Why Can't GM Figure Out How To Monetize PDAs At An Auto Plant?

General Motors is using wireless technology including PDAs to increase efficiencies at its Lansing, Mich., Delta Township auto plant. So why hasn't GM figured out to monetize these mobile devices?According to the report in IndustryWeek, GM has deployed roughly 325 PDAs in the Delta Township plant. These devices are used for a number of tasks, including "maintenance dispatch and production monitoring and control."

The company spokesperson said GM plans to launch more PDAs on the plant floor in the next 12 to 18 months once "battery life and screen resolution improve."

The real hindrance to further deployment, though, seems to be ROI. GM is reportedly "still in the process of determining payback from the PDAs but feedback from the plant floor has been positive." In other words, GM doesn't know how to make these devices pay for themselves. That's not a small problem.

I suspect that the vendor that sold GM these devices didn't do as good a job as it could in helping GM come up with a methodology for this. As I blogged last week from the Frost & Sullivan show, vendors and carriers need to help companies like GM figure out to monetize mobility from the beginning. IT end-users like the GM plant here are looking for mobility best practices and it's up to vendors and carriers to give it to them. Otherwise, vendors and carriers risk either stunting sales or getting caught in a partial deployment with no clear path to growing the client's user base.