How to Take Advantage of Mobile Device Geofencing

Mobility and mobile devices have become an essential part of your business operations. From manufacturing and warehousing to transportation and logistics, industries across the entire supply chain and beyond have adopted mobility technologies to increase efficiency and keep up with customers’ demands.

But now that you have all these mobile devices, how do you make sure that they’re being used how and where they were intended? How do you ensure that none of them have been misplaced or, in some cases, stolen?

This is where a mobile device management (MDM) solution comes in handy. One of the many benefits of an MDM solution is the geofencing capability.

What is a Geofence?

It’s a digital boundary that uses GPS or RFID technology to allow or control certain aspects of device performance inside and outside the set boundary.

Creating a geofence is extremely simple. It can take as much or as little time as you want, and the geofence itself can be as detailed as you want it to be.

Using MDM software like MobiControl, you simply draw a digital border around a geographical area. (Check out this video to see what we mean.) Then you set up the notifications, alerts, and functions you want to be performed based on device behavior in your geofence.

What’s the purpose of geofencing?

By setting virtual boundaries, you can use a geofence for:

• Simple device tracking within the geofence
• Defining specific actions to execute automatically when devices enter or exit the geofence
• Detecting and locking down lost or stolen devices
• Provisioning applications, policies, and services

Industry Use Case Examples

Asset Management with Geofencing

• Geofencing enhances asset management for mobile assets when paired with mobile device management solutions.

• Enables tracking, securing, and optimizing the use of mobile assets.

Warehouse and Distribution Center Applications

• Create a geofence around a warehouse, distribution center, or manufacturing plant to monitor devices like mobile computers or rugged tablets.

• Set rules to notify administrators if devices leave the geofence.

• Mobile device management solutions can disable devices that exit the geofence, protecting against theft and securing critical business data.

• Geographic triggers alert workers when delivery vehicles enter or exit the geofence, enabling faster preparation for unloading and reducing downtime.

Fleet Management

• Apply geofences to shipping routes to monitor truck drivers.

• Mobile device management solutions notify dispatchers if a driver deviates from the route, ensuring efficient use of time and improving delivery operations.

• Provides visibility into actual hours worked, helping fleet managers reduce wasteful spending and allocate resources fairly.

Driver Performance and Safety

• Set geofences around the start and end locations of drivers’ routes.

• Disable specific apps on drivers’ mobile devices when leaving the starting geofence to eliminate distracted driving.

• Reactivate devices or apps when entering the destination geofence, improving driver performance and reducing company liability.

Business Value of Geofencing

• Provides actionable data and insights about company resources based on their location.

• Helps understand employee performance, reduce costs, and increase overall efficiency.