Future Proofing Your Mobile Computers
How the Features You Select Now Can Protect & Extend Your Investment Years into the Future
Rugged mobile computers deployed to warehouses, DCs and other transportation and distribution environments often aren’t used as long as expected, and as result cost the organization more than expected. Companies typically replace their DC computers after about 3 1/2 years, which is approximately seven months sooner than planned at the start of the deployment, according to a study. Rugged devices can actually last even longer, but are retired prematurely because the processors, software, communications data capture capabilities contained within the rugged housing are considered inefficient or obsolete.
Extending service life increases the value of mobile computers. When life cycles go down, so does the return on investment, and the total cost of ownership (TCO) goes up. The table below illustrates how changes in the replacement cycle impact the TCO for mobile computing deployments. It reflects how much the purchase price of a $3,000 rugged computer used in warehousing and distribution contributes to the annual and monthly TCO. Note that replacing mobile computers after 31/2 years instead of four (which is about the average intended life cycle) increases the annual TCO allocation by $107, or 14.2 percent.
The Power of Mobile Printing in the Warehouse and Beyond
In today’s precarious economic environment, global enterprises are experiencing a dual pinch: one, difficult times have cut operating budgets significantly, and rehiring to support growth after the contraction remains difficult; secondly, as investments in new equipment and systems have been delayed or denied, the optimization of warehouse and supply chain processes has become a critical factor in balancing costs, labor, and assets. What’s more, this optimization must occur while maximizing productivity and improving responsiveness to customer demands.
With the growing emphasis on cost cutting, companies need to find new and better ways to enhance efficiencies and ensure accuracy across their supply chains and distribution networks. One strategy that is still effective in helping achieve this goal is the implementation of greater mobility into warehousing and distribution functions through devices such as mobile printers.
According to a recent study, mobile devices and software commonly improve workforce production by 20 percent or more. This translates into lower labor costs, lower operating costs, and faster payback on investment. Such gains are not hard to envision. By minimizing the time needed to print labels and apply them to materials, work in process, finished goods, pallets, boxes, and so forth, mobile printers help drive down labor costs while improving performance on the warehouse and DC floors.
The Mobile Warehouse: Staging and Shipping
Reduce Inaccurate Shipments
When it comes to staging and shipping, accuracy is everything.
In a mobile warehouse with real-time access to data, decision-making is easier and staging lanes and shipping docks operate smoothly.
Streamline the Staging and Shipping Process
By integrating mobile technology into your shipping process you can increase efficiencies, reduce errors and cut down on processing time. Utilizing a handheld mobile computer, you can bring staging, loading and dispatch transactions to real time — all while directing and confirming pallet movements. You even have real-time visibility of the docks and doors for timelier decision making.
In addition, our two-way digital radio systems give you the option of using voice or text commands to coordinate shipping. What’s more, the system’s Location Services application allows you to track and coordinate the movement of vehicles and employees at a busy loading dock.
Presenting the Mobile Warehouse from BarcodesInc and Motorola
In a fast-paced warehouse, visibility is everything. The more you can see across the enterprise, the more efficient your operation.
The key to enterprise-wide visibility lies in mobility.
In a mobile warehouse, everything and everyone moves seamlessly. By arming your workforce with cutting-edge wireless data management technology, inventory visibility and control is improved, everyone is connected with two-way voice and email, various manual tasks are automated, and overall productivity soars.
And that’s just the beginning.
In a mobile warehouse, the likelihood for human error is lower, floor personnel and office management can communicate in real-time, and repetitive, labor-intensive tasks like picking, put-away and receiving are completed in a fraction of the time. That’s because things like duplicate data-entry, manual checks and double checks, not to mention input errors, are completely eliminated.
And the benefits of mobility extend well beyond the four walls of your warehouse. With mobile computers and scanners, materials in transit are visible, goods on the dock or in the yard are kept moving, and assets can be tracked right from your warehouse floor.
In short, with a mobile warehouse solution from Motorola, all the bases are covered, with products designed to perform bar code scanning, image capture, RFID, voice communication and email. And it all works seamlessly with your Warehouse Management System.
