Last mile

From ArticleWorld

In the world of business, the last mile is the most significant stage of the life cycle of a product as it is during this stage that the entire process of manufacturing and other background activities will either reap the profits of its labour or go bust.

The term last mile, though commonly in use in the business terminology nowadays, has traditionally been reserved to the telecommunications and cable television industry, during the process of drawing the wires to the individual addresses from the control point. This is a laborious task and at times the consumption of materials doesn’t justify the cost. Not to mention the recurring maintenance costs of having to change the cables that get snapped or reduction in its connectivity due to the weather or otherwise.

Ways to offset the losses of the last mile

The last mile of any service or business is nowadays being seen as more of a ‘front office’ approach to business, rather than a ‘supply and forget’ approach of yore. Due to the intense competition as well as the unpredictability of supplies and breakdown of machinery at times, companies are taking this route as a way of immediately servicing customers’ needs when a customer’s application is received for a new connection, as well as to attend to all calls, either telephonic or site calls.

This manner of approach ensures that customers are not lost as well as ensures that the company’s image and reputation are kept intact, factors that are very vital for a company to sustain itself and grow.

New developments in the fields

Many companies are going in for mixed networks to control their last mile costs as well as to ensure that the services are available in as short a time as possible. This form of connectivity allows the company to share resources as well as to do away with the cumbersome wiring. These wireless networks, better known as fixed wireless access, allows the ‘stationery’ item in the customer’s place to be connected to the wire line network, without too much or any extra wiring works.

Predominantly successful examples of this process are the WiMAX as well as the broadband over power line, or BPL. These systems of deliveries have been able to bring costs down, reduce connection times &, maintenance costs and manpower requirements and not to mention their ease of operation.