Cybersecurity discussions usually focus on server racks and cloud infrastructure. Executive teams spend millions fortifying data centers against external intrusions. Yet, logistics risk profiles expand dramatically at the physical point of parcel delivery.
SAP enterprise systems provide the robust foundation that successful businesses rely on to manage, track, and process complex order, inventory, and industrial workflows. This centralized structure is highly optimized for strategic data management and core business operations.
In the next edition of our Winning Together blog series, I want to talk about how one of the best parts of my role as CMO of Zebra is the opportunity to talk with our customers and partners. The early part of the year is a great time to gather with them in person at trade shows like NRF and our Channel Partner Summits.
At Zebra Technologies, we believe in the power of collaboration to create a more inclusive world. We have made a commitment to improving accessibility, and we are proud to work with third parties to ensure our hardware and our partner’s software applications
For logistics and postal leaders, the last mile has become the most critical and complex part of the entire supply chain. The pressure to improve its efficiency is immense, driven by the relentless growth of e-commerce, soaring customer expectations for speed and the high operational cost of failed deliveries.
AI commands headlines and captures imaginations, promising a future of unparalleled efficiency. Yet for executives leading operations in retail, manufacturing, and transportation, the practical application of AI often feels distant from the hype.
If you attended the National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show this year, you might have seen a few eye-catching cars navigating the busy streets of New York, wrapped in the iconic Zebra stripes and featuring our name alongside our latest acquisition, Elo.
Should you bring in a partner to help you research, design, or implement business technology? Or should you handle everything in house? Larry Walsh, CEO, Chief Analyst & Founder of Channelnomics, explains exactly how resellers, systems integrators, and service providers can help you most effectively translate concepts of how you want things to work into reality.
Warehouses, factories, and other supply chain facilities have become host to some intense competition and big prizes lately. Who would have thought? (Apparently, the people who understand how to modify behavior and started building gamification apps.) Learn more about how gamification works and how it can help motivate your workers.
If you're an SAP customer looking to migrate from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA to better support frontline workers and back-office processes, you may be wondering: "Should I choose SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) or Stock Room Management (SRM)?" This post will help you arrive at the right answer for your business.
Imagine walking into a store you’ve visited for years, only to find the shelves are empty, the decor outdated, and the staff unsure of how to help. That’s what it feels like when a brand doesn’t keep up with the evolving needs of its customers.
Before a pair of shoes reaches your doorstep, it may pass through up to 30 touchpoints where Zebra products, solutions, or workers using Zebra devices play a critical role in its journey.
As Zebra rolls out its refreshed brand, I realize how privileged our role is as Independent Software Vendors in applying this new messaging around mobile devices.
Label printing plays an important role in ensuring operational efficiency, product traceability, and regulatory compliance in industries like manufacturing, transportation & logistics, retail, and healthcare. Whether it's labeling parts on a production line, shipping packages, tagging retail inventory, or identifying medical supplies, the accuracy and consistency of labels directly impact business outcomes and the global supply chain.
I’ve spent over four decades working on technology solutions that support businesses, and I can confidently say there’s never been a more exciting or challenging time to innovate for the frontline. Recently, I joined a webinar with guest speaker Denise Lund, Research Vice President, Worldwide Telecom and Unified Communications at IDC and my Zebra colleague Bethany Wiegand. The discussion centered on the mounting pressures of the retail frontline and how Unified Communication and Collaboration (UC&C) solutions, like Zebra Workcloud Sync, are stepping in to help.
The challenges facing AI today, such as data scarcity and quality concerns, might seem daunting, but they also present an opportunity. By turning to the wealth of data generated on the frontline, businesses can create more intelligent, efficient, and adaptive systems.
Over the last couple years, an unfortunate but true joke has circulated around the Zebra offices related to the fact that it was easier to buy an actual, real-life zebra online through your favorite search engine – in no more than three clicks – than it was to use our Zebra Technologies’ website (www.zebra.com) to buy one of our products. The good news: this is no longer the case with our new “How to Buy” experience!
Discover how AI can streamline your software testing processes while understanding the potential risks it may introduce to your business. Learn the essential steps to ensure trust in your testing results and maintain the software’s performance and objectivity. Optimize your testing strategies with a balanced approach to leveraging AI effectively and safely.
The food wasted annually – the ~1.3 billion tons of food that ends up in the landfill – contains enough calories to feed approximately three billion people for a year! So, why is even a single person experiencing food insecurity or hunger right now? There is clearly enough food being produced to feed everyone on the planet today and then some. In this blog post, Leo Lowy takes a closer look at the root causes of food waste and loss as well as the technology tools that could be applied right now to stop food waste in its tracks at a global level. Read his recommendations.
They say there’s two sides to every story. Well, now there’s at least two viable machine vision solutions to every problem when you invite both seasoned and early career vision system engineers to the table, and that’s making it easier to see the right path forward. These two engineers (from different generations) explain why.
Hear how T&L companies, utilities, government agencies, and other service providers are using the tablets currently installed as ELDs to inject more automation and intelligence onboard their fleet vehicles. Our guest, Michael Inglima from Ram Mounts, explains how these mobile devices are working with AI software, cameras, RFID and more to assist workers in and out of the cab as well as those coordinating goods transport and service call response.
