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What will your Operations Commit to in 2021

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Efficient innovation has always been part of Avalon’s commitment to our clients. After navigating through triumphs and tribulations alongside a multitude of resilient teams, that goal hasn’t changed. That’s why we’re starting the year with a dedication to continue empowering businesses with sustainable solutions that drive down costs, maximize productivity, and most importantly, protect our environment. Now more than ever, business decisions have the capability of impacting entire communities; therefore, partnering with leading manufacturers like Zebra Technologies, Avalon’s experts are diving into a series of sustainable efforts that fit the modern warehouse with:

  • Cost-effective automation that reduces labor waste
  • Energy-efficient mobile devices that last throughout your longest shifts
  • Adaptable mobile computing to eliminate unnecessary deployment of supporting devices
  • Long-lasting consumables to reduce reprints 
  • Greater warehouse visibility and traceability backed by real-time locationing solutions

Building the Sustainable Supply Chain

Building the Sustainable Supply Chain

Over 80% of a business’s environmental impact comes from its supply chain

The push for sustainability may have stemmed from increased consumer demand for better traceability. However, studies suggest that today’s businesses are gravitating towards sustainable practices to lower operational costs and improve revenue performance. Since over 80% of a business’s environmental impact comes from its supply chain, digitized transparency has become the cornerstone in achieving a sustainable supply chain. Below are a few ways we’ve seen transparency result in sustainable operations throughout the whole supply chain:

  • In production and manufacturing – In 2018, the EPA estimated that manufacturing and production companies disposed of 292.4million tons of wasted material, including scraps, yard trimming, foods, etc. To make sure operations only use the appropriate amount of materials, visibility services, such as MotionWorks, have been implemented for just-in-time delivery of goods, preventing an excess of materials (and money) from being disposed of in landfills. 
  • In warehousing and distribution – In 2020, the average warehouse’ square foot space cost $7.18, almost a dollar increase from 2017. Wasteful storage costs money to run and can result in spoiled and misplaced inventory, which must later be thrown out as it becomes unsellable. Proper inventory management built with error-free automated data capture and long-lasting consumables can establish reliable identification parameters from receiving to shipping, preventing loss and shrinkage.
  • In transportation and logistics – Across the country, fuel prices continue to fluctuate. By integrating visibility solutions like RFID locationing and flexible network connectivity, businesses can track field teams to optimize travel routes for better fuel usage. Devices like Zebra’s TC7X touch computers empower field teams with dependable real-time connectivity for route changes and schedule updates to adjust workflows with minimal costly interruptions.
  • In retail and grocery – In addition to preserving the environment, sustainable retail operations result in higher profitability as consumers are willing to pay up to 20% for ethically-sound products. Traceability is key here since several regulation agencies work together to verify eco-friendly claims. Paperless data processing via automated data entry and computing can help eliminate errors and facilitate data sharing for seamless audits and updates.

Whether your operations are at the beginning of the end of the supply chain, every team can benefit from sustainable optimization. To see how you can add sustainability into your enterprise goals for the year, reach out to our modernization experts for an in-depth assessment of your workflows and find out where you can substitute inefficiency with dependable and transparent enterprise intelligence.

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It’s time for a Recap: 10 Technologies that Saved Warehousing in 2020

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Last year, when looking ahead to what 2020 would bring, technologies such as RFID tracking, Internet of Things, and Wearable Computers were cited as revolutionary initiatives to redefine the year. Now, standing at the end of a historical year, it’s pretty clear our list was too short. Facing a long string of challenges, dangers, and changes, warehouses have relied on several indispensable technologies, which will most likely continue to secure efficiency within warehouses in the years to come.

