Category: Industries

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Industries Software Technology

Three main reasons for Android popularity in the business world

PM30hc used by medical workers to manage patient data
Android is the operating system of choice in many industries thanks to its superior security features and easy management

For all mobile devices including consumer smartphones, Android has become the dominant operating system in the globe. Many attribute its success primarily to its open-source nature and the variety of budget devices, but Android has other definitive advantages over its competitors. The strength of Android is shown exceptionally well in business applications, which resulted in its dominance across many industries where mobile smart devices are deployed.

Bayton already posted an article that extensively explains why Android is a better choice for businesses. However, I’d like to pick the three most important enterprise features of Android in my opinion and give a more simplified explanation in this post.

1. The security

Contrary to the common association with iOS being the most secure mobile operating system, Gartner has ranked Android higher than iOS in terms of kernel security, exploit protection, network security, workspace isolation, and more, since 2016.

Source: Gartner, December 2017 

Businesses also find these two features below especially useful for keeping corporate data safe:

Corporate/personal data separation

Workers can use the corporate devices home privately without harming the work data since Android offers work profiles to be completely separated. Work data is securely isolated and separately encrypted on a disk.

Monthly security patches

Google supports monthly security patches for the device manufacturers and ensures the end-customers receive the benefits by operating the Android Enterprise Recommended program, which requires manufacturers to promptly respond to both regular and urgent security updates made by Google.

Get more information about Android Enterprise Recommended with this post ? 

Medical worker is using PM30hc to check the patient data.
Google supports monthly security patches that ensure data security.

2. The flexibility

However you want to deploy and manage the devices, Android allows you the most versatile management solutions. Any management scenario including BYOD, dedicated, or something in between is well-covered thanks to its unmatched flexibility – this means you can easily allow the employees to use personal devices for work by using a separately encrypted profile or choose to distribute company devices with limited access only.

From: bayton.org

3. Easy provisioning

Businesses purchase and use devices in bulk for all of their employees: sometimes all the devices are located in proximity and a master device can do all the provision with a bump. But sometimes devices are too far away and every time a new update comes out or the settings change, provisioning over the air is required. Android can accommodate these scenarios. Also, device manufacturers and system integrators offer one of the most convenient and easy-to-use solutions for Android provisioning.

These are the methods of provisioning available for Android devices:

  • NFC
  • QR code scan
  • DPC identifier
  • Zero-touch enrollment
  • Knox Mobile Enrollment
  • Other OEM-specific provisioning methods

Enabled by Android’s innate support for convenient device management, Point Mobile provides excellent provisioning and device management solution: Scan2Stage.

Scan2Stage offers convenient control of thousands of devices at once regarding update schedules, configurations, and more.

Scan2Stage is Point Mobile's convenient provisioning solution, free of charge.

Find more about Scan2Stage ? 

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Industries News Technology

The rise of micro-fulfillment centers

Online grocery shopping
grocery delivered in a box
Grocery delivery, Ecommerce

Covid-19 has changed consumer behaviors and shaped a new landscape for businesses throughout the last year. One of the most noticeable and talked-about big trends is the exponential growth of e-commerce. While this trend is posing a challenge and threat to conventional retail business models, a rising new opportunity is getting more and more attention: the micro-fulfillment center.

Facilitated by the pandemic itself and lock-down policies, the global e-commerce market expanded to $27 trillion (USD) in 2020, taking a share of almost 20% of all retail sales.1 The leader of this sector, Amazon, has been reported increasing the footprint of its fulfillment centers by 50%.2

Record-number calls for an unconventional system

This rapid expansion of e-commerce and delivery industries has started the super-growth of micro-fulfillment centers as well, although being a relatively new business model. As its name shows, it’s basically a tiny warehouse. Located around urban areas unlike their bigger counterparts near highways far away from city centers, what they do is providing extremely fast (same day) delivery service while cutting the cost. But the most important job of those MFC’s is making fresh online grocery shopping possible– as grocery sales being the main contributor to the MFC market with around 70% ~ 80% share.3

The small size makes it easy to proliferate, as it conveniently utilizes existing property or even the backside of retail stores and the basement of malls. The estimate shows the market size of MFC is expected to be 10 times bigger than now and reach worth about $10 billion by 2026.3

Smaller-scale vitalizes new technologies -or will it challenge existing players?

Meanwhile, the management of these centers requires data-managing technologies due to their time-oriented nature. Same-day delivery makes it necessary to predict what products to store to maximize the limited space, which means A.I. and Big Data technologies will probably be heavily used, even more than in gigantic logistics hubs.

Another noticeable trend is that besides the established global leaders such as Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba, there are a lot of new players entering the MFC market.3 For the enterprise mobility industry, this can mean either a new future opportunity of a smaller and more segmented market or a challenge to maximizing profit, if the average product quantity per sale goes down.

