Managed Mobility for Manufacturers: Lower IT Workload & Device Downtime

Manufacturers often rely on thousands of connected mobile devices to keep frontline workers connected, increase employee productivity, and improve throughput company-wide. From the factory floor to the warehouse, loading dock, and remote worksites, mobile solutions are having a positive impact on operations. A Zebra study with Oxford Economics found that manufacturers that meaningfully improved their quality control and assurance workflows reported 2.4 percentage points higher revenue growth and 1.4 percentage points higher profitability than those that did not. However, mobile device deployments only deliver those benefits if they work. Managed mobility services can help.

Maintaining large mobile fleets is time-consuming for a manufacturer's IT team. Those resources may find themselves spending more of their days deploying devices, helping frontline workers troubleshoot issues, and managing repairs. Unfortunately, that means they have less time to spend on helping their organization meet its strategic goals, like strengthening cybersecurity, building integrated data streams, implementing AI, or other aspects of digital transformation. Managed mobility reduces the internal IT workload while ensuring reliable mobile solution performance.

What Is Managed Mobility?

Managed mobility services from a third-party provider support devices, including mobile computers, scanners, tablets, printers, industrial wearables, vehicle-mounted computers, and Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints, throughout their lifecycles. The service provider, not the internal IT team, handles deployment, updates, security, troubleshooting, and repair. The provider offers these services efficiently, using remote capabilities when possible, and giving the manufacturer visibility into its entire mobile fleet from a centralized dashboard.

Why Mobility Management Is Becoming More Complex

As manufacturing technology advances with digital transformation initiatives, managing mobile solutions is becoming a bigger job. The number of devices collecting and generating data that the connected factory needs to operate is growing, which, in itself, can make the workload on the internal IT team unmanageable. However, the challenge comes from more than just a growing number of devices. These factors also add complexity:

• Multiple operating systems, applications, device models, and OEM support agreements
• Devices distributed across plants, warehouses, yards, fleets, and field locations
• Shift-based device sharing and seasonal workforce changes
• Increasing application, security, and patching requirements
• Difficulty maintaining configuration consistency across locations
• Limited visibility into device condition and service history

Services from a mobile solutions management partner give manufacturers a way to manage this increasing complexity, and the demand for these services shows that manufacturers are looking for a solution. Mordor Intelligence estimates that the global managed mobility services market will increase from $9.5 billion in 2026 to $28.84 billion by 2031, a 24.86% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over that period.

What Does Managed Mobility Include?

A comprehensive managed service includes the technology and support necessary to optimize solution performance and uptime:

1. MDM and UEM

Mobile device management (MDM) and unified endpoint management (UEM) platforms give the provider centralized control over mobile endpoints. These tools provide visibility into device health and performance and streamline application deployment, configurations, and updates. The provider can also use them to enforce company policies, such as which applications an employee can use on a company tablet. MDM and UEM can also strengthen security by managing access control and locking or wiping lost devices. And when issues arise, the provider can use these tools to troubleshoot the device remotely, saving time and controlling maintenance costs.

2. Remote Support

A comprehensive service includes help desk and remote technical support. Technicians can use MDM and UEM tools to perform health checks and correct issues remotely. Remote capabilities can help to resolve many issues that users have with mobile devices, eliminating the need to send the device for depot service or to send a tech to provide in-person service.

3. Device Lifecycle Management

Services for mobile solution management can cover the entire life of a mobile endpoint. An experienced provider can offer advice on device selection and handle procurement, staging, kitting, imaging, configuration, and deployment. The service will also include proactive maintenance to maximize uptime and repairs with advanced exchange to avoid disruption to operations. Additionally, the service provider will handle device retirement, ensuring that sensitive data is not at risk of exposure and responsibly recycling hardware.

Managed Mobility Models

Depending on operational needs, in-house IT resources, and current workload, manufacturers can work with managed service providers for mobility management in these three ways:

• Fully managed: The provider handles the manufacturer's mobile fleet, from staging and deployment to configuration, security, monitoring, repairs, replacement, and retirement.
• Co-managed: The provider works with the internal IT team to complement its capabilities.
• Device as a Service: The provider manages the mobility deployment and owns the devices, which the manufacturer leases as a part of the service. This model can result in more predictable costs while maximizing mobile solution uptime and reliability.

The Advantages of Adding Managed Network Services

Beyond managing mobile solutions themselves, manufacturers can also partner with a provider for managed network services. Without reliable wireless connectivity, mobile devices cannot keep the frontline connected to the systems and applications they need.

A managed network service can complement managed mobility by helping a manufacturer optimize its network by conducting a site survey to identify and resolve gaps in coverage, installing and maintaining network infrastructure, monitoring network performance and availability, and managing network security. An experienced managed network service provider can also advise manufacturers on the best combination of technologies, such as Wi-Fi, private 5G, or cellular, for each use case and on how to scale the IT environment.

The Impact of Managed Mobility on Manufacturers

A manufacturer's internal IT team will immediately recognize the benefits of managed services by finding more time in their day for other priorities and an improvement in device uptime without hiring more technicians. But the entire enterprise will feel the positive impact of partnering with a service provider to handle mobile solution management:

• Lower downtime costs: Device downtime leads to losses in worker productivity, manufacturing delays, lost revenue, and occasionally the costs of rework or correcting errors. When mobile solutions work consistently and reliably, operations can continue without interruption.
• Greater visibility: Centralized monitoring and asset tracking can give manufacturers better insight into device health and usage. IT teams can use this information to address issues proactively and cost-effectively.
• Stronger security: Consistent security policies, timely software updates, data encryption, and access control will help protect mobile endpoints. But they also protect a company's intellectual property (IP) and sensitive customer data, and, ultimately, its reputation.
• Scalability: Managed services can make it easier to add, redeploy, or decommission mobile devices as operations change.
• Predictable costs: Managed services, and specifically, the Device as a Service model, can shift spending toward predictable recurring costs and reduce the capital expenditure associated with device ownership.

Choose an Experienced Managed Mobility Service Provider

Manufacturers need mobile technology that works reliably across the environments where employees depend on it. An experienced managed services provider can help reduce the operational burden while giving internal IT more time to focus on strategic priorities.

Levata successfully partners with manufacturers to provide managed mobility services, from procurement and deployment to the end of device life. Ready to eliminate the complexity of managing an expanding mobile deployment to give your company the benefits without the added burden on your IT team? Contact us today.