Case study 1: The Mobile Pocket Office Can you run your company out of your pocket?

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Case study 1: The Mobile Pocket Office Can you run your company out of your pocket? Perhaps not entirely, but there are many business functions today that can be performed using an iPhone, iPad, or Android mobile handheld device. The smartphone has been called the "Swiss Army knife of the digital age." A flick of the finger turns it into a web browser, a telephone, a camera, a music or video player, an e-mail and messaging machine, and, increasingly, a gateway into corporate systems. New software applications for document sharing, collaboration, sales, order processing, inventory management, and production monitoring make these devices even more versatile business tools. Mobile pocket offices that fit into a purse or coat pocket are helping to run companies large and small. Sonic Automotive is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States with more than 100 dealerships in 14 states. Every year Sonic sells 250,000 new and used cars from approximately 25 different automotive brands, and it also sells auto parts and maintenance, warranty, collision, and vehicle financing services. Sonic Automotive managers and employees do much of their work on the iPhone and iPad. Sonic developed several custom iPhone and iPad applications to speed up sales and service. Virtual Lot, a dealer inventory app, lets sales associates quickly search for vehicles held in inventory by all Sonic dealerships. They have immediate access to vehicle information, pricing, trade- in values, interest rates, special promotions, financing, and what competitors are charging for identical vehicles. The associates can quickly find the best selection for each customer and often offer far more choices than the competition. Dealers are not limited to selling only their own inventory. A mobile app called the Sonic Inventory Management System (SIMS) has speeded up and simplified trade-in appraisals and pricing. Sonic staff use their iPhones or iPads to take photos of a car, input the vehicle identification number (VIN) and mileage, and note any issues. The data are transmitted to corporate headquarters, which can quickly appraise the car. A Service Pad app simplifies the steps in repair and warranty work. In the past, customers with cars requiring repairs had to go inside the dealership and sit at a desk with a Sonic staff member who wrote up the repair order by hand. Now the Sonic staff members go outside to the customer's vehicle and enter the repair order on an iPad on the spot. Source: Laudon, K.C. & Laudon, J.P. (2018), Management Information Systems Managing the Digital Firm, p37 Questions: 1. What are the main benefits of the mobile handheld devices? 2. What are the main apps developed and used by Sonic? 3. To what extent these apps were useful for Sonic?