Sources:
1 https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/05/1091182
2 https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-fulfillment-center-growth-reveals-pandemic-online-ordering-surge-2020-7
3 https://www.globenewswire.com/fr/news-release/2021/01/13/2157646/0/en/Global-Micro-Fulfillment-Market-A-Cumulative-Opportunity-Worth-10B-by-2026.html

Categories
Industries News Technology

Automated storage and retrieval system for small urban warehouses

AutoStore overview
How AutoStore save the valuable space for your warehouse

All around the world, the pandemic has made people more likely to buy things online, and the demand for fast and free shipping is only getting bigger. In the process of providing a consistently fast delivery service to the increasing volume of customers, a major change is happening.

New fulfillment centers are being built closer to the major city centers for easy access to the final destination. Due to the high land price, naturally, they are in a much smaller size than conventional ones, which poses challenges to businesses who need to store thousands of different kinds of products in a limited space. This new type of tiny warehouse in urban areas is called a micro-fulfillment center.

Amazon is planning the construction of around 1,000 new micro-fulfillment centers in cities and suburbs all across America, and Korean e-commerce giant Coupang went public with similar future plans. Also eager to catch up with this trend is SoftBank Group, which invested $2.8 trillion USD in AutoStore taking up 40 percent of its share last April.

AutoStore is a robot manufacturer that also provides a total solution for Automated Storage & Retrieval System (ASRS). Its robots are built to maximize the small space of the micro-fulfillment center.

AutoStore differs itself from other automated warehouse system providers as it designs robots and systems to prevent extra space from being wasted: No room for air, just for products. Thanks to its extremely efficient use of space, small warehouses, once thought is impossible to be fully automated, are now being filled with robots. On average, AutoStore saves 20 to 50 percent of land-use costs by increasing the maximum storage capacity up to 3 to 4 times, resulting in an astronomical cost saving when you combine the real estate market of major cities and the sheer number of micro-fulfillment centers.

¼ footprint for same capacity compared to conventional storage system.

AutoStore also uses an algorithm that optimizes the box placement – the automated system will put products that come and go more often on top, and others below. This “queuing” algorithm aligns products in the most time- and space-efficient order.

Description: Modular design makes it fit into various layouts

The modular design makes it easy to expand in any size. When necessary, the business can easily add new space and integrate it into the existing system, making it possible to increase capacity without re-designing the whole system. Plus, newly added space does not have to follow the cube shape as each module can be ever so small.

Robots designed by AutoStore are now working in around 300 businesses across 35 different countries, including Walmart, Pfizer, Intel, Siemens, IKEA, etc.

E-commerce businesses are going through bloody competition and constantly innovating themselves. Same day and even three-hour delivery which seemed impossible once are now making our life comfortable, and I think it is worth noting the behind-the-scene innovation of the logistics industry.

Sources:
Parcel Industry: The Competitive Advantage of Omnichannel Strategies
Bloomberg – Amazon plans to put 1,000 warehouses-in-neighborhoods
CNBC – SoftBank invests $2.8 billion in Norwegian robotics firm AutoStore
Business Insider – Watch Masayoshi Son get in the groove as Softbank’s ‘golden goose eggs’ followed his famous unicorn slide
AutoStore website – brochure

Categories
Industries Technology

How warehouses use UHF technology to improve work efficiency

Typical UHF reader for the warehouse: Gun handle or pistol grip style (PM85 + RF851)

Work efficiency is getting more important for businesses, as consumers demand faster availability and live and accurate stock information. Warehouses need to adapt to these changes by utilizing technologies that help them to keep track of items. This is where RFID comes in: A lot of companies already use RFID readers as a substitute for or an addition to barcode readers which boosts productivity and accuracy tremendously.

What is RFID?

Available in various shapes and sizes: RFID tags

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification and is a technology that can read so-called RFID tags through radio waves. Inside of such a tag is a microchip that reacts to a specific wave, or MHz (Megahertz). RFID tags are available in lots of versions: They can be active or passive, they can be really tiny for the anti-theft system of your car, or they can be used as a sticker or integrated into a card, to name just a few examples.

There are various sub-categories of RFID, such as LF (Low Frequency, less than 134.2MHz) or HF (High Frequency, 13.56MHz). You’ve likely came across HF in daily use already, since it is widely used in modern smartphones for payments using the NFC standard (Near Field Communication). NFC enables communication between compatible devices and, as the name suggests, only works for short distances.

As for warehouses and distribution centers however, UHF (Ultra High Frequency) is the most commonly used RFID technology. UHF uses a frequency of 800-900MHz (and even higher) and is able to track and identify goods from a distance of up to 9 meter (30 ft) if the conditions are right.

What’s the difference between UHF and barcode scanner?

Barcode scanner technology has dramatically improved work efficiency, but there’s a problem: Scanners need the line of sight to operate, meaning the scanner needs to literally see the barcode in order to capture it. If the barcode is hidden in a box, unreachable or heavily damaged, there is no way to read it. It is also only possible to read only a single barcode at a time. By using UHF, these problems will be eliminated as data can be captured even when it is hidden. And since UHF is capable of reading multiple data at once, it is the optimal technology for warehouses where lots of boxes are stacked and piled up. Unlike barcode scanners, RFID tags don’t have to be placed in a specific place to obtain information, as long as it inside the box or attached to the product. Imagine you have to regularly perform inventory tracking, and you’ll see immediately why UHF is a much faster and safer way to know exactly what is going on in your floors. Of course, this technology does not only have advantages: Certain materials or liquids can influence the signal, more complicated implementation and lastly, RFID readers are usually more expensive than their barcode pendants.

