Manufacturing was one of the first industries to embrace wireless technology. Early applications ranged from monitoring goods through production, to track-and-trace of finished goods, to warehouse management. So perhaps it's not surprising when experts say this sector is about to embrace wireless in an even bigger way. According to Harry Forbes, senior analyst, industrial networks, for ARC Advisory Group, many manufacturers will soon roll out enterprise wireless networks alongside enterprise information networks.

Indeed, sales of wireless devices, software and services to manufacturers will grow more than 20 percent a year through 2010, according to an ARC estimate. From roughly $400 million USD in 2006, the firm predicts sales of more than $1 billion USD by the end of the decade (see chart, "Market Forecast for Wireless in Manufacturing").

These new wireless networks will differ from today's mostly spotty wireless coverage in the scope of their availability throughout the enterprise. "We think that every manufacturer will have an enterprise wireless network in the next five years," says Forbes. These networks will enable manufacturing employees to maximize their responsiveness to changes in customer demand as well as conditions in the supply chain and overall market.

Once manufacturers invest in pervasive wireless networks (as cutting-edge companies such as Boeing have already done), Forbes predicts their next step will be to implement value-added applications. One such application is to use wireless technology—whether that be 802.11 networking or tracking applications based on radio frequency identification (RFID)—to help employees handle the problems and exceptions that come up every day.

"Customers and consumers don't behave according to plan, and that creates exceptions. When exceptions occur, it's people, not systems, that resolve them," says Rich Sherman, director of global supply chain strategy for manufacturing for Microsoft Corp. Microsoft’s goal is to enable "always-on, always-connected wireless applications to allow employees to resolve exceptions, anywhere, anytime."

Say, for example, that a rush order comes in out of the blue from a company's best customer. The shop floor manager can receive an alert on his smartphone as the order arrives ,even if he's out of the office. Right away, he can start pinging his trustiest suppliers on their ability to provide the needed goods in time. Being able to take quick action on an unexpected order is a key characteristic of the people-ready business of manufacturing operations, adds Sherman.

Microsoft's vision is to use wireless in conjunction with business analytics and other applications to remove the unexpected hurdles of life in manufacturing. "We envision a secure, synchronous, and collaborative supply network," says Sherman. "You can have real-time information and analytics about the flow of material through the supply network and can collaborate to solve exceptions."

For example, a production line might suffer an unexpected outage on a critical piece of equipment. To minimize the expensive unplanned downtime, the manager could send a colleague an instant message using a handheld device while walking the factory floor. That colleague might have unused capacity on the same piece of equipment, so the two could confer on moving the work-in-process over to the idle machine. This minimizes downtime and helps ensure customer orders can be fulfilled on time.

The need to empower workers with wireless connectivity doesn’t end at the factory gate, though. Sales people, product developers, maintenance crews, and other professionals who travel increasingly depend on the invisible data lifeline to the corporate data center for product, production, and financial information. Whether they use a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or other mobile data device, these workers need wireless access to corporate information no matter where or when.

With manufacturing facilities and customers spanning the globe, automotive and industrial belt maker Gates Corp., a Denver, Colorado-based unit of Tomkins plc, needed a better way for employees to work while away from the office. Customers demanded faster responses, and the company needed to react with the agility of its smaller competitors. Gates established a Mobility Center of Excellence and adopted a comprehensive mobility strategy that included standardizing on Windows Mobile—powered smartphones and Pocket PCs.

Gates is finding that its nearly 14,000 worldwide employees are using their devices to work more efficiently, with a greater emphasis on strategic efforts. For example, the company plans to expand its use of Windows Mobile-powered devices to include remote access to business applications such as customer relationship management. This will increase the value of the devices by improving the speed and quality of customer service.

Four Ways Wireless Helps Manufacturers' Employees Compete
Increase Productivity	Portable devices give employees the freedom to bring their offices and systems with them in house and between sites. RFID chips reduce the time needed to unpack, individually scan, and manually track items.
Save Floor Space	Mobile devices reduce the need for multiple space-consuming workstations.
Maximize Use of Existing Applications	An enterprise wireless network and portable devices give workers full access to applications and more time to focus on customer needs.
Avoid the Cost of Wiring	Network devices set up in a few compact areas can take care of an entire enterprise with no need to run wires.
Source: Microsoft, Join the Wireless Revolution

"Our customers are demanding faster product lifecycles as well as quicker and better service in what is a high-volume, competitive, global marketplace," says Greg Vigil, director of global enterprise collaboration at Gates. "Business doesn't stop when we leave the office. It's all about speed to market. We needed to demonstrate that a worldwide corporation like ours can react and deliver a level of customer service that is as high as that of smaller, regional companies."

Adds Paul Wise, global mobility specialist for Gates, "Part of the advantage of Windows Mobile is having the tools to enable our management groups, business personnel, and the sales force to collaborate, as well as gather, share, and respond in real time to customer needs, which is at the very core of our business model. And the flexibility available with Windows Mobile-powered devices enables us to easily expand that functionality to meet our future as well as current needs."

The ability to respond quickly to problems and other issues—the heart of exception management—will have a positive effect on the service Gates provides its customers, says Wise.

"Technology is like a fire extinguisher, helping you find, use, and share the information outside the business process to collaborate and solve the problem," explains Sherman. "We are helping enable people to resolve those fires before they burn down the forest."

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