Real Time Information
More and more, the internet and broadband allow you to give the outside world instant access to real-time data about your operations. For many companies, this has revolutionised customer service and reduced the need to devote resources to answering the telephone.
Logistics and delivery companies, for example, commonly allow their customers to track the movements of their packages in near-real-time. Hotels and car rental companies give potential customers real-time information about the availability of rooms and vehicles respectively on their websites.
If you are a manufacturer, it is worth thinking about what kind of information you can provide about your products online. This isn't just an issue that affects customers. What about employees at different sites who are working on a project or waiting for the results to be delivered? What is the best way of keeping them updated on progress? Often, the answer lies in linking your ERP systems (enterprise resource planning) to the web, and with open access of broadband, there is almost no limit to the kind of information you can make available.