Capturing data from an RFID tag

In a typical (connected) warehouse, large scale RFID gates are installed where boxes arrive or leave. This way, all incoming and outgoing shipments can be tracked and monitored at all times. This works similar to how shopping malls or stores prevent stealing by installing those RFID readers at the entrance. If a tagged product surpasses the gate, the system detects goods being stolen and an alarm will go off.

Passing this gate with a tagged product will immediately identify you as a thief

Back to the warehouse. The systems for tracking goods are a lot more complex and require the right software solution and the right hardware. The hardware (for example the RFID gate, or a handheld pistol grip style RFID reader such as the RF300 or RF851) ensures that the tag data is captured properly in all conditions, while the software processes the data to the backend and forwards it to the staff to inform them about model, quantity, and supplier details. The data is either being sent by the Wifi installed in the warehouse, or by cellular connection, for example in outdoor areas or areas with low Wifi signal strength. Automating warehouse processes for both incoming and outgoing shipments reduces processing time, and also significantly lowers the error rate.

Point Mobile’s RFID reader are using UHF, which is a form of RFID. UHF has an higher read range compared to other forms (LF,HF), it means it is specialized for warehouse environment. RF300 can read up to 6m, RF851 can read up to 8m.

Will RFID replace barcode scanners?

Improving work efficiency is very important and this technology can certainly help to do so. But as great as it sounds, RFID is not perfect. While it can scan data from multiple items at once, and it is more durable, it’s also much more expensive than barcode technology. As the industry keeps developing and warehouses get more and more automated, we expect a steady trend towards companies adapting UHF technology, but as barcodes may not be as efficient, they are a solid solution and implementation is a lot simpler – especially when you’re on a budget.

The answer is: Both technologies will keep co-existing. Sometimes, the better way is to use barcodes, other times it may be smart to use RFID, and then sometimes, a mix of both worlds is the way to go.

Categories
Industries Software

Crucial part of the delivery process: The Last Mile

Last mile delivery Aventeon with PM90
Last Mile delivery plays an important role in the entire delivery process

It is a long way until a delivery reaches its intended recipient. Once loaded on the truck, the last step of the delivery has begun: The Last Mile Delivery. We call it the Last Mile Delivery because it is figuratively the “last mile” right before knocking on the recipients’ door. In other words, it is that part of the transport process where goods are delivered to the end customer. What seems trivial at first is actually an important part of the whole customer experience, with delivery often being the only physical contact moment between a customer and a supplier.

These days, companies must adapt to changing customer demands in both B2C and B2B (and even C2C) markets, as the arisen expectations have created new possibilities for deliveries that go much further than shipping a box from A to B. We are taking home deliveries, same day deliveries, time windows, delayed deliveries, alternative locations, unmanned pack-stations at offices, neighborhood stores and in-public transport stations, customer centric return processes for products and packaging and just-in-time deliveries to service-engineers and building sites. But how to manage and keep track of all these services?

Software as the key to a successful Last Mile and happy customers

To understand the how companies ensure positive customer experiences while completing their Last Mile Delivery, we take Aventeon’s Logistics.ONE solution as a prime example: It acts as a central system and provides drivers with all the necessary information, presents a logical workflow, guarantees uniform capturing of data, offers monitoring and feeds the central systems with all the necessary data. The user interface is intuitive and simple, and lets the driver focus on the task. As a modern application, it runs on mobile devices with the Android operating system, taking advantage of device-specific modules such as cameras and integrated barcode scanners.

  • Action overview: Unloading, collecting signature and additional services in one screen
  • Doorstep Plus service: Setting desired delivery location and check list for successful delivery
  • Collecting the signature from the customer, including company name, email address and service feedback
  • Every tour has an Options menu for further information, or when a problem with a shipment occurs

So, back to our box that is about to be handed over to the recipient. When the driver arrived at the desired delivery location (For example, front of the door, unmanned pack station, neighbor, and so on), the right shipment will be identified and unloaded from the truck. At the same time, in the Logistics.ONE application, the driver chooses “Unload” from the open task list. In case additional services have been booked, the next window will give the driver further instructions, such as to verify with the client if there is any damage. Last but not least, the proof of delivery has to be collected, or in other words, the signature of the customer. After completing all these tasks, the driver is off heading towards the next location.

Driver relies on precise and up-to-date information

Of course the software alone is not the only factor that plays a role when deliveries are fulfilled. The ability to adapt quickly to changing customer demands is another very important aspect that companies in this business have to keep in mind. Also, having up-to-date information and constantly informing all those involved in the supply chain is decisive for being successfully active in the Last Mile. Adapting new processes, good staff training and professional resources must not be missed either.  

Learn more about Aventeon’s Logistics.ONE ?