Save Warehousing

Avalon Integration have noted the following innovations as crucial warehousing advantages

While this list is by no means exhaustive, the experts at Avalon Integration have noted the following innovations as crucial warehousing advantages in 2020:

  1. Disinfectant-Ready Devices – Since discovering that pathogens can last from hours to days on surfaces, operations utilizing multiple screens and handhelds required rugged devices that could handle abrasion, chemical exposure, and constant wipedowns. Made for tough environments, enterprise-grade devices rose to the challenge by providing undisrupted performance in the midst of recurrent disinfection and sanitation.
  2. Contact Tracing – As businesses began to reopen, many of our clients sought a way to welcome back their teams without risking dangerous exposure. To minimize employee density and effectively track possible contamination, exposure awareness, and contact solutions were deployed across the nation. New contact tracing initiatives can be neatly embedded onto your handheld devices like Zebra’s Motionworks Proximity or added on your employee’s wrist like Accent’s Exposure Awareness bands. Both methods protect employees’ safety as well as their privacy, which brings us to the next point. 
  3. Android’s Dependable Operating System – After Microsoft ended its support for Windows’ Mobile OS, warehouses needed a new operating system to safeguard their data. Android has served as the best option as it provides recurrent security patches, silent OS updates, and an open ecosystem to house current and new applications to better prepare operations for future changes.
  4. Vibrational Social Distancing Alerts – In addition to contact tracing, vibrational alerts have also helped in securing appropriate social distancing within operations.
  5. RFID Tracking – Facing a major influx of online activity, supply chains were overwhelmed with moving inventory and rising demands from the pandemic onset all the way till the holiday peak season. RFID tracking empowers teams to manage inventory levels in real-time while tracking in-motion products, assets, and resources accurately and quickly to fulfill needs with a faster turnaround time.
  6. Fast Long-Range Data Capture – By combining intelligent scanning with long-range data capture, manufacturers like Zebra Technologies were able to equip workers with ergonomic devices that read labels while keeping workers apart. In the retail landscape, modernized data capture can help alleviate checkout lanes by scanning products quickly and at a safe distance.
  7. 2-in-1 Tablets – As the term “office” gained a new meaning, 2-in-1 enterprise tablets like Zebra’s L10 tablets packed ease-of-use, operational visibility, and adaptability for on-the-go workers. Operating as either a tablet or a laptop, devices like the L10 give remote teams more flexibility without hindering data entry and connectivity.  
  8. Handsfree Technologies – Minimizing touchpoints throughout the supply chain became a chief goal amongst warehouses. That’s when hands-free technologies such as heads-up displays, ring scanners, and even Zebra’s newest WT6300 rose to popularity as they helped workers process orders faster with less movement and wasted labor. Studies suggest nearly 70% of warehouses now plan to integrate hands-free and wearable technologies by 2023 to continue expediting tasks and meet new customer demands for speed.  
  9. High-Speed and Long-Range WiFi – In April, over 50% of Americans cited internet connectivity as an essential tool. In warehousing, connectivity secures communication channels, diffuses crucial information, and sustains visibility solutions beyond the loading dock. Zebra’s flexible networking and WorryFree WiFi enables dependable connections to keep the essential business running.
  10. Push-to-Talk and Videoconferencing Features – Lastly, whether it be Zoom or any other service, videoconferencing and push-to-talk capabilities proved to be essential in keeping teams connected and supply chains running smoothly.  Zebra applications such as WorkforceConnect provided wall-to-wall connectivity in both the warehouse, retail, and grocery setting, allowing your teams to work together in real-time despite any distance.

But, we can’t forget the biggest game-changers of the year. As we close in 2020, we would like to give a special thank you to all the essential and healthcare workers as the ones who truly saved this year. From our team to yours, Thank You!

With 2021 less than a few days away, we are eager to see what other devices, solutions, and innovations will continue to reshape our futures. For more information on how to implement any of these solutions into your operations, contact our modernization experts today.

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Meet 5 Eco-Friendly Labels Your Warehouse (And our planet) need

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While recycling and trade-in programs can reduce the prevalence of e-waste, there are more ways to reduce costs and environmental impacts. Accounting for less than 10% of your operation’s total expenses, enterprise labels can still contribute to warehouse waste over time. Paper waste accounts for 85,000,000 tons of waste filling landfills per year, and product packaging tends to lead the way in most disposed paper products. Although reducing paper waste may require more effort than label optimization, your consumables are still a good place to start when creating a sustainable warehouse.

As a Zebra Premier Solutions Partner, Avalon works alongside a committed team to provide future-forward sustainability solutions, which is why we’re exploring the leading ways businesses are minimizing waste down to the smallest details.

Which Labels Should You Be Considering?

Which Eco-Friendly Labels should you be Considering
Which Eco-Friendly Labels should you be Considering

Although you can still customize a label to fit your sustainability efforts with Avalon’s labeling experts, there are a few ready-to-ship alternatives available as well, such as:

  • Z-Perform 1000D PF Label – Phenol-engineered labels usually find their way into bodies of water where they do not readily dissolve. To protect label resilience without in an eco-friendly way, 1000D PF labels are made with Vitamin C coating, minimizing the impact on aquatic environments. 
  • 8000D Dissolvable Label – The 8000D Dissolvable label takes sustainability a step farther as its face stock and adhesive readily dissolves under running water, further reducing waste and pollutants
  • 8000D Linerless Label – Due to its silicon release top-coat, Zebra’s Linerless labels eliminate the need for a liner. Labels can be peeled away from the roll and applied directly to inventory without additional waste.  
  • PolyE 4000D Label – Working alongside polyethylene bubble mailers, this label can enable easy recycling to lower the amount of packaging that hits landfills. 
  • Stora Enso ECO Bumper Inlay – This eco-friendly inlay replaces PET film, which takes longer to decompose, with paper to retain flexibility and thinness. The result is a recyclable inlay fit for even the most rugged applications.

Environmentally Friendly Supplies Solutions PDF Download

For more information on how these labels can empower your sustainable warehouse, download our fact sheet. 

When developing an end-to-end sustainability plan, even the smaller details matter. To see how you can go beyond minimized label waste, contact our team for a free assessment of your workflow to pinpoint hidden optimization areas.

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Meet Customer Demands or Lower TCO? See How Sustainable Warehousing Does Both.

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Energy consumption can account for a substantial part of your operation’s total expenses. However, the push for sustainability goes beyond lowering operational costs. Sustainability has gathered the attention of most North American consumers as studies indicate that nearly 70% of consumers prefer brands that integrate eco-friendly practices into their supply chains. In addition to fulfilling customer expectations, sustainable warehousing can help in the following efforts:

Establishing cost-effective traceability

Establishing Cost Effective Traceability

80% of consumers wish to know the origin of their purchased products

Studies conducted by IBM and the National Retail Federation, at least 80% of consumers wish to know the origin of their purchased products. Moreover, today’s changing compliance standards have also increased the need for fast and accurate traceability down the whole supply chain. 

Sustainable traceability solutions built with RFID tracking can help eliminate errors by providing real-time insight and data throughout a product’s lifecycle from production to checkout. By monitoring operations in real-time, your team can reduce wasteful labor and ensure compliance on the go without adding new devices or complicated steps into your workflow.

Allocating limited resources efficiently

Allocating Limited Resources Efficiently

By streamlining crucial tasks through one platform, operations can reduce the number of deployed devices

High turnover rates continue to be a prevalent issue in today’s supply chains; plus, new worker safety measures require warehouse managers to be mindful of high-density areas. This means your workforce as well as your digital devices must be intelligently distributed where needed most without overcrowding. While equipping workers with more devices can solve this problem, it may lead to future e-waste that results in a larger carbon footprint

By streamlining crucial tasks through one platform, operations can reduce the number of deployed devices while empowering the workforce to do more.  Modern enterprise-grade technologies, such as Zebra’s line of mobile computers, can help minimize purchasing and/or leasing new equipment since they can combine data capture, data sharing, connectivity, and visibility all into one platform.

Reducing upgrade costs

Reducing Upgrade Costs

Zebras’ most recent Warehouse Vision Study shows that nearly 77% of warehouses worldwide have moved towards automation

Zebras’ most recent Warehouse Vision Study shows that nearly 77% of warehouses worldwide have moved towards automation to meet customer demands without exacerbating costs. However, inefficient cheap upgrades can contribute to the production of e-waste, which capped at 53.6 million tons last year alone.

To make modernization equally available to everyone, Avalon Integration partners with Zebra Technology in the GO Zebra Trade-In Program. Instead of just purchasing new upgrades, we recommend trading in outdated devices to prevent them from ending up in landfills that could later damage the environment as well as your brand’s values.

