American Furniture Warehouse Enables Managers To Pocket Their Desktop Tools For Increased Efficiency And Productivity

American Furniture Warehouse was looking to leverage integrated mobile voice and data to improve the accessibility, efficiency and effectiveness of store managers. Each location has three to four managers, and each manager is responsible for supervising 60 to 70 salespeople. But the tools required to perform daily tasks kept managers tethered to the desk instead of out on the sales floor managing their staff. The desktop computer was required to access the company intranet to check inventory and pricing, answer email and access other computer productivity applications, and the deskphone was required to place and return phone calls. The company was looking for a way to mobilize the desk tools to enable managers to remain on the sales floor throughout the day.

The company armed managers in each location with the ideal mobile management tool, Symbol's MC50. The integration of voice and data on a small, lightweight PDA-style device enabled the company to put the power of a desktop computer, scanner and desk phone right in the pockets of sales managers. Support for 802.11b enabled seamless integration with the company's existing wireless LAN, delivering realtime anywhere anytime voice and data communications. And integration of the Business Communications Manager (BCM) switch from Nortel provides one of the industry's largest portfolio of telephony features, including the ability to extend desk phone functionality to mobile devices.