“Mobile devices and applications have become the go-to tools for logistics and transportation professionals looking to stay connected and manage their supply chains from anywhere.”…Amy Roach Partridge writing for Inbound Logistics
Automation in the warehouse
In industrial organizations, the warehouse manager is the logistics professional who keeps the business stocked and flowing. The manager and supporting staff of stock technicians are the movers and shakers who receive, stow, rotate and distribute products to your customers. Your movers can be more mobile and your shakers can become more productive with the help of the latest generation of Android devices. Rugged Android tablets, phablets and commercial grade Android mobile devices are making steady inroads into the former turf of warehouse hand-held scanners and countertop workstations.Those hand-held gizmos were -- and many still are -- powered by proprietary Windows CE/WM operating systems, which add a steeper learning curve and less friendly user interface. The latest Android devices run a wide selection of warehouse management mobile apps, which keep humans one or two steps ahead of the power curve and keep the power curve sloped towards the customer. The costs are lower, too, as device manufacturers are free from purchasing a Microsoft operating system.
Clamping down on crisis management
Since backordering and error correction are always more costly and disruptive than good stock management and order accounting. Do the latter in an efficient manner and the former will be rare. An Android mobile stock management app in the hands of a warehouse manager and the people on the move can help keep the shelves full and ready to rotate to the distribution route.
Ideal elements of mobile stock management
The warehouse associate needs a rugged mobile device with an Android app that records and updates incoming stock, matches that stock against upcoming orders. The entry and processing of the inventory data must be user-friendly and intuitive. It must include a process of networking, tracking orders, arrival at the warehouse and automated invoicing for planned deliveries on the route.
Add an Android-compatible mobile printer to close the loop
With an Android-compatible mobile printer the warehouse worker only needs to print out the labels and barcodes to ready the next day’s deliveries for turnover to the route rep. The route rep can invoice orders at the time of delivery without worrying about last-minute changes or pen-and-ink corrections that often result in invoicing errors and miscalculations in computing the revised charges.
An Android-based solution could be the right choice for your warehouse
Choosing a mobile device for your unique business needs is an art unto itself. There are many variables to consider including device form factor, drop rating, seal rating, temperature rating, keyboard options, operating systems, amd more. As more and more device manufacturers choose Android as an operating system, many more companies will find that an Android-based solution can solve their business needs.
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Quote is from Mobile Communications: Managing Supply Chains on the Go at http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/mobile-communications-managing-supply-chains-on-the-go/ .