When choosing between remaining competitive or lowering expenses, Avalon eliminates compromise by creating a sustainable modernization solution that minimizes waste while meeting consumer demands. To measure the efficacy of your workflow’s current sustainability efforts, meet with one of the specialists for a step-by-step assessment of your operations.

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6 KPIs you should have already been tracking in your warehouse

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Rapid advances in technology have left little room for errors to be tolerated by today’s customers. RFID technologies, faster data processing, and high-speed connectivity have helped shape new customer expectations, yet fulfilling these expectations without complete operational visibility may be difficult. As more brands move towards partial and full automation, warehouses must track and manage several crucial performance indicators to:

  • Spot bottlenecks before they cause downtime
  • Reduce inventory misplacements to prevent out-of-stocks
  • Adjust to surprise changes in product demand
  • Streamline workflows for faster processing and reduced labor costs
  • Lower overall operational costs without reducing efficiency
KPI Warehouse Tracking

KPIs warehouses have cited as top priority indicators to track in order to remain competitive

Next-generation visibility solutions can help expand control over your operations, yet in addition to implementation, one must consider which indicators to emphasize. Below are several KPIs warehouses have cited as top priority indicators to track in order to remain competitive in today’s highly digitized age.

  1. Cost of Order Processing Per Order – By measuring labor costs per order, you also gain insight into worker productivity and average estimated cycle time.
  2. Resource Utilization – From your mobile devices to your docks and storage, every part contributes to overall expenses, which is why it’s crucial to make sure every resource is properly used and maintained to prevent downtime.  
  3. Picking Accuracy – With so many businesses offering similar products, order accuracy, and positive customer service have become differentiating factors that can make or break a purchase. As a result, tracking order accuracy provides insight into possible customer retention.
  4. Carrying Costs – Stored inventory can lead to either possible revenue or financial loss over time. By tracking carrying costs, you are able to manage low and high-risk inventory, ultimately regulating stock levels.
  5. Inventory Turnover – What was cited as one of the most important KPIs, inventory turnover is directly linked to customer demand as you can track how often inventory comes and leaves the warehouse to travel down the supply chain. 
  6. Rate of Return – About 51% of customers report abandoning a business after one bad experience. Tracking return and backorder rates can give better insight into how your customers are interacting with your products after purchases are complete.

RFID tracking has become a popular visibility solution gaining traction across several industries; however, despite its high accuracy rates and promising future, it may not be suitable for everyone. Consequently, Avalon’s experts have teamed up with Zebra Technologies in the latest Avalon podcast to shed greater light on the versatility of RFID.

In the event RFID does not sound suitable to your operations, Avalon specializes in many other visibility and identification systems such as:

  • Bluetooth Low-Energy  Locationing – More adaptable to smaller budgets, BLE can help locate assets for greater worker productivity, managed device utilization, and less downtime and misplacements. 
  • Enterprise-grade Data Capture – As a Zebra Premier Solutions Partner, Avalon provides pretested labels and consumables that retain product information from production to checkout. 
  • Versatile Mobile Computers – Modernized mobile computers and enterprise-grade operating systems such as Android OS can help streamline workflows while connecting your workforce in real-time either through high-speed connectivity or push-to-talk capabilities. Access our portfolio to explore all of Zebra’s enterprise-grade mobile computers.
RFID KPI Warehouse Visibility

Expand your RFID Visibility with Avalon Integration

To see how you can expand operational visibility, reach out to our RFID and automation specialists for a free assessment of your workflow, and integrate a future-forward solution tailored to your goals.

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Versatility: It’s what your Sustainability Effort is missing

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For quite some time, sustainability has been a goal in countless businesses, yet rising demands and new technologies often pose recurrent challenges in developing eco-friendly operations. More often than not, businesses channel most of their efforts in minimizing fuel waste in transportation and logistics services. However, researchers at the World Green Business Council actually cite warehouses and buildings as the prime energy consumers in the supply chain, releasing as much as 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide global emissions. While the effects of wasteful energy clearly impact the planet, they also affect your workforce and brand.

