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Home » Blogs » Jeff Schmitz on Empowering Your Performance Edge » Scanning for Tech Trends: Why Wearable Mobile Computers Are Proving to Be the Perfect Fit for Small- to Medium-Sized Warehouse Operations Too

Jeff Schmitz on Empowering Your Performance Edge
Jeff Schmitz on Empowering Your Performance Edge RSS FeedRSS

As the Chief Human Resources and Marketing Officer of a Fortune 1000 technology company, I’m responsible for ensuring we have the right people in the right place at the right time to keep this very complex global operation running flawlessly. If we can’t get orders out the door, then your workers won’t have the technology tools they need to get your customers’ orders out the door. I don’t want people to resign because they feel tired, stressed or not supported – whether they work in an office, from home, or in one of our warehouses or distribution centers.

I believe we – as employers – can do a better job of listening to our employees and acting on their suggestions. If employees are happy and feel supported, they’re going to stick around for a long time, and we could all use stability right now. Plus, happy employees are like magnets for other skilled, talented, passionate professionals.

That’s why I wanted to share some interesting feedback we received recently from hundreds of warehouse associates around the world through Zebra’s Global Warehousing Vision Study. The double-blinded study was conducted by a third party that fully vetted study participants to ensure we would get non-bias responses from people who actually work in warehouses. In fact, you may have been a study respondent or it’s possible that some of the respondents work for you, as we spoke with both associates and decision-makers.

Some of the survey findings provide insights into what you need to know right now from a worker recruitment/retention perspective and overall business planning/budgeting perspective.

  1. Money doesn’t seem to make or break employment decisions among warehouse associates, at least not in the way you think. Eighty-two percent of surveyed associates say they have been positively impacted the past two years – despite what headlines may suggest. And it’s not because they’re being compensated with more money to make up for the heavier lift amid labor shortages. Only 45% of those associates say their employers have increased wages or offered bonuses amid labor constraints. What’s keeping their spirits high and contributing to their positive future outlook despite the pressures being placed on them amid labor and supply shortages, growing customer demands and uncompromising fulfillment timelines? Their employers have improved working conditions and increased spend on technology tools that make their jobs easier and their lives more balanced.

Are you surprised by that? We were too. Then again, we have seen multiple reports during the pandemic indicating that work-life balance, mental and physical health and other non-monetary factors were behind The Great Resignation and The Great Reshuffling. Perhaps this is the latest evidence those other benefits – the non-monetary factors – matter as much to front-line warehouse workers as they do to office workers. Perhaps they mean more. Unlike office-based workers who could have the option to negotiate a remote/work-from-home position, warehouse and distribution center associates must come in every day, rain or shine, including holidays. If they don’t have flexibility in where they work, they at least want flexibility with regards to when and how they work, as well as reduced stress on their bodies which is more than fair.

  1. Robots aren’t so scary anymore. In fact, they’re appreciated by warehouse associates. Well, at least autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are appreciated. Many who responded to our study strongly believe AMRs could make warehouse jobs less stressful, which aligns with the overall sentiment shared by nearly eight in 10 warehouse associates: “walking fewer miles per day would make my job more enjoyable, even if I had to pick or handle more items.”

 

Plus, the majority of those who work alongside AMRs today had glowing reviews. Over eight in 10 associates (83%) claim AMRs have helped increase their productivity and reduce walking/travel time, three-quarters say AMRs have helped reduce errors, and nearly two-thirds (65%) credit AMRs with career advancement opportunities. Additionally, among all associates surveyed, over three-quarters report they would feel safe working alongside AMRs, even though some have not yet worked directly with them.

 

  1. Many of your industry partners, peers and competitors are planning to make big changes in the coming months and years to shore up their technology systems and overall operations. In fact, more than six in 10 warehouse decision-makers say they will invest in technologies that increase inventory and asset visibility within their warehouses and overall visibility throughout supply chains over the next five years. Additionally, nine in 10 warehouse operators expect to use sensor-based technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID), computer vision, fixed industrial scanning, and machine vision systems at a growing rate over the next five years. And 90% of warehouse operators expect to deploy AMRs in the same time period. Warehouse operators say they are also going to increase their investments in software that helps automate analytics and decision-making.

 

That means your competitors will be able to better sense, analyze and act on what’s happening in real time, which could give them an advantage when it comes to winning and retaining customers. The increased technology utilization also means they may have a competitive edge when it comes to hiring and employee retention. As we learned in the study, 83% of warehouse associates are now more likely to work for an employer that gives them modern devices to use for tasks versus an employer that provides older or no devices. Even more associates (92%) believe technology advancements will make the warehouse environment more attractive to workers on some level – and I agree.

