UK’s AA Improves Mobile Workforce Efficiency with Rugged Tablet Deployment
The roadside assistance business is one of big numbers and logistical challenges. With over 10,000 breakdown calls a day and a rescue achieved every nine seconds, the UK’s AA has its hands full. As the nation’s leading consumer roadside assistance service provider, with over 40% of the market, the AA knows that technology plays a critical role in providing quality service to its customers. Outfitting their team of mobile service technicians with the best technology helps the AA maintain their ability to fix 4 out of 5 cars at the roadside – with repairs taking less than 30 minutes on average.
Having benefitted from mobile technology for years, the AA began the process of looking for ways to further evolve their business operations using mobility, connectivity and functionality with their current, and proven, Toughbook 19-based solution. A purpose-built, ruggedized tablet was the obvious choice.
Following their previous success with Panasonic’s devices, the AA chose to deploy 3,000 of the latest rugged Panasonic Toughpad tablets to help patrols enhance communications and service to customers. The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 tablets will be used by patrols to respond to the thousands of requests they receive daily.
The new tablets are lighter and easier to use than the previous solution, and offer improved 4G communications and enhanced features such as on screen forms and signature capture.
“The move to a Panasonic Toughpad tablet was a natural evolution for us,” said Arran Simms, Motoring Innovations Manager at the AA. “With the latest 4G communications and touchscreen capabilities via the Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro operating system, our patrols will be able to respond faster and more effectively than ever before.”
The Toughpad FZ-G1 rugged tablet is the primary device for patrols when responding to breakdown calls. The patrols accept jobs via the tablet, locate the breakdown using GPS and let the customer service center know when they have arrived on site. They can also search online for specialist knowledge and order replacement parts before completing the task and closing the job.
The AA also ordered specially designed Panasonic dashboard-mounted vehicle docking stations to hold the tablets when on the move, which enables the devices to be used for job dispatch and route guidance. The Panasonic ProServices team of in-house CAD designers worked with the AA to refine the existing docking station and produced a solution which not only met the requirements of the AA patrol vehicles, but also addressed the wider market.
“This latest deployment will help ensure the AA patrols continue to have access to the very latest ergonomically designed, easy to use and reliable mobile technology on the market,” said Paul Davidson, Corporate Sales Manager for Computer Product Solutions at Panasonic (U.K.). “The enhanced communication features and touchscreen capabilities will ensure drivers in need receive a faster and more efficient service than ever before.”
For more information, read the full press release.
###
