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Small Business Adapts to the Digital World with SAP Anywhere

The California Bay Area is one of the six most-congested urban areas in the US. Tune into this #SAPTalks show to hear how EcoReco is digitizing its business to sell more e-scooters and help ease the Bay Area commute.

According to Reuters, the average American commuter wastes about 42 hours a year mired in traffic, especially in the California Bay Area. It's one of the six most-congested urban areas in the US, and traffic congestion there is growing faster than the region's population and employment levels (Metropolitan Transportation Commission).

A potential solution to the commuter gridlock? Electric scooters.

A national household travel survey shows that 50 percent of American car drivers' daily trips are only three miles or less, a perfect distance for travel by e-scooter.

From startup to success: EcoReco

Powered by a safe and eco-friendly rechargeable Lithium Iron Phosphate battery, the EcoReco scooter emits no air pollution or greenhouse gases during operation.

In a recent episode of #SAPTalks, host David Trites spoke to Rob Dawson, business manager at California-based EcoReco. Rob discussed how EcoReco is adapting to digital business in order to change the way people commute.

Like many employees of small businesses, Rob wears many hats. He is a very busy guy, and a very passionate one as well. He is motivated to decrease the environmental footprint of Bay Area commuters while also bringing a little bit of fun and ease to their daily rides.

Adapting to Digital Business

In the early days of EcoReco, Rob ran the business using Gmail, PowerPoint, and Excel. Sticky notes and markers were staples of his day-to-day routine. Yet, suffering frustration and difficulty trying to manage EcoReco's growing business this way, Rob knew that something needed to change. Fielding orders, customer service messages, social media, marketing, and other facets of the business via email, sticky notes, and Excel spreadsheets, Rob knew this practice wasn't sustainable for the type of business growth that he envisioned.

Susan Reynolds, global vice president of Partner Ecosystem at SAP, also joined this #SAPTalks episode and explained how SAP Anywhere offered EcoReco all of the business user elements it needed in one centralized snapshot. This cloud-based solution provides EcoReco streamlined customer service functionality, an auxiliary accounting system, and mobile functionality for offline transaction information when and where they need it.

Rob showcased that he can run the EcoReco business "live" with SAP Anywhere. He opened the solution, live, while on the show and ran through all the different SAP Anywhere functionalities that EcoReco leverages.

Speed is everything for small businesses

Rob mentioned that because 50 percent to 70 percent of all new business for EcoReco comes from "word of mouth" marketing, speedy, efficient business operations and customer service are critical to its business success. "Every moment saved is really valuable when trying to do ten different jobs at once," said Rob.

With SAP Anywhere, Rob is saving precious time that he can now use in the field, promoting the benefit e-scooters have on the environment and commuter traffic.