Imagine you decide to start a reselling business dealing mainly with used and refurbished mobile phones. You will probably decide to deal with wholesalers or buy iOS and Android mobile devices from individuals via buyback and trade-in programs. Then, after you have launched your business you receive the first batch of mobile devices.
If you work with wholesale suppliers, the number of devices arriving at your warehouse can amount to hundreds, and even up to thousands of devices per day.
If you work with individuals buying used phones via buyback and trade-in programs, the number of shipped devices per day can also be quite significant.
The two processes above, despite all the differences, have the same thing in common, specifically the need to check mobile phones upon reception. Of course, the supplier can provide his shipping documentation, invoices, testifying to the excellent condition of the devices. Customers who visit your store to sell their devices can also be quite confident that everything is good with their devices. However, you shall not take them at their word.
The role of mobile device diagnostics in a pre-sale process
First, we should keep in mind that the main characteristics of mobile devices resale business have:
- Low margin (especially with low sales volumes).
- High level of competition.
- Low stability (possible lack of supplies).
- High risk of supplier fraud.
In such conditions, the company's income and its survival in a highly competitive market directly depend on the quality of the goods and services offered. Only by ensuring the best possible QC of your stock before shipment, you can guarantee that there will be no issues afterward. Therefore, regardless of how good your relationship with the suppliers might be, all mobile devices have to be checked and accounted for.
Now let's get back to the beginning. You’ve started your business, the first batches of phones are flowing in, and your customers are waiting for their goods. Now is the time when you’ll definitely come across real problems related to mobile phone functionality checks.
If you work with wholesale suppliers, you will most likely need to check a huge number of iOS and Android phones on a daily basis. Since every day your goods are staying idle in the warehouse is equal to a day of lost profit, you will have to do it quickly.
However, there are pitfalls related to your customers’ behavior and expectations. If you work with individuals, then phone diagnostics should not take much time. They may be in a hurry, or get bored, and leave taking phones and your potential profit from reselling the phone with them.
What about device functionality?
At the same time, the device diagnostics should be as accurate as possible. Before the goods are shipped from the warehouse, each unit must be checked, no matter how reliable the supplier is. As a result of the diagnostics, you can separate low-quality devices from high-quality ones and submit files for a refund in a timely manner.
Manual phone diagnostics
During manual testing, when employees check buttons, screens, sensors, cameras, etc., it is not easy to ensure the objectivity and thoroughness of the test results. For example, new employees have to learn how to follow test checklists first, how to manually fill in phone details and test results, how to properly test different sensors and functions on the mobile phone, etc.
The entire process of checking devices requires strict and thorough management control wherever it is possible. For security reasons included, regular checks and inspections of tested phones have to be carried out to see how well an employee has completed his task. If inconsistencies and defects are revealed, then the employee will be punished or fined.
At the same time, although the employee himself might insist he has accurately tested everything, filled in the data correctly, and there can be no mistake whatsoever, it will be almost impossible to verify his statement.
All this, and much more, will create huge problems in the work of the company, and in the long term will hold you back from scaling your business. That is why more and more companies are coming to the conclusion that their business processes need automated solutions, both for management and for phone diagnostics.
Disadvantages of manual diagnostics of mobile devices
One of the most erroneous statements in the whole world is that investments in automated products for mobile device diagnostics are nothing more than wasted money. The most common reasons why companies might refuse to switch to automated workflow are mistrust and fear of overpaying (or unwillingness to pay in the first place).
Some of them might even say that manual checks will be sufficient both at the initial stage of the company, as well as during the growth period. However, it is evident from the above findings that this statement is fundamentally wrong.
The main disadvantages of manual phone diagnostics can be summarized as follows:
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High labor intensity and loss of money. Even a partial check of 10 phones will require an average employee to spend about 1.5 - 2 hours of his working time.
For example, in most cases in order to check whether the screen installed on an iOS device is original or not, he would have to learn how to disassemble the phone first or learn to use other complicated tools.
As a result, on average he will check no more than 20-25 phones per day. However, more time spent per phone doesn’t guarantee that testing will be more and more thorough, there is still room for human errors, which constitutes a direct loss for the company.
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A high defect rate. According to the feedback from our customers, and based on global statistics, the accuracy of results for manual diagnostics is about 50-60%. Accordingly, companies have to reserve a large percentage of funds for all possible risks associated with manual phone diagnostics.
According to the statistics of our clients, during manual diagnostics and testing of mobile devices, they were losing up to 35% of their profits.
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Allocation of resources for personnel training. Without the necessary knowledge and skills, new employees may miss an important defect or simply not know how to perform a complex phone check (for example, how to determine if the phone parts are original or not).
Also, employees must learn how to file a correct report for checked phones. Consequently, the learning process for beginners can drag on for weeks, or even months, until they get accustomed.
- Slow speed of work with different types of devices. Mobile devices on iOS and Android OS differ from each other both in the specifics of the hardware and in the software. At the same time, different Android devices also require different approaches to diagnostics. The reason behind this is the peculiarities of the Android shell developed by different manufacturers. That will hamper the overall working progress and will add to the frustration of your employees.
What are the benefits of cell phone testing software?
NSYS Diagnostics features a wide range of tools that greatly improve work performance:
- Increase the speed of work by 5 times at least. An average employee will be able to handle at least 30-35 phones per hour, which will contribute to skyrocketing your productivity and profits.
- Error-free work performance. A software solution for diagnostics eliminates the influence of random factors on the process of checking phones, making all stages of checking phones as transparent and objective as possible. With our cloud-based system and mobile app, you can run full and accurate diagnostics within less than 2 minutes. Also, the results of each check are saved under a separate record in the cloud-based storage, and if necessary, you can always find, check, and compare previous results.
- Quality control brought to a new level. The introduction of an automated solution for diagnostics will allow you to weed out low-quality goods in a timely manner, secure your profits, and will help to defend the company's honor in disputes with unscrupulous customers.
- Easy to use. The automated diagnostic software offers an intuitive interface, auto-filled data, auto-saved test results, a user-friendly mobile app, and much more. As a result, the estimated learning curve for the new employee is a few days at most and requires only a minimum of your resources.
- A standardized solution for testing different types of devices. Whether it's an iOS or Android device, phone or tablet, NSYS Diagnostics will provide a standardized platform for all types of devices with a diagnostic app for iOS and Android OS.
NSYS Diagnostics. Profitable solution for your business
We offer the best ready-made solution for your business processes. You don't need to spend extra time and money on the development and maintenance of other automated diagnostics tools. We provide full access to our web version, desktop version, mobile app, and full-time support.
Thanks to our solution, you can run more than 60 tests in less than 2 minutes, print a certified report, and delete all data about the previous owner. You don't even need a PC connected to run diagnostics! Our remote diagnostics solution allows you to download our diagnostic app from Google Play and AppStore.
We value the trust of our customers and do our best to provide the highest level of service. NSYS has become a quality mark in the used devices market, and we are proud to share with you the feedback from our customers who have already admitted the effectiveness of our solution:
Apart from manual and software-assisted testing, there is also robotic one. Read our article on this topic.
