Plan b Solutions Information Technology Blog

Case Study: How Mobility Solves Business Problems

narter@planbsolutions.com — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:33:00 GMT

Today, I'd like to provide an example of how Mobility can solve real business problems. Here is a case study on one of our clients that provides a little info on our approach to solving problems. To be clear (I am a true blogger), this is not a sales pitch. My hope is that you'll glean some good ideas about how to approach Mobility effectively for your business. If you feel like discussing this, on the other hand, just toss me a comment and I'll give you a call. : )

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Finding a Great IT Consulting Firm

narter@planbsolutions.com — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:46:00 GMT

In the interest of completing projects as efficiently as possible, it makes sense to bring in outside expertise to help us complete IT projects. This post talks about how to identify the best IT Consultation firm for the job, and how to ensure that your project is a success.

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Why Augment your IT Staff?

narter@planbsolutions.com — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:39:00 GMT

In any economy, you need to be as strategic as possible when managing your human resources. This post addresses the items to consider when you decide to augment your IT staff with contract-based talent.

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What is Your Wireless Network Strategy?

narter@planbsolutions.com — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:18:00 GMT

Have you thought about how much more efficient your field workers or delivery personnel could be if you gave them the ability to communicate seamlessly -- no matter where they were at the time? In today's post, I discuss some ideas on how to put together your Wireless Network Strategy.

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Thinking About Business Process Improvement?

narter@planbsolutions.com — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:36:00 GMT

In any economy, it is just an intelligent business practice to examine your business processes and ensure that they are as efficient as possible. With technology improving every day, you can really improve your bottom line by automating your processes . . . and at the same time, you can increase your customer satisfaction, too. Read on for our approach . . .

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TGIF -- and the Electronic Medical Record . . .

narter@planbsolutions.com — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:49:00 GMT

For all of you in the medical field who are trying to figure out the stimulus package and how it relates to EMR, read on . . .

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More on Food Safety . . .

narter@planbsolutions.com — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:53:00 GMT

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From Field to Fork . . .

narter@planbsolutions.com — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:44:00 GMT

There has been a lot in the news regarding food scares lately. I was talking to a colleague this week who will no longer feed his daughter peanut butter because she became ill after eating some at her elementary school. Luckily, she's OK . . . but it is definitely more important than ever to be able to determine the source of food for quick "issue" resolution.

In a recent newsletter from the SupplyChainBrain,the author speaks to this problem:

The unending headlines about contamination in our food supply has made food safety a major concern. Also consumers want to know how fresh is the food; where was it grown? Is it really organic? Food traceability is key to reliably answering these and other questions about our food supply. Food traceability involves recording the movements, hand-offs and processing that occurs as food ingredients travel all the way from “farm to fork.”

Food traceability will most certainly continue to be at the forefront of both consumer and regulatory concern. Those food producers that we consult with are all about figuring out how to more effectively trace their food as it travels from their fields to the consumer. As the newsletter points out, there are three good reasons for this:

• Safety—Traceability can help assure the quality and safety of the food supply, provide rapid precise recalls, and pinpoint underlying causes of contamination.

• Brand Enhancement—A freshness guarantee is possible when temperature and humidity are recorded, from harvest to final sale. Some consumers will pay a premium for products that demonstrate social responsibility traits or health benefits (e.g., organic) requiring traceability.

• Supply Chain Efficiencies—Once traceability is in place, companies have precise, detailed historical data about timing, handling, condition, and flow of goods. This can be analyzed to identify weaknesses (e.g., excess dwell times, lack of FIFO disciplines, incorrect storage, etc.) to improve processes and reduce spoilage.

Once again, improving your business processes can help all areas of your business. The net net is that if you are keeping consumers happy and doing it more efficiently, the return on dollars spent on technology improvements are very quickly realized. In addition, you certainly don't want to be the company who ends up in front of Congress having to explain (or not) what happened with your peanuts.

More on Healthcare IT: The Plan to Get to Electronic Medical Records

narter@planbsolutions.com — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:49:00 GMT

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Incentivizing Healthcare to Improve Business Processes

narter@planbsolutions.com — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:40:00 GMT

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