Manhattan Launches Mobile Supply Chain Application, FieldScout

With companies increasingly needing immediate, real-time visibility of supply chain processes while in the field, Manhattan Associates has launched FieldScout: Supply Chain Optimised for Untethered Technology, which aims to put ground-level supply chain functions in the hands of the frontline professionals who keep goods and services flowing.

Working with handheld devices, Manhattan says that FieldScout is an application designed for today’s extended enterprise to deliver on-the-go visibility and decision-making power, even when users are occasionally disconnected.

“Having a mobile supply chain strategy just makes good sense if you consider that nearly 75 percent of European workers are now mobile,” said Chris Stephenson, managing director for Manhattan Associates in Australia & New Zealand. “For supply chain professionals, that means moving functionality out of the office and closer to customers via the hands of the end user.”

FieldScout applications function with Manhattan’s Supply Chain Process Platform by utilising core solutions in combination with an intelligent client interface residing on a handheld device running Windows Mobile. Reportedly always available, even when a wireless connection is unavailable or lost, FieldScout allows a user to continue to make supply chain decisions whether working in a store aisle or in an off-site storage facility.

Current FieldScout applications include: FieldScout for Hub Management - users can perform scan-based receiving quickly for inbound shipments, as well as print new outbound shipping labels and documentation ‘from the hip’ when required and execute shipments once fully loaded and ready for departure; and FieldScout for Store Gateway – enables scan-based receiving for all deliveries, locates inventory in the store or in neighbouring stores and quickly manages ad-hoc inventory adjustments for in-store consumption or spot-counts.