Warehouse Sustainability Improvements

69% of surveyed respondents prefer environmentally-conscious brands over their competitors

Studies conducted by the National Retail Federation and IBM found that 69% of surveyed respondents prefer environmentally-conscious brands over their competitors, suggesting sustainability has the capability of swaying customer loyalty. Not only does it affect customer experience, but sustainability efforts can also drive down costs as eco-friendly buildings are shows to spend a quarter less energy and 11% less water. While there are several small sustainability efforts to deploy in the warehouse, device versatility stands as one of the key ways to reduce energy consumption and eliminate e-waste.

The power of many streamlined into the flexibility of one

Streamline Warehouse Flexibility

Zebra’s portfolio of mobile computers and rugged tablets can streamline your warehouse

Higher demands put more pressure on your devices, wearing them down faster. Moreover, as more orders come in, workers may be required to perform several tasks (such as picking, printing, scanning, and put-away), sometimes all at once. Consequently, to lower energy consumption and extend device longevity without purchasing more handhelds, Avalon recommends streamlining crucial functions into one durable mobile device. For example, Zebra’s portfolio of mobile computers and rugged tablets channel the power of versatility by:

  • Eliminating paper-based data entry by connecting captured barcodes to your WMS
  • Securing continuous OS updates to keep devices running and secure for at least 5 years to 10 years
  • Equipping mobile devices with long-lasting batteries and battery management tools to monitor battery life
  • Integrating push-to-talk capabilities to erase the need for a secondary communication device

Furthermore, in our commitment to affordable sustainability, we have partnered with Zebra Technologies in driving down upgrade costs with the GO Zebra Trade-In Program.  Upgrade your mobile devices before December 31st, 2020 to switch your legacy devices for up to $650 in cash rebates per device towards your next purchase.

To see how you can streamline efficiency with a modernized versatile device, contact our automation specialists today for a free assessment of your operational needs.

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Identifying the Key Component in your Inventory Management System

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Given the constant waves of changes gripping supply chains across the nation, Avalon Integration has continuously researched and studied inventory management optimization to help clients best prepare for changes. A lot goes into creating a dependable system, yet without it, businesses run the risk of:

  • Out-of-stock fees
  • Overworked employees
  • Higher production fees
  • Increased carrying costs and travel times
  • Negative brand identity 
  • Missed sales

Consequently, we called the experts to help pinpoint some of the crucial components to consider when developing a modernized inventory management system.

What to expect from a modernized inventory management system:

As previously stated, because every business is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all inventory management solution available. However, it’s safe to assume that your system must aim at maximizing visibility, agility, and accuracy to remain competitive in today’s now-economy. While it’s impossible to categorize one component as the most important factor in your inventory management system, we can help you identify your system’s goals to better specify your system’s needs. Below are a few goals modernized inventory management systems should strive to achieve:

Modernized Inventory Management Systems

Goals your modernized inventory management systems should strive to achieve

  1. Expanding the availability of actionable insight – One of the top benefits of a modernized inventory management system is the actionable insight it can provide regarding purchase patterns and areas of optimization. Actionable insight can help you reduce costs, provide customer-centered service, and mitigate product loss/theft. Avalon can help expand insight availability with Zebra’s mobile computers, built to secure maximum connectivity, so your workforce can stay up to date on any supply chain changes when and where they occur.
  2. Optimizing storage for lower costs – If left unchecked, deadstock can begin to drain your budget in increased carrying costs and depreciated values. When seeking to lower storage costs, Avalon recommends boosting end-to-end visibility with real-time locationing services such as Zebra MotionWorks. Adaptable to change, real-time visibility allows you to monitor moving inventory, giving you an overview of hidden opportunities in the warehouse, in the yard, and anywhere else you need it.
  3. Accelerating order fulfillment without promoting inaccuracies – Late and inaccurate orders affect customer loyalty. With average order fulfillment times getting shorter, it’s no surprise more warehouses have made speed their goal. To reduce data entry time and shorten travel paths, RFID-powered solutions and tracking can save time by capturing multiple codes without a line of sight. By implementing readers at the loading dock, you can accelerate order verification before shipment, eliminating wasted time and labor.
  4. Facilitating customer tracking and order changes – According to Zebra’s 2020 Shopper Study, over 80% of retailers either provide or plan to provide mobile ordering by 2021. Because customers expect to be able to track their online orders, the visibility that connects to your customers becomes a vital necessity. To preserve identification, we recommend investing in durable labels and accurate scanners that work both in the warehouse and on the field. Zebra’s Certified Consumables still stand as your best option in protecting inventory identification due to their strong adhesives and surface coating.
  5. Maximizing worker performance without increasing training times – As more orders come in, your workforce must find a way to continue meeting deadlines while increasing pick rates. High labor turnover rates make this difficult as companies can spend as much as $7,000 in merely training expenses alone. If your goal is to simplify onboarding while increasing performance, simplicity becomes your crucial component since user-friendly systems can diminish the likelihood of human errors. Equipping your workforce with easy-to-learn technologies such as Android’s familiar OS can help lower training times by as much as 90% to make sure employees can access and navigate inventory management systems as early as possible.

