It’s not a big secret that the mobile app market is massive.
According to the International Data Corporation, there will be 183
billion apps downloaded by 2015. In fact, the mobile app market is so
gargantuan that there’s even a large segment dedicated to B2B apps. In
very recent years, companies have had to both come to terms with, and
embrace the reality that mobile devices are aggressively infiltrating
every industry. The good news is that this is, well, good news.
Smartphones aren’t necessarily exclusive to consumers looking for a cool
new device for surfing the web. It can be argued that the general
consumer use of smartphones barely touches the surface of mobile app
development. As we speak, entire industries are becoming more efficient
through B2B app development.
Why Mobile Apps for B2B?
The answer is simple, the majority of the people you run into have a
smartphone and use apps. For all intents and purposes, they’re almost
always on their phones checking email. This presents a great advantage
for most B2B companies. Mainly, you’re adopting new technology without
having to adopt “new” technology. In other words, the bulk of your
employees already know how to use and navigate a smartphone and its app
store. When you actually deploy the app, the only thing you’ll need to
train employees on is the application itself.
Benefits of B2B Apps
* Flexibility & Immediacy - The great thing
about mobile apps is that they’re fluid. As your company’s needs change,
you can work with a developer to change features and design to meet the
needs of your company as it grows. This is especially true for B2B
companies who need to expand services internationally. Scaling services
across multiple regions and continents has never been easier. Beyond
that, building B2B apps offers a sense of immediacy, as they can be
quickly developed and deployed.
* Control - Today’s working professionals are
essentially attached to their mobile devices at all times. Equipping
members of your team with B2B-focused mobile apps offers a greater sense
of control over business processes both in the office and out in the
field. Through the greater control that B2B apps offer, businesses can
bolster their pre-existing B2B outreach efforts.
* Cost-Effective – Mobile apps are all about making
life easier. In the B2B world, anything that makes life easier also
saves money. If you look at the big picture – the cost of mobile
development, how it increases business efficiency, etc – it’s not
difficult to measure the large-scale savings mobile apps yield in a
short amount of time.
Exhibit A: Qualcomm’s Hour of Service
Long-haul trucking, courier companies, and similar types of transportation companies
have taken to using consumer-level smartphone technology to smooth out
the kinks in operations. Take the standard logbook, for example. Law
requires that every driver fill out logbooks in detail. For years, this
has been a pen and paper solution, which has often led to transportation
slowdowns and resulted in penalties on logbook inspections. Qualcomm’s Hours of Service (QHOS) solution goes a long way to prevent inaccuracy and inefficiency of fleet management and record keeping. According to a recent case study,
the platform has saved cargo companies upwards of $100,000 in
administrative costs. For instance, QHOS reports hours in real time,
automatically updates the driver’s status and eliminates logbook errors.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, anything that simplifies a business process is
good for business. While some businesses may be intimidated by the
upfront costs of app development and deployment, those on the cutting
edge of the B2B world fully understand the big picture of using B2B
apps. So, whether you’re in the transportation, manufacturing or
wholesale industry, there’s probably an app for that–or at least there
should be.