No matter how much you automate, people will always play a central role in warehouse, distribution and logistics operations, whether from a creative problem solving, customer service or action-oriented fulfillment perspective. If you want to keep workers happy, on your payroll and even increase headcount in the next year – like 61% of the warehouse operators we surveyed – then talk to your employees. Share the full Warehousing Vision Study report with them. You can download it here for no charge. Or at least pass along the stats highlighted in the press release and ask them for their honest reaction.

Use this study as a conversation starter. Find out what you could do as a warehouse operator or decision-maker to better support them. Confirm which technology tools they’d like to see you prioritize as budget allows. Also ask about changes that could be made to the scheduling process, current workflows or even communications structure with supervisors and decision-makers. Do they simply need more flexibility in their schedules to stick it out with you through thick and thin? You won’t know if you don’t ask.

As I’ve learned through this Warehousing Vision Study and with the Zebra employee climate assessments we’ve recently conducted, our employees are willing to answer questions about how they feel, especially if they have the opportunity to provide anonymous feedback. Don’t be afraid of what you might learn. If anything, the truth might be exactly what you need to make the right decisions for your business, your customers and certainly your employees in these tumultuous times.  

Jeff schmitz

Jeff Schmitz is senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Zebra. Mr. Schmitz most recently served as executive vice president for multiple business units and sales at Spirent Communications where he had previously also held several senior leadership roles including chief marketing officer and vice president of networks & applications. Prior to joining Spirent, Mr. Schmitz held senior marketing positions at Rivulet Communications, Visual Networks and Tellabs Inc. Mr. Schmitz holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Marquette University and a Master of Science degree in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Scanning for Tech Trends: Why Wearable Mobile Computers Are Proving to Be the Perfect Fit for Small- to Medium-Sized Warehouse Operations Too

December 15, 2020
Jeff Schmitz

It was predicted that wearables would have a blockbuster year in 2020 and they did. Just not necessarily for the reasons we thought.

Prior to the pandemic, the Zebra Warehousing Vision Study found that 62% of warehouse operators said they planned to upgrade or add wearable mobile computers to by 2022. These decision makers have long been seeking ways to boost worker productivity and safety, and the recent advancement in wearable technologies was making it easier to do just that. But COVID-19 motivated many to quickly put those plans into action. In recent months, both the smallest and largest warehouse operators have had to continuously improve productivity and look at safety in a whole new light, and the value wearables bring to an operation has become black and white, especially those purpose-built for warehouse workers and applications.

Productivity Targets Reach New Levels as the Warehouse Operational Tempo is Turned Up

Retail e-commerce grew 31.8% from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2020 and 44.5% year-over-year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and this growth has remained fairly consistent throughout the year. With more consumer and business-to-business (B2B) orders flooding in every day from both online shoppers and brick-and-mortar retailers feverishly trying to keep shelves stocked, warehouse workers have to move faster than ever to keep up with increasing order volume. They are spending long shifts, sometimes even extra shifts to pick, pack and load orders onto trailers to get consumers and businesses what they need. In many cases, inventory is being pulled off the shelf as soon as it is put away, if it even makes it to the shelf.

It is becoming a challenge to conduct accurate inventory cycle counts, even though they are crucial to managing shelf stock and fulfillment expectations. And businesses that are still operating with some paper-based systems or fragmented mobility are finding it even more difficult to keep up because their workers must constantly stop and log inventory moves pertaining to order status or quality control inspections. At the rate things are going right now, warehouse operators must find a way for workers to document everything in a split second, often while on the move, without making any mistakes. This is a tall order, especially for small- to medium-sized (SMB) warehouses who may not be as far along on their modernization journey as larger competitors.

Though primed for long-term growth, SMBs were not expecting demand to surge overnight. Those who did not yet have all the technology tools in place to put the pedal to the metal had to hit the brakes hard, turning away orders and disappointing customers who were eager to give them more business. On the other hand, those who were able to arm their workers with wearables found efficiency levels rise almost immediately.