Didn’t see your goal listed? Contact our specialists for a free evaluation of your enterprise objectives and see how you can tailor your inventory management system to meet goals and exceed expectations.

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3 Zebra Products Designed for Augmented Visibility

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It’s not news to anyone at this point that visibility has become an indispensable necessity in today’s complicated supply chains. Although new demands and changing guidelines seem to affect every industry across the globe, not every visibility solution is fit to address your needs. Moreover, as demands grow, businesses are faced with multiple factors to track, from delivery times to storage status, to worker safety. Therefore, to better serve our wide variety of customers, Avalon Integration has taken the time to unfold the unique benefits and features of three of Zebra’s most popular tracking solutions, crafted for dependable visibility in today’s unprecedented changes.

Start small with durable identification

Durable Identification with Zebra Labels

Zebra Certified Consumables as a cost-effective and simple way to ensure accurate identification

When increasing operational visibility, we’ve found that even the smallest changes can yield big results. With that in mind, we turn to your labeling and identification system. Recent surveys have found that over half of “lost orders” are misplaced due to faulty labels that carry vital delivery and storage information. To prevent your stock’s information from getting lost (and eventually jeopardizing your product), we recommend evaluating the following label criteria:

  • Adhesive strength
  • Surface coating
  • Resistance to temperatures, moisture, dust exposure
  • Reel orientation and perforations

Not only can cheap labels harm your printer, but they can peel off or fade away over time, resulting in misplaced and inaccurate orders that hinder the customer experience. To amplify labeling efficiency, Avalon has continuously recommended Zebra Certified Consumables as a cost-effective and simple way to ensure accurate identification no matter the size of your operations. 

Take it up a notch with intelligent applications

RFID Solutions with Intelligent Applications

While RFID solutions serve as a modernized option to track assets and inventory simultaneously

As your business grows, so does the need for flawless technology, which is why when even one device goes missing, your whole team may suffer. As a matter of fact, 80% of costs attributed to lost devices come from data breaches, meaning that one lost tablet could very well impact your whole operation depending on what sort of data it holds.

While RFID solutions serve as a modernized option to track assets and inventory simultaneously, there are other cost-effective tools you can use to track your devices. For example, all of Zebra’s Android-powered mobile computers provide you with access to Mobility DNA applications that expand insight into your devices’ performance.

  • Device Tracker – Ensure continuous uptime with an application that helps you locate your misplaced device anywhere in the workplace.
  • PowerPrecision – Manage battery lifecycles across your entire digital fleet and pinpoint when a mobile device is underperforming to prevent surprise downtime.
  • LifeGuard – Extend security measures with recurrent 90-day patches that keep your devices updated automatically and silently. 
  • Device Diagnostics – Test major systems and deploy simple diagnostics to keep devices running and available without overburdening your IT department.

Expand visibility across the supply chain with RFID-powered MotionWorks

RFID Powered MotionWorks Warehouse

Zebra MotionWorks provide the greatest ease of use, flexibility, and versatility

Last, but certainly not least, when tracking multiple assets, products, and workers throughout the supply chain, visibility solutions like Zebra MotionWorks provide the greatest ease of use, flexibility, and versatility. Customize and grow your system to incorporate new goals by tracking:

  • Crucial assets – Manage all your deployed tools to verify location, condition, performance, and need all in real-time.
  • Material flow – Track and automate the flow of material while updating your WMS and ERP systems with actionable data that can be used to adjust to changes in demand.
  • Yard systems – Increase gate transaction speed to make sure inventory is transported to the correct dock in a timely fashion.