If you're planning to use machine vision to assist with quality control or automate other visual inspections, there are some things you need to account for when designing your system. In the latest episode of the Industrial Automation Insider podcast, two engineers from Tri-Phase Automation explain what you should think about when spec'ing out your vision system to avoid headaches later on and make sure you get the results (and return on investment) you want.
AI must fail over and over to succeed. But there are several mistakes you want to avoid making when teaching an AI-driven application how to look for anomalies on a product, component, or label using deep learning.
If you're a healthcare provider or administrator who wants to reduce the shocks and stress felt when the world seems to shatter - or just simply grows bigger - you need to make one simple change today then repeat tomorrow. Don't wait "for the money to come in" or a policy push to make the changes needed to improve care capacity or quality. The team at Hull University Hospital didn't. It took a pragmatic approach to modernization and has made great progress with Scan4Safety and strategic RFID implementations in a short period of time. So, if you're not sure what to do first (or next), the story and advice shared in this blog post might help you get the answers you need...or at least know the right questions to ask of the right people.
Yes, shortages can drag down revenue, but excess inventory can drag down your bottom line even more. Here’s why.
Curious about Zebra's AI practices? Want to confirm we're acting responsibly and making decisions with your best interests in mind? This is how we’re working to build trust in our systems and help protect your interests when using any Zebra technology solutions that leverage AI.
Do you know exactly when, where and why losses are happening within your operations? If not, it will be hard to figure out how to prevent them, fix inventory distortion, and eliminate friction within your operations. So, let’s talk about loss detection.
A strong (wireless) connection is often missing in factories, plants, and warehouses. But there’s an easy solution to that, as two wireless technology experts pointed out in my recent discussion with them. Here are their recommendations.
Would they be able to communicate with first responders, customers, and each other in real time…even when they couldn’t talk?
From multiple substrate applications to automated compliance checks, the team at Cobalt Systems has come up with some interesting techniques to affix and validate labels on almost anything using common technology such as industrial printers and industrial scanners. Hear what they've done (and you can do) to the benefit of manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and fulfillment operations.
While buying technology online for your business can be convenient in the short-term, in some situations buying from a sales rep can save you time, budget, and a headache long-term. Here's when you should buy online versus direct from a person.
I’m often asked this question, along with two more: ‘What training format is best?’ and ‘Do I need to train them on every little change or new feature?’ Here’s my advice (based on some regrets other business leaders have expressed.)
If you use direct story delivery to get your goods on retailers' shelves, and you're trying to get more SKUs to more stores more frequently, then you'll probably need to enlist the help of more drivers and merchandisers. That's why you may need to rethink how you plan, coordinate, and execute DSD, according to one supply chain expert.
These are the questions to ask every time you’re assessing a new machine vision project for a production or distribution environment, if you want to get it right the first time and save money in the process.
Find out why you must put your workers’ mobile experiences first when modernizing your SAP warehouse. Plus, learn about the seven things you must do to ensure you are addressing your frontline warehouse workers’ needs when making warehouse management system (WMS) and workflow changes.
As the CEO of a 3PL emphasized in a recent podcast interview, "There's a difference between structuring logistics operations for a customer and with a customer." Listen to the entire conversation with Cathy Langham, CEO of Langham Logistics, to find out what happens if you're not innovating with customers and instead just adding new technology in the hopes of attracting new customers.
Identity Guardian uses face biometrics and an encrypted barcode to prevent unauthorized users from seeing sensitive business data – and help authorized users access that data faster. Here’s how it works.
Let’s talk about how Scrum compares to Waterfall project management, what it has in common with Agile, and how you can start using Scrum to keep your projects on time and on budget.
Find out how one Fortune 1000 manufacturing company is going to save $1.1 million annually…just by digitizing forms and going paperless with a zero-code, SAP-friendly software solution.
Though AI can work more quickly than people can in some cases, it still takes its cues from us. That's why you always need to keep a human in the loop. But that’s not the only reason why you shouldn’t let an AI work completely independently. Zebra's Senior Director of AI and Advanced Technologies sits down with the Interim CEO of Humans in the Loop to talk more about why human oversight will always be needed with AI systems and if there’s ever a time an AI system can be left to work autonomously.
Technology, like medicine, is only effective if the right formula/dose is prescribed and “taken as directed.” Here are the three habits you need to adopt now if you want to avoid the side effects of “wrong” technology decisions and ultimately get relief from the "triple squeeze" choking your business.
Kristen Ludwig is taking a different approach to customer experience design, advocating for technology customers and end-users of all abilities to have representation in business decisions and are fully supported in their work. See if it could help your organization, too.
The National Football League knows how to collect, decode, and harness data fast – and it’s having a huge impact on its brand and bottom line. These are the best practices you can extract from its Next Gen Stats initiative and apply to support your business or marketing strategy.
Two healthcare and pharmaceutical sector experts say resistance to change is causing many organizations to miss out on the benefits of automation and experience preventable disruptions in their operations. Yet, there are many ways you can turn DSCSA requirements into business advantages...if you're open to automating certain parts of your business. Find out how.
Security-minded solution architects from Google Cloud and Qualcomm explain how far you’re going to have to go – and the lengths to which they’re going – to help protect your organization’s data.
When working with an ecosystem of partners on digital transