Geek Speak Blog | Barcoding

Enterprise Mobility Management Helps Warehouse Pickers Improve

Written by Ryan Lambrecht | Feb 10, 2022

Everyone in warehousing and logistics knows there’s no such thing as a minor delay—especially not for mobile device screen updates.

Just a second or two quickly adds up to minutes and then hours and, in no time, it measures up to a costly amount of lost productivity.

Even worse, delays that result from network inadequacies tend to rear their ugly heads at times of peak demand.

Check out this quick case study and see how a trusted team of experts in enterprise mobility management follows the data to quickly and smoothly eliminate a drag on warehousing productivity—and help pickers work faster and better.

Situation: New Software Rollout on Existing Devices

This Barcoding customer for managed mobility services, a medical device manufacturer, is committed to proactively going after opportunities to make their mobile team members more efficient, connected, and accurate. 

So when they rolled out a new mobile warehouse application to existing mobile devices, they decided to monitor the rollout. The customer wanted visibility into the system’s actual performance in use, to measure impacts on its mobile warehouse teams.

That decision to observe and record the data was a wise one.

Analysis: Simple & Noninvasive Data Collection

By leveraging Mobile Systems Intelligence on the customer's network, we were able to gather all the appropriate data. The analysis showed that pickers were waiting seconds between screen updates.

Seconds, when their operations demand split-second speeds.

Documenting that delay with the data empowered the warehousing operations team to escalate the issue to company executives. Hard data helped them press for help in resolving the issue.

Resolution: Go Where Data Insights Lead

The team of engineers was able to follow the data and isolate the bottlenecks to determine what it would take to speed up the software transactions on the devices. The data led to a clear and elegant fix, achieved by inserting a seamless routine into the software that reduced delays. 

The team was able to apply the fix during production via a remote update.

Result: Speed Restored—and a Benefit for Other Customers

“So much faster!”

That was the mobile warehousing picker team’s response when the fix rolled out.

In fact, the experience with this customer-led to a continuous improvement opportunity for other Barcoding customers as well. The engineering team’s software solution was rolled out to all sites using the same software platform so they can get the benefit—whether or not those customers perceived any performance issues or challenges to their operations.

Speed Should Keep Up as You Scale Up

Changes in supply chain, consumer behaviors, labor, costs, and more are driving changes to warehouse operations everywhere, and the choices you make today can have a lasting impact on your teams’ performance, speed, and efficiency.

Learn how warehouses of all sizes are incorporating modern mobile technologies into their expansion plans to stay competitive. Download our free whitepaper, Barcoding’s Guide to Warehouse Growth. Get your copy by clicking the link below.