An expansive facility dedicated to shipping and receiving, warehousing, or order fulfillment and distribution continuously looks for ways to improve efficiency and productivity.  Positive improvements in these areas can start small and expand outward like ripples in a pond.

For companies with warehouse operations at the core, dramatic improvements to efficiency and productivity of the workforce happen by adding portable printer carts.  When the carts include portable power supplies, the staff celebrates and productivity can improve 50%.

Rather than having lists, labels, order picks, and inventory data produced at a stationary printing location, the staff works while on the move which reduces unnecessary downtime eliminating wasted steps.

Portable printer carts can be completely customized.  Whether you have a high volume operation or you only handle a few printing tasks a day, carts can be designed to fit your existing equipment and easily integrate into your current operation.  You won’t have to deal with potential delays or downtime as a new process is put in place.  Training is based on common sense and no special skills are required when turning a stationary printer into a mobile one.

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The PowerScan 9500 family of imagers represents the 2D handheld area imagers with rugged mechanics for industrial applications. Recently launched, the corded PD9500, the mobile PBT9500 with Bluetooth wireless technology and the PM9500 with STAR 2.0 Cordless System have already demonstrated their value in the field. With the introduction of the PM9500-DK with a full 16-key keyboard, the family is now complete offering an unequalled variety of models to satisfy the most demanding of customers with a model perfectly suited for their application requirements.

The PM9500-DK is equipped with a mobile telephone-like keyboard with direct access to numbers, while the alphanumeric characters are managed through a shift key. In addition, the 4 function keys are also configurable with single or multiple characters to increase the product versatility and to make repetitive actions easier and faster.

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Datalogic has announced the availability of the new Falcon X3+ mobile computer, representing the next evolution of the very successful Falcon X3 mobile computer line.

Following the form factor of its predecessor, the Falcon X3+ mobile computer introduces many new and exciting capabilities including the ability to read 2D barcodes at extreme distances with the new XLR 2D scanner, along with significantly higher wireless communications throughput with the 802.11n dual band WiFi radio.  A full VGA display, faster processor, more memory, and higher levels of ruggedization all combine to allow the Falcon X3+ to adapt to many new applications.

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As businesses strive for greater efficiency and accuracy in every warehouse application, wearable mobile computers are becoming a more popular option to further empower any workforce. Workers armed with  wireless, hands-free mobile computers can achieve new levels of error-proof productivity, operational efficiency and accuracy.

Like any other mobile device, wearable mobile computers provide the same computing and wireless connectivity while freeing up the users hands for other tasks. This allows you to scan and collect data while still being able to use both hands for picking parts or products resulting in less interruptions to the task at hand.

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The CipherLab 9700 series mobile computer successfully fuses industrial ruggedness, flexible versatility and comfortable design. The 9700 series’ new features provide excellent reliability and adaptable modularity especially in harsh environments.

The 9700 series industrial mobile computer has the approval of IP65 rating to defend against water and dust. Its resistance with multiple 1.8 m drops onto concrete and 500 tumbles at 1 m ensures ultimate ruggedness. It offers 3 different keypad options for users to deploy as needed in different situations. In particular, the 53 alphanumeric key serves as an alternative for terminal emulation. Instant data transmission is made possible with both IEEE 802.11 a/ b/ g/ n with CCXv4 certified and Bluetooth Class II, V2.1 with EDR. Moreover, Push-to-Talk features voice transmission which pushes productivity even higher under WLAN support. Paired with 2 different battery options in 3600 mAh and 5400 mAh maintains the efficiency through long operation hours. Additionally, accessories like pistol grip and software support makes operation simple with 9700 series mobile computer.

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Barcode warehouse management software is used to control the movement and storage of products or goods within a warehouse and process the associated transactions including, but not limited to, shipping, receiving, put away and picking through the use of barcode automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) technology.

Warehouse management systems manage the following core functions:

• Receiving – The ability to properly handle a shipment when it arrives. This process can be individualized to each warehouse or product type. In some cases, goods are not received into a facility, but rather cross-docked, which is a logistics procedure where products from a supplier or manufacturing plant are distributed directly to a customer or retail chain with marginal to no handling or storage time.  Cross docking takes place in a distribution docking terminal; usually consisting of trucks and dock doors on two (inbound and outbound) sides with minimal storage space.  The name ‘cross docking’ explains the process of receiving products through an inbound dock and then transferring them across the dock to the outbound transportation dock.
• Put Away – Put-away is normally thought of as the process of moving received inventory from the dock, kitting area, or production department to a storage bin. The put-away process is also used to relocate inventory within the warehouse and to replenish dedicated storage bins with inventory from a reserve storage bin. Any time inventory is being placed in a storage bin it is being put away. System directed put-away is when the WMS chooses the destination storage bin rather than the operator.
• Inventory – Inventory Technology refers to the supervision of supply, storage and accessibility of items in order to ensure an adequate supply without excessive oversupply. It also helps companies keep lost sales to a minimum by having enough stock on hand to meet demand. The inventory can be real-time or in the form of a cycle count, which is an audit procedure designed to verify the inventory accuracy for a small subset of inventory in a specific location on a specific day, thus providing an ongoing measure of inventory accuracy.
• Picking – Picking consists of taking and collecting articles in a specified quantity before shipment to satisfy a customer’s order. The following are different types of picking:
  • Piece Picking (or Pick to Part) – Order pickets move to collect the products necessary for one order.
  • Zone Picking – Each order picker is assigned to one specific zone and will only realize order picking within this zone.
  • Wave Picking – Order picker moves to collect the products necessary for several orders.
  • Sorting Systems Method – No movement of the order picker, as the products are brought to picker by an automatic system.
  • Pick to Box Method – No movement of the order picker, as the picking area is organized so that there are a number of picking stations connected by a conveyor. The order picker fills the box with the products from his station and the box moves to the other picking stations until he customer order is complete.
  • Packing – Packing occurs after the picking process and entails prepping a product or good for shipment by re-packaging, affixing with a shipping label, including an invoice and staging in preparation for shipment. Additionally, for certain goods or customers, there may be the requirement for kit building.
  • Shipping – Shipping entails the delivery of the right product or good to the right customer or location using the right method of shipment, all while minimizing the cost. If a customer is doing their own delivery, incorporating proof of delivery allows for more accurate information and quicker confirmation to the customer. Furthermore, our software has the ability to integrate shipment tracking for customers.

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Why Tablets and Purpose Built Forklift Mounted Computers Are Not Interchangeable

Tablet computing is one of the fastest-growing categories of consumer electronics and enterprise IT alike. The buzz is leading many businesses to explore new uses for tablet computers, and some are finding their way into evaluation trials on forklifts and other vehicle applications in the distribution center. With their large screens and available Windows operating systems, tablets can seem quite similar to the forklift-mounted computers that are widely used today. They can also be taken off the forklift and used on the floor, which some organizations find intriguing.

However, tablets should not be considered drop-in replacements for purpose-built forklift mounted terminals because there are several major differences between the product categories. If you are considering using tablet computers on forklifts, it is important to know these differences and how they may impact operations. Careful evaluation will highlight compromises in integration and everyday use.

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Meeting the physical demands of a warehouse environment, especially in the case of forklift use, can be a daunting task for most mobile computers and tablets. Many mobile devices may have a rugged outer case but dealing with vibration and misuse on a vehicle/forklift requires even more specific design changes few devices have.

Motorola offers a range of terminals designed for vehicle use and can handle every application from the warehouse to cold storage and even the outdoors. This infographic is a quick overview of the key Motorola vehicle terminals and their main features to get you started finding the right unit for your needs.

Motorola is offering the third generation of the industry’s most successful mid-range mobile computer to retailers, manufacturers and distributors to help improve customer satisfaction through more efficient and accurate inventory management. The new, lightweight MC3200 mobile computer is ideal for inventory-related tasks on the store sales floor, in the warehouse aisle and on the loading dock where mobile workers need to rapidly and accurately pick orders to ensure customers receive the right items on time.

The cost-effective MC3200 is the industry’s first enterprise-class mobile device available with support for both the Android and Windows Embedded Compact (CE) 7 operating system (OS) – enabling businesses to standardize on one OS for all of their enterprise applications. With Premium models of the MC3200, companies can swap between Android and Windows CE 7, enabling them to purchase the OS that best meets the needs of their businesses and workers today and in the future.

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Printronix has announced the launch of the M4L portable barcode printer. The M4L joins Printronix Print Cart in the line of mobile printing solutions, further extending a growing category within industrial printing. The M4L is designed to run at full-printing capacity for extended lengths of time – 30% longer than competitive models – to maximize warehouse efficiency so workers can print and apply labels at the point of application.

Easier Integration, Reliability You Can Trust

The M4L integrates seamlessly with factory-ready ZPL II & CPCL emulations, and secure Bluetooth and WiFi 802.11 b/g/n. The unit connects directly to legacy systems and devices which streamlines integration into diverse industrial environments.

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