It’s an intelligent way to keep warehouse productivity up and costs down.
And it’s just another way BarcodesInc and Motorola put Enterprise Mobility in the palm of your hand.
The Mobile Warehouse: Sorting
Increase the Overall Efficiency of Your Warehouse
If there’s one thing that can impact warehouse profitability, it’s your sorting processes.
A mobile technology solution from Motorola not only eliminates the problems associated with error-prone manual processes, it can increase the overall efficiency of your warehouse.
Gain Visibility over Operations
Solutions that utilize mobile computers and wireless technologies are changing the rules of warehouse sorting. By replacing paper accounting practices with automated ones, you can gain unprecedented control and visibility over your sorting operation.
The Mobile Warehouse: Returns
Check Returns Quickly and Accurately
Warehouse returns are one of those “little things” that can have a major impact on your warehouse operation.
In a Motorola mobile warehouse you can check returns quickly and accurately, re-label them right on the spot, decide whether or not to return them to stock, and eliminate the countless other problems associated with working at a fixed workstation.
The Mobile Warehouse: Receiving
Reduce Errors and Increase Accuracy
Receiving goods at the loading dock isn’t just labor-intensive; it can be error-intensive as well. Especially when you do things manually.
Simplify the Receiving Process
Receiving is much simpler in a Motorola mobile warehouse. Things you used to do by hand are now done using intelligent devices. You no longer have to worry about reading an unreadable label or punching the wrong number into your inventory system. The result: accuracy is increased. Costly errors and customer turnaround times are reduced.
Motorola’s mobile computers are rugged, multi-mode scanning devices with bar code, imaging and RFID capabilities. Combine them with wearable printers and you can print labels on the spot, reducing errors and increasing throughput.
To stay in touch with floor personnel in high-volume receiving areas, Motorola has a digital two-way radio system with a long battery life for clear and reliable communications.
The Mobile Warehouse: Put Away
Reduce Errors
For the typical warehouse operator, the put-away process can be a time-consuming, paper-based logistical nightmare.
In a mobile warehouse, put-away is more efficient. Errors are less likely. And productivity is taken to a whole new level.
Meet Customer Demands
The key is a real-time solution that utilizes wireless technologies in handheld and vehicle-mounted mobile computers, scanners and printers. Continue reading »
The Mobile Warehouse: Pallet Picking
Increase Pick Accuracy
One surefire way to expedite orders reduce delivery errors and make your customers happy is to improve picking accuracy.
In a mobile warehouse, pallet picking is significantly faster, more accurate and more cost-effective. And pallets checks and re-checks are a thing of the past.
The Mobile Warehouse: Managers Assistant
Take Care of the Office while Running the Floor
In today’s fast-paced warehouse, it’s easy for managers and supervisors to lose touch with operations on the floor.
But Motorola has a solution. With a personal mobile computer and communications system, you can supervise operations on the warehouse floor even when you can’t be there. Conversely, you can take care of business in the office while you’re on the floor, running things.
Multitask Like Never Before
With a rugged enterprise handheld digital assistant, you can perform multiple management functions simultaneously.
Utilizing integrated scanners and imagers, you can capture data on the floor and transmit that data back to a main office over an existing wireless local area network.
Increase Visibility to Keep the Floor Productive
Voice over IP (VoIP) capability, optional cellular connectivity and our digital two-way radio systems allow you to stay in contact with personnel on the floor — even in noisy settings. Use email and text messaging to share critical information quickly.
Need a wireless network built to your precise specifications? Or simply need to expand your current one. We’ve got you covered.
Take advantage of mobile voicemail, email and voice communications that work seamlessly with your Warehouse Management System (WMS) — as well as WMS and ERP applications like purchasing, inventory and dispatch.
In short, a Motorola digital assistant gives you access to the entire enterprise. This helps make you more efficient and gives you the visibility necessary to keep your entire floor productive.
It’s just another way Motorola puts Enterprise Mobility in the palm of your hand.
