Way before the global pandemic, modern order fulfillment had already proven to be both complex and fast-paced. As e-commerce continues to fuel the now-economy, today’s fulfillment centers and supply chains find themselves in a competitive landscape to meet evolving customer demands such as:
- Faster order delivery falling between 1 to 5 business days
- Ability to track orders as they move down the supply chain
- Certified worker safety, disinfection, and contactless transactions
- Continuous stock availability
- Seamless and free returns
Failing to meet any of these requirements can hinder the customer experience, ultimately impacting brand loyalty, satisfaction rates, and profitability. While there are several ways to optimize each requirement, data capture automation stands as a simplistic method to start securing efficiency and greater visibility across the whole supply chain with less workflow modifications.
What to look for in your automated data capture solution?
Studies indicate that while 72% of businesses are investing in technologies designed to reduce TCO, about a fifth of companies still struggle to implement effective automation. Easy-to-deploy and cost-effective, automated data capture has taken center stage as a bridge to softly allow businesses to modernize without restructuring their operations. To accomplish this, modernized data capture should…
- Integrate intelligent capabilities – While general-purpose scanners can effectively capture barcodes within a controlled setting, warehouses may be operating in busy and/or extreme conditions. That’s why intelligent scanners must be able to capture small, fading, and even scratched barcodes in a variety of surfaces, sometimes multiple codes at once. Applications like Zebra’s SimulScan and Multi-Code Data Formatting (for mobile computers and handheld scanners respectively) illustrate this by capturing specific barcodes within one larger document. Intelligent PRZM imaging also helps expand scanner performance by accelerating data capture and deciphering inferior barcodes for accurate scans.
- Connect with your data processing system – Your digital devices are merely an extension of your team, which means they should strive to connect teams. Solutions combining data capture and computing within one device cut complicated workflows by keeping your data accessible and safe through one platform. Collected data can be converted to actionable insights and timely updates to prevent future complications before they arise.
- Be scalable and adaptable – Demands can change in a blink of an eye. Consequently, a modernized scanning solution should be able to readily adapt to fluctuating workforce size, stringent disinfection cycles, longer shifts, and increased order throughput without increasing training times or radically changing crucial applications. This is where intelligent rugged scanner design combined with an intuitive software can help maintain uptime in the midst of change, freeing up your teams to focus on other opportunities for growth.
See how Zebra’s DataCapture DNA continues to simplify scanning automation in our video:
As a Zebra Premier Solutions Partner, Avalon Integration works with a wide variety of enterprise-ready scanners and mobile computers to seamlessly automate data capture. To see how you can start upgrading your scanning systems without disrupting operations, contact our modernization team for a free assessment.
