March/April 2005

Delivery companies doing electronic manifesting and proof of delivery don't necessarily need a full-blown ruggedised data capture device, according to Skillweb. Managing director Chris Wright told us: "For many applications, a standard consumer PDA will do just as well."

Whilst admitting that these are much more fragile than ruggedised equivalents, he points out that they cost only about a quarter of the price of many more sophisticated devices. He adds that a tiny plug-in barcode reader can give them data capture capability, and some models such as O2/s XDA also have built-in mobile phone technology.

Wright is on record with his belief that ruggedised handheld units are currently too expensive. He accepts that their ruggedness and feature sets do give them added value, but says they need to fall in price to unlock the real potential of the mobile market.

Skillweb's latest product is an attractively straightforward yet powerful solution to dynamic proof-of-delivery gathering - its 20/20ePOD system. This draws together many of the elements found in more complex systems, but packages them in a way that aims to convey a clear-cut proposition to users. It can also be provided as part of a comprehensive mobile management system.

 

Features include barcode scanning, date and time stamping and near real-time communications via GPRS. It is available to run on a variety of Pocket PC-style devices.