Making the simple switch from a handheld barcode scanner or mobile computer to one worn on the finger or wrist allows for much faster item receiving, picking, packing, staging and loading. Even though it may only take a few seconds to pick up a device, scan a barcode and put it back down, those few seconds add up to minutes or hours, and many more completed tasks, in the course of a day (times 10, 15, 20 or more workers). And the best part is that there are options for creating a wearable solution. You can start from the ground-up with a new solution purpose-built as a total wearable solution or just convert your handheld mobile computers into a hands-free solution by simply syncing the larger devices with ring scanners so that you do not have to rip and replace all your devices. Mobile computers can then be worn on workers' hips with a belt clip or in their pockets all shift long. Alternatively, if your mobile computer is light enough, you can opt to turn it into a wrist-worn solution if that is more in line with your budget. No matter which approach you take, freeing up even a single hand with the use of wearable mobile computers and scanners empowers associates to handle more items at once, which also boosts productivity.

If you really want to go with a total wearable solution, give workers enterprise head-mounted displays that can visually guide them through each picking, put-away and staging task without ever having to look down at a device. This will enable them to move more quickly, accurately and safely through their workflows all shift long. Just know that adding this component may also need to include software programming to ensure the right user experience is presented through the glasses so you have out-of-the-box success.

Of course, the use of a hands-free data capture solution also contributes to the safe use of material-handling equipment such as pallet jacks pick carts, dollies and everyday carton movement. This helps to mitigate incidents that could temporarily reduce operational capacity whether due to injuries or asset losses. It also prevents mobile devices from getting left behind and lost as workers set devices down to use equipment or move cartons. With the fast-paced movement, workers may be distracted. Unlike larger warehouse operators, most SMBs do not have the luxury of "rainy day" labor, equipment or inventory resources.

New Social Distancing, Safety Mandates Move Wearables from "Must Watch" to "Must Have" Status

These days, labor is a very valuable resource for warehouse operations and protecting those resources has become a priority for businesses of all sizes. However, SMB warehouse operators must go to greater lengths than many of their larger competitors to execute operations in a safely distanced, "hands-off" manner as the COVID-19 virus remains prevalent.

Foot traffic and forklifts are being routed in such a way to avoid face-to-face interactions or prolonged contact. Packing workstations are being spaced at least six feet apart. And staffing is being managed in a way that reduces building occupancy without compromising operational capacity or quality. Perhaps most notable, though, is the increased effort being put into creating a low touch/no touch work environment.

Though it is impossible to create a completely contactless workflow in a warehousing environment, items still need to be handled multiple times during receiving, put-away and order fulfillment. Wearables make it possible to reduce the number of physical contacts that workers have with multi-touch and traditionally shared surfaces, such as mobile computer screens.

For example, the accessories used with each wearable - the wrist mount, finger straps, trigger mounts, commercial safety glasses and other components that remain in direct contact with people's skin for the whole shift - can be assigned to workers and managed as personal items to help improve hygiene. Meanwhile, the shared hardware component - the computing and scanning devices or head-mounted display camera - can easily be removed and disinfected between shifts.

In fact, you can set up the sanitation and hand-off process in a way that facilitates social distancing. Outbound workers can wipe down the hardware components and leave them in a charging station on one side of the room while inbound workers can take clean, charged devices from the station set up on the other side of the room. This helps to eliminate crowding during shift changes.

Remember, many wearable technologies were designed with health and safety in mind long before the pandemic. (COVID-19 isn't the only virus that can spread quickly in tight quarters and take entire workforces out of commission in the middle of peak season.) Actually, most rugged mobile computing solutions intended for use in business environments are built to be frequently disinfected, including wearables. They tend to be shared devices, after all, and users hands are touching other surfaces that could contribute to cross-contamination with keypad, scanner trigger or touch screen inputs. But the fact that enterprise-grade wearables are built to tolerate stringent device cleaning protocols makes them all the more beneficial to SMBs who can't afford to have ring scanners, wrist-worn terminals or head-mounted displays break after a few wipe downs.

The Takeaway

Giving your warehouse workers rugged wearable scanners, mobile computers and head-mounted displays means they:

- Have one less thing they must handle when they have their hands full with the items that they are receiving, putting away, picking, packing, staging or loading.

- Can keep their heads up to stay more and remain better aware of their surroundings to avoid close encounters with others.

- Scan, grab and go faster when physical distancing isn't possible, to reduce the amount of time they are in close proximity with one another.

- Can feel confident that you are committed to protecting their well-being. Your prioritization of their health will help motivate them to show up each day and perform optimally. Besides, orders won't stop coming in, even if the workforce is reduced. The last thing you need is to further burden a team that has probably found fulfillment amidst the e-commerce explosion.

As a bonus, the easy implementation of wearables means that you don't have to break the bank or rebuild technology architectures in order to gain the benefits of these innovative technology tools. In fact, this is one of the easiest ways for you to optimize the use of mobility and begin to achieve a best-in-class mobility strategy, even as an SMB. It is a win-win!

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