WorkDesk Suite

The idea is to realize a complete product for the managing of all “workforce” in a business.
The name of this product is:

WorkDesk Suite

Workforce Management Solution by GN

composed by modules:
● Mobile WorkDesk: for the managin of the resouce that work on territory; is
composed by a software installed on the mobile device; can be connect to a printer or a
keyboard (by Bluetooth tecnology): this system allows the “workforce” to insert data
directly into the back-end system. (through the communications, by web service, with
WorkDesk Enterprise Server).
● WorkDesk Manager Console (MC): for the planning and managing of all human
resources;
○ WorkDesk Scheduler → for the scheduling of resources and for the managing of
customer's call;
○ WorkDesk Dispatcher → for the automatic assignment of the mission;
○ WorkDesk Map → for the visualization of the path made by resources; this
software can be configured in order to be integreted in automatic way with a
geolocalization service, like: Google Maps , Microsoft Virtual Earth,
Yahoo Maps , OpenStreeMap .

○ WorkDesk Administrator Panel → for the configuration of the module factory,
for the managing of the mobile devices, for the configuration of central server,...
○ WorkDesk DaskBoard → for the managing of missions, customers, and
groups,....
● WorkDesk Enterprise Server: is a web application (J2EE/Servlet 2.4 compliant) that
allows the communication between Mobile WorkDesk/WorkDesk MC and back-end
system; The enterprise server is composed by varius modules:
○ Factory: is the main module; allows to manage the communication with
heterogeneous back-end in a transparent manner. Through the configuration of this
tool you can manage the retrieval of information from an ERP system or the
standalone database of the WorkDeskSuite changing only a configuration parameter;
the access to the back-end system can be scheduled or on real time: the information
can arrive directly on ERP system from mobile devices (a person or a software can
avoid to make additional data entry operations, this leads to a significant reduction in
management solution cost);
○ Transaction Manager: transactional management of the operations executed with
mobile client: this module ensures the consistency of the data arriving from all
handhelds / mobile client of technicians;
○ Authenticator Controller: manage the credential and the profile of the users; the
authentication controller can be configured from WorkDesk MC to use the repository
or to use the Factory to engage (through LDAP protocoll) on a directory service(for
example Microsoft Active Directory, ApacheDirectory, OpenLdap, ...) or a third part
software(through a web service interface);
○ WorkDesk Engine: provides the engine for implementation of all basic operations
by all modules;
○ WorkDesk Services: is a set of web services, there are two services category:
■ WorkDesk Suite → ensure communications between all components/modules;
■ Integration WorkDesk Services → allows to the back-end system to modify
and read data of the WorkDesk Suite.
You can decide to install only a part of the suite (the architecture is modular).
The versions avaiable are:
● Stand Alone Edition → not need a back end system (alla the manage of data is internal);
● Enterprise Edition → need a back end system for retrieve all or a part of data of
techincians, mission,...

 

 

Who is meant to satisfy WorkDesk Suite is designed to address the main needs of the
workforce of every business even working on the field, closer to the client. The location services and smart scheduler features are specifically meant to reduce transfer cost and optimize task assignment to the people closer to the intervention location and with the most suitable knowledge of the problem, allowing you to satisfy client requests in the least possible time and so improving customer satisfaction.
The possibility to integrate with almost every existing backends or to work stand alone is
another factor of cost reduction, allowing the integration with existing systems for business that already have one and no additional software for the one that doesn't have.
This is important even in term of scalability of the entire solution because it is possible to start with the stand alone version and convert to the enterprise only when your business grow and new backends are added.
Another key factor of WorkDesk Suite is the ability to work on smartphones and other small
devices (like MIDs – Mobile Internet Devices), typically easier to carry in and with a better
battery life than any notebook on the market.
With the cost of smartphones falling every day, the investment requested to provide every
technician with a device is accessible even to small businesses. The whole solution also has a high Return On Investment (ROI) because the improved efficiency allow reduction of useless costs connected to transfers and wrong task assignments.
The typical customer of WorkDesk Suite is a business that has many technician involved in
maintenance and installation on client site, but works well for every business that has people that work off-site.
Other possible uses of WorkDesk Suite are all the realities in which one of the mission critical factors is time-to-intervention. This could also be a completely different scenario like a taxi company that can use the smart scheduler to select the taxi closer to the client at the moment of the service request.
WorkDesk Suite can also be used to support marketing agents and other Sales Force
Automation solutions thanks to its modularity and the availability of a set of API that allows
customization and development of new modules to satisfy specific needs.
Because of the ability to retrieve data directly from the backend and deliver it to the device in “real time” the agent can access to real warehouse availability and “flash” promotions and can send orders back to the backend just after having it collected. If the customer wants, it is possible to have the invoice sent to his email address just after the order has been processed.

 

for more information: WorkDesk Enterprise Server