netbook and fat-client (locally run app), and the disk crashes, data is compromised and may be difficult to recover.

    You forget one thing about netbooks, they are designed with built-in SD card readers. It won't be difficult to setup the software to use the card reader as a back up device. Data is mirrored on the hard drive and the SD card.

    You don't have to use custom software to automatically backup your data. There are already off the shelf software (and even freeware) that does that for you.

    Downside, with a SD card inserted all the time, it will drain the netbook's battery slightly faster.

low cost PDAs ?