This is especially true in peak periods when companies are more likely to recruit seasonal staff to ease the pressure.   

A familiar operating system, such as Android, (available on rugged mobiles as well as consumer devices), will help speed up the time it takes to be productive. The processes involved in picking, packing and putting away are easy with an intuitive system. What’s more, it’s a way of keeping delivery schedules on track.

Avoiding outages in consumer mobile or rugged mobile fleets is also critical. It can cause unnecessary and costly productivity slumps. If a device stops charging, or the scanner breaks it can be detrimental to the day’s priorities.   

Consumer mobiles vs rugged mobiles. The trends influencing purchase decisions 

However, mandates from the board to keep overheads down is exerting even more pressure on the purchasing decisions. Warehouse, IT and operations managers are therefore being encouraged to buy cheaper handsets to meet these budget obligations.

The race to ensure productivity never dips must be balanced against reducing expenditure. It’s probably no surprise to learn that there have been more reports related to how consumer mobile trends are influencing device purchasing decisions. It’s a popular strategy in the warehouse and logistics environment.    

TechTarget, a well-respected magazine for the IT industry, recently looked in depth at the influence Android and iOS have had in business environments.  

It notes the rise of using Android devices reflects the highly customisable user interface. This is especially helpful when adopting business applications in the warehouse.  

The rugged device options that Android boasts is also compelling - some 100 rugged devices across the market compared to just the usual consumer mobile form factor from Apple. 

Certainly, deploying mobile devices that people are familiar with using day-to-day is shaping purchasing strategy. Firstly, there’s the cost of consumer mobiles versus rugged mobiles. It’s considerable cheaper to buy consumer so it’s driving interest.  

Secondly, employee engagement is compelling. If you’re happy to use iOS and Android to run your personal life, then you’ll be more comfortable using those operating systems at work. In terms of rugged devices in the warehouse, it’s worth noting there are options. Android is prevalent and making significant headway in terms of boosting productivity and employee satisfaction scores.

 

Does a strategy of buying consumer devices vs rugged devices introduce more cost long term? 

To answer this question, we need to look at the total cost of ownership or TCO. It’s easy to think that the payback on a device will be quick if you’ve only spent £400 on a consumer device compared to £1500 for a rugged handheld device.    

True. At face value, it looks like a no-brainer. However, at TouchStar, we are aware of companies that have been caught out. Their strategy to provide a device with a familiar form factor and operating systems at a lower price has cost more, overall, than initially anticipated. Much more.    

There are several factors for this. Rugged mobiles are built for the most hostile of warehouse conditions. They will bounce if dropped on a concrete floor, and the screens can withstand intense pressure.    

Rugged mobiles with integrated heaters won’t freeze if temperatures plummet. Conversely, thanks to their IP rating, they will withstand humid temperatures.  They are built to cope with condensation and water effortlessly, just as they will stand up to the test of grit or dust.    

But, consumer mobiles, even in durable cases, will not withstand such gruelling conditions.    

We hear of companies that have experienced disruption and unnecessary downtime caused by dropped devices being sent for repair, through to glitchy touchscreens that can’t cope with heavy and repetitive use.    

The cost of lost worker productivity is one thing, the costs in repair and even replacement are another. In effect, the decision to use consumer mobiles vs rugged mobiles has become a false economy.    

Using ROI calculators to illustrate the rugged device vs consumer device business case  

Exorbitant in-life costs simply can’t be sustained. But persuading the business that it’s worth spending more up front, to spend less overall isn’t an easy sell.    

That’s why TouchStar has developed an ROI calculator to illustrate the long-term value of investing in rugged mobile devices versus consumer mobiles.    

It uses some industry averages from rugged handset manufacturers and our own experience of rolling out thousands of devices every month.  

The calculations also factor in the five-year support contract we offer. With such a comprehensive set of criteria powering the calculator, we are sure it will help purchasing teams identify the best route to go down: 

• On average it takes 2 hours to set up a consumer mobile for warehouse operations, compared to 30 minutes for a rugged mobile.  
• Rugged mobiles typically last around 60 months before they should be replaced. Whereas a consumer mobile tends to last for 24 months, at best.  
• When it comes to device performance you should expect an average of 20% downtime over a consumer handset’s life, compared to 10% for rugged.    

The TouchStar ROI calculator understands these parameters so will apply the industry averages to the calculations it performs:  

 

Let’s start with some basics. A rugged device can cost around three to four times more than a consumer device.     

For this example, a consumer device costs £400 and a rugged one costs almost four times as much as £1,500.   

Next, we’ll consider device life expectancy. That’s how long the rugged mobile or consumer mobile needs to last in the environment you plan to deploy them in. There is also a subtle difference at play here. The time a device will last, compared to how long a company expects it to last.    

On average, most companies expect an investment to last five years. Of course, this is all subject to reasonable expectations on the durability and lifespan of the device. You should expect a rugged device to last longer than a consumer device.  

How can the device lifespan be reflected in ROI calculations? 

But what happens if any of the following common mishaps happen to a consumer device vs a rugged device?   

The device is: 

• Dropped in a puddle 
• Subject to condensation  
• Dropped from a height onto a hard floor  
• Exposed to dust  is thrown around i.e. it’s not treated in a way someone would treat their own device  
• Subject to a touch screen fault from heavy use or scratched screen.    

A rugged device is likely to come off unscathed. A consumer one, however, is very unlikely to survive, and at the very least shows signs of wear and deterioration because of a knock or a shock.    

The average time to repair or replace a broken handset, the drop in warehouse capacity and the length of productivity downtime, generate high costs. Indeed, it won’t take long before the consumer mobile becomes untenable for use.   

To help calculate the full picture, our calculator uses the industry averages associated to a device coming out of circulation for a period of time.    

Crucially, it will also consider staff wages and therefore the costs associated to a loss in worker productivity, and the cost of employing IT staff to rectify the problem.    

The costs will grow exponentially if you are dealing with multiple devices over a four-year period. It could be as much as 50% more.    

Total cost of ownership for consumer devices vs rugged mobile devices 

Looking back at our initial parameters and the costs associated with the disruption outlined above, the difference in total cost of ownership becomes stark.    

Over a period of four years, we can see the ROI in consumer mobile vs rugged mobile as follows.   

For a consumer mobile, the total cost of ownership for one device amounts to £21,030. This is because the lifespan of a consumer device is shortened in a warehouse environment.  There are greater costs related to the level of intervention by IT to repair/replace a handset, and the downtime for workers.   

Whereas in the case of a rugged device, built to last and withstand the toughest conditions, the total cost of ownership is £11,597.50. This is almost half that of the consumer TCO.    

With numbers like these, senior managers can’t ignore the realities of buying consumer over rugged. It really is a case of ‘buy it cheap, buy it twice.’    

Our ROI calculator is now live at https://www.rugged-mobile-computers.co.uk/rugged-mobile-computer-savings-calculator, so why not test it for yourself to understand consumer v’s rugged mobile costs? Play around with the costs and timespans and you’ll quickly see how adjusting your purchasing strategy in favour of rugged mobile devices could pay dividends in the long term.