Bring the dependability of accurate tracking to where it matters most with the new MotionWorks Proximity for seamless worker safety, deployed directly on your Zebra mobile device. Reduce touchpoints to prevent germ spread and count on a user-friendly interface that accelerates safe and efficient contact tracing. 

In response to the health-crisis,  Zebra and Avalon have leveraged MotionWorks for efficient Worker Safety. Tune in to our newest podcast to learn more:

Of course, the above three suggestions fail to encompass the multitude of ways you can efficiently grow operational visibility without increasing costs. To learn how you can integrate a modernized visibility solution in your business, contact our automation specialists for a comprehensive assessment of your workflows.

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How to Handle Increasing SKU Proliferation

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Compared to ten years ago, today’s warehouse operations are starkly different. Not only did 5,000 new warehouses appear in a span of 5 years, but e-commerce sales have skyrocketed over 300% way before the global health crisis. Thanks to globalization and the internet, the high demand for specific products and fast order fulfillment has revolutionized operations, leading to one of the biggest business trends helping and hindering operations: SKU proliferation. 

As companies adapt to cater to customer preferences, they create new product varieties, giving way to new SKU numbers to identify different types of the same kind of product. This is a natural progression for any growing business, yet without crucial visibility, SKU proliferation can lead to:

  • Increased carrying costs as you’ll need more shelf space and labor to accommodate more products
  • Increased manufacturing/production costs for slow-moving inventory
  • Added order cycle times since workers take more time to compile orders
  • Missed predictive analytics since collected data does not apply to larger segments of your operations

However, when done correctly, SKU proliferation sharpens your competitive advantage by allowing your business to fulfill a customer’s immediate and secondary needs. Therefore, Avalon Integration outlines three ways your distribution plan can leverage intelligent visibility solutions to best manage varying SKUs.

Bringing Insight to Where it’s Needed Most

When modernizing inventory management, Avalon suggests the following areas to start:

Analyze purchase patterns in conjunction with customer interactions

Zebra L10 Tablet to Analyze Purchase Patterns

Zebra’s L10 tablets provide ample screen space, processing power, and integrated scanning capabilities

Obviously, one of the most common causes of SKU proliferation is customer demand. For example, a shoe company selling back shoes may notice the sudden popularity of red shoes and decide to sell them as well. While this may be competitively smart, one must not forget to continue monitoring current stock performance. In our shoe example, that would mean managers would still need to accurately track the number of black shoes in stock, how often they sell, and where they’re located in addition to trends in demand.

To properly analyze stock performance without increasing cycle count times, Avalon recommends streamlining data capture and mobile computing to eliminate data entry. Mobile devices such as Zebra’s L10 tablets provide ample screen space, processing power, and integrated scanning capabilities to empower workers to manage data on the go, creating an undisrupted inventory management system.

Connect workers to real-time stock updates

MC3390R RFID Real-Time Stock Updates

Integrate real-time visibility with RFID tracking solutions

Customer preferences can change within a day, sometimes in a matter of minutes. Moreover, research shows that customers are more likely to abandon carts if they’re unable to fulfill 100% of their needs in one place. That means every decision your workforce takes matters.  To avoid wasting labor efforts, integrate real-time visibility with RFID tracking solutions, such as Zebra MotionWorks, to manage multiple inventory identifiers all once. Inventory counts and location can then be shared with your workforce via their mobile device to accelerate picking by guiding them to the correct location faster.

Protect communication channels across the whole supply chain

Zebra TC77 Touch Computer Communication

Zebra’s TC77 touch-computer for high-speed and long-range connectivity

Disruptive communication channels such as Blockchain Technology are already redefining the way supply chains communicate by allowing enterprises to monitor inventory before it reaches the receiving dock. That means connectivity has now become a driving factor in enhancing competitiveness since it also allows customers to track their orders, a benefit sought by 97% of online shoppers. While there are many ways to establish communication channels between teams, Avalon continues to prioritize streamlined productivity and flexibility by recommending Zebra’s TC77 touch-computer for high-speed and long-range connectivity that keeps field teams and warehouses connected while also providing mobile computing and data capture capabilities.

