Several times this year, we have written postings related to the role, current and future, of mobile computing and social networking technologies in supply chain management.

At the Web 2.0 Summit 2009 yesterday, Mary Meeker from Morgan Stanley gave an excellent presentation on the economy and Internet trends. Regarding the economy, Ms. Meeker presented a wealth of data—domestic and global GDP, consumer confidence, manufacturing, retail sales, advertising spending, home sales, unemployment, and more—which suggests “leading economic indicators seem to have turned [the] corner, [while] coincident / lagging indicators [are] still weak.” She didn’t present any transportation data, but last week the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics announced that its Freight Transportation Service Index (TSI) rose 0.7 percent in August from its July level, the second consecutive monthly increase. The Freight TSI has now gone four consecutive months without a decline after dropping in 9 of the previous 12 months. In short, freight transportation is another leading economic indicator that’s heading in the right direction.

But the most interesting part of Ms. Meeker’s presentation, embedded below, was the data she presented on mobile Internet trends.

Mary Meeker’s Internet Presentation 2009

Here are the ‘8 Key Mobile Internet Themes’ she presented:

  1. Mobile Internet Usage Is and Will Be Bigger than Most Think.
  2. Apple Mobile Share Should Surprise on Upside Near-Term.
  3. Next Generation Platforms (Social Networking + Mobile) Driving Unprecedented Change in Communications + Commerce.
  4. Mobile in Japan + Desktop Internet Provide Roadmaps for Mobile Growth + Monetization.
  5. 3G Adoption / Trends Vary By Geography.
  6. Carriers in USA / W. Europe Face Surging Network Demand But Uncertain Economics.
  7. Regulators Can Help Advance / Slow Mobile Internet Evolution.
  8. Mobile-Related Share Shifts Will Create / Destroy Material Shareholder Wealth.

I recommend that you review the presentation for all the supporting data. I’m just going to focus briefly on themes 1 and 3.

According to data compiled by Ms. Meeker, mobile internet adoption is significantly outpacing past adoption rates. For example, the total number of Apple iPhone and iTouch users equal 8 times the number of AOL users 8 quarters after launch (in its latest quarterly results, Apple reported selling almost 6.9 million iPhones in the quarter, up from 1.1 million units in the year-ago-quarter). Also, GPS and Wi-Fi chipsets are growing 57 percent and 42 percent, year-over-year, respectively.

Ms. Meeker also highlights this quote from an article written by Mathew Honan in WIRED magazine in January: “Thanks to the iPhone 3G and, to a lesser extent, Google’s Android phone, millions of people are now walking around with a gizmo in their pocket that not only knows where they are but also plugs into the Internet to share that info, merge it with online databases, and find out what – and who – is in the immediate vicinity…Simply put, location changes everything. This one input – our coordinates – has the potential to change all the outputs. Where we shop, who we talk to, what we read, what we search for, where we go – they all change once we merge location and the Web.”

Yes, location changes everything. The use of GPS and location data in supply chain management is not new, but it also hasn’t been pervasive. Mobile internet devices are bringing ‘location awareness’ to the masses. And when you couple this with RFID and sensor technologies, the opportunities to transform supply chain processes are truly exciting. Are we there yet? No, but companies seeking to leverage their supply chains as a competitive differentiator cannot afford to ignore these trends.

Ms. Meeker goes on to say, “Mobile devices will evolve as remote controls for ever expanding types of real-time cloud-based services, including emerging category of location-based services, creating opportunities and dislocations, empowering consumers in unprecedented and transformative ways.”

I would argue that mobile devices will empower not just consumers, but business users too. As I wrote in a recent posting, “iPhone apps are the ‘ERP’ for mobile workers, especially business executives who spend more time in planes, trains, and automobiles than in their office. Enterprise apps are designed to power business processes from servers in a data center, while iPhone apps are designed to empower people from a device in their hand.”

Mobile devices will become the remote controls for transportation management systems, warehouse management systems, and other enterprise applications. Software vendors that ignore what’s happening with mobile Internet devices and applications will likely miss a tremendous growth opportunity.

Is this more hype than reality? Nothing happens overnight in supply chain management, so the opportunities created by mobile internet devices and technologies will likely take years to fully materialize. And of course, if there’s no strong business case, there’s no action or investment. But based on how quickly mobile internet and social network technologies are transforming the consumer world, I’m betting a similar transformation will occur in business and supply chain management.

What do you think?

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