Let’s be fair here and recognise that Santa does a cracking job. When it comes to delivering 156 million packages around the world within a 24 hour period - he certainly delivers.
He may only work once a year, but as the world’s most famous mobile worker, this fella really does put in a shift. Because it’s not just him; he’s also having to manage a large team of elf helpers and reindeer.
So well done Santa.
But the danger with being the best is... complacency. It’s all too easy to start believing the hype, to become too big for your wellies and the next thing you know - late deliveries and angry letters from kids who’ve received ‘slightly rubbish’ presents.
So what Father Christmas needs, is to take a look at his Christmas delivery operation and ask himself... Can I do better? And the answer is: yes, Santa. Yes, you can.
What he needs is something that’s helping companies throughout the UK - a mobile workforce management system.
But here’s what it could do for Santa:
Mobile tracking
One of the most powerful features of a mobile workforce management system is its ability to track, in real-time, where each mobile worker is. For Santa, this would be great during the toy gathering stage, letting him track the progress of elves as they scurry around and collect supplies. Any problems, the big man knows.
But it could also be used to help reassure worried children around the world that he really is on his way. A good mobile workforce management system will let customers log-in and track the progress of any delivery ensuring everyone is informed with real time infomation.
Smoke signals solution
Fair play, the carbon footprint left by Father Christmas is extremely low. His innovative use of reindeer powered transport means the only fuel required is a mix of carrots and mince pies. But there is one area where he could improve his green credentials - paper.
The traditional method for kids to communicate with Santa’s Greenland HQ is writing wishlists on notepaper and then a parent burning them in a fireplace. While this may have worked in the past, it does mean loads of paper going up in smoke.
This is something the mobile workforce management system would help solve. By moving his operations to a cloud-based service, he could do away with all forms of paper communication. Out go the paper letters, elf forms and reindeer compliance notes; all replaced by instant digital communications. Also ensuring that all names recorded on the nice and naughty lists are securely backed up, which can be recalled at any point, so no errors can occur.
Happy customers
This one could be the real game changer for Santa. Because the main gripes about his service come from disgruntled children who receive underwhelming presents. It may be the wrong kind of Transformer or an outdated tablet.
With a mobile workforce management system, Santa could catch these problems before they turn into Christmas morning sulks and tantrums. The best systems allow a mobile worker to hand their smartphone over to a customer who use the touch screen to confirm delivery and rate the service.
This would allow Santa to get parents to sign off on presents and lead to a global reduction in festive grumpiness levels.
