The wearables we use today were once noted as science-fiction – at times showcased in a “Back to the Future” plot twist that defied the concept of widespread deployment. However, technology marches forward and technologies that were once portrayed as futuristic have come to life and are injecting some form of disruption into every industry. Enterprises are compelled to look at how they can deliver better results more efficiently and effectively using new technology, including wearables. 

The driving force behind this technology disruption is that enterprises now look to data for insight into their processes, helping them to identify opportunities to streamline operations, expand market share and spark ideas for new products. But what captures all of this data? There are many devices that live at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds, turning real-world information into insightful data, also known as Enterprise Asset Intelligence. And increasingly those devices include wearables. Straight from the wrist and hands of enterprise employees across industries, wearable devices are capturing vital information from the Internet of Things (IoT), and analytics software is making sense of it.

We have already seen wearable technology and IoT make a dramatic impact on the way workers operate in the warehouse, retail, transportation and logistics and manufacturing industries on a day-to-day basis. The increased emphasis on enterprise wearables for workers is changing back-end operations and helping to overcome tremendous business process challenges.

One of those business challenges is finding new ways to streamline and error-proof every aspect of order fulfilment and inventory management. According to the recent Zebra Vision Study, nearly half of all survey respondents indicated a concern about labor performance in the order, pick and fulfillment process. With wearable technology, warehouse workers are able to boost their productivity to new levels, minimizing scan frustration in the most challenging work environments. Additionally, hands-free and speech-directed picking devices increase user mobility, comfort and accuracy. By creating wearable devices with the end-user and worker in mind, new levels of productivity have been achieved and cycle times have been improved by integrated wearable technology that provides enhanced situational awareness and gives workers real-time access to critical data and video at the point of work.

By 2020, Zebra Vision Study respondents cited plans to make investments in the following processes and tools: equipping staff with technology (73 percent), bar code scanning (68 percent), tablets (66 percent) and the Internet of Things (62 percent). As IoT becomes more deeply engrained in all of our enterprise processes, wearable technology will become that much more valuable in helping employees to easily capture information. Current technologies will continue to evolve and revolutionize the way people instinctively work with devices and intuitively interact with their environments, making what once seemed like science fiction a reality.

The days of Marty McFly and his self-lacing shoes and hover boards are among us – and the manufacturing, warehouse and logistics industries are primed and ready to take advantage of IoT wearable technology to bring us back to the future with Enterprise Asset Intelligence.