As a Zebra Premier Solutions’ Partner, Avalon Integration makes sure to connect you with durable enterprise-ready solutions. Contact us today to discover new ways you can get a better handle on SKU proliferation with solutions tailored to your workflow.

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Avalon found the easiest ways to enhance your inventory system (the results are simpler than you think)

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Your inventory management system plays a key role in maintaining an undisrupted supply chain. The more efficient your system is, the less complicated your workflows will be. With so many technological advancements available, there are many ways to enhance inventory management. However, building efficiency doesn’t have to depend solely on hardware. As leading providers of warehouse optimization solutions, Avalon Integration brings you five simple ways to start enhancing your inventory system and how you can implement them in your operations for maximized profitability at a lower TCO.

1. Set Threshold Values

Set Threshold Values

A quality inventory system should be able to establish minimum stock requirements to avoid surprise out-of-stocks

At the very minimum, a quality inventory system should be able to establish minimum stock requirements to avoid surprise out-of-stocks. A step ahead would be to monitor incoming and leaving stock to keep it from dropping below your set threshold. Furthermore, threshold levels can also be applied to your supplies to root out downtime before it happens.

2. Prepare for Triumphs and Trials

Zebra Motionworks for Triumphs and Trials

Your supply chain may be disrupted by outside/uncontrollable factors

2020’s global pandemic has gone a long way to prove there is no such thing as over-preparing. Living within a globalized world, it’s only expected that your supply chain may be disrupted by outside/uncontrollable factors, good and bad, such as:

  • Sudden demand of any particular product
  • Shrinking workforces and rising labor costs
  • Running out of storage space
  • Miscalculations in inventory counting
  • Discontinuing materials

By tracking your inventory’s movement concerning demand, you can better prepare for chaotic moments. Zebra’s MotionWorks software helps deliver a birds-eye view of your moving inventory onto your handheld, so you have everything you need to make informed decisions on the fly.

3. Cycle Counting and Spot Checking

MC2200 Cycle Counting

Zebra’s all-new MC2200/MC2700 mobile computer as the next evolution of streamlined data capture

Regular inventory audits provide dependable certainty that your reported stocks match what’s logged in your WMS; however, this manual process takes a long time when done all at once. Automated cycle counting procedures such as the ones supported by Zebra’s TC52 help you conduct accurate audits without stalling productivity. Another option to consider is Zebra’s all-new MC2200/MC2700 mobile computer as the next evolution of streamlined data capture and intelligent ergonomics.

4. Standardize Your Identification Process

RFID Labels Standardize your Identification Process

When inventory arrives at the warehouse, it must be readily verified and labeled

When inventory arrives at the warehouse, it must be readily verified and labeled; however, as the stock moves around the warehouse, it may need to be relabeled and information may be lost from label to label. By simplifying your labeling process, you can prevent data entry errors and constant reprinting, which wears down printheads and wastes printing supplies.

To streamline label information while diminishing supply costs, RFID labels aggregate as much as 40 identifiers in one tag, simplifying data capture from receiving to shipping.

Another way to simplify standardization is to make sure your operating system is up to date and user-friendly. To accomplish this, Avalon recommends Android’s intuitive platform as it’s been shown to accelerate onboarding and protect data from unauthorized access.

Listen to our newest podcast to learn more about the benefits of Android.

5. Prioritize Inventory

Prioritize Inventory

Labeling is crucial in this factor since barcodes house essential information

This is perhaps the most important of all initiatives you can take. By tracking incoming inventory and current shelved stock, you are able to line up inventory and sell older products first before it loses its value or is no longer sellable.

Accurate labeling is crucial in this factor since barcodes house essential information -such as expiration dates, storage requirements, and delivery dates- throughout your stock’s journey. Quality labels can help make sure you always know which product is on your priority list. To boost labeling efficiency, Avalon has continuously recommended Zebra Certified Consumables due to its rugged adhesive and coating strength.

When it comes to enhancing your inventory management system, every small detail counts. For more simple cost-effective ways to maximize operational efficiency, contact our automation experts here.

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