BlackBerry > Case Studies > Expertech - Capital Tool Inventory

Expertech - Capital Tool Inventory

Applicable Industries

Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Warehouse & Inventory Management

Use Cases

Inventory Management

The Customer

Expertech Network Installation (Expertech)

About The Customer

Expertech Network Installation (Expertech) is a Canadian telecom and network infrastructure service provider for the cable and wireless broadband market with more than 1,600 managers, technicians and administrative staff.

The Challenge

Costly tools used to splice fiber optic cables are an important part of Expertech’s operational and capitalized expenses, but the company did not have an automated system in place to track their tools and optimize their usage. The existing data in its tracking system was inaccurate and required manual updating, making it essential for the company to implement an efficient process to track and follow up on its capital tool inventory.

The Solution

Expertech decided to partner with the Research In Motion (RIM) Corporate Developer Program (CDP) and deployed BlackBerry smartphones to enable its technicians to communicate. With this deployment, Expertech also developed a custom BlackBerry application in-house that would inventory and track capitalized tools in near real-time and automatically upload the data into the company’s SAP system.

Data Collected

Asset Status Tracking, Inventory Levels, Operating Cost, Overall Equipment Effectiveness, Production Efficiency

Operational Impact

[Process Optimization - Real Time Asset Tracking]
The location of tools can be identified in near real-time in field operations.
[Efficiency Improvement - Operation]
The audit process was accelerated, enabling the same workforce to perform more audits.
[Cost Reduction - R&D]
Ongoing application development and improvements are relatively quick and inexpensive to implement due to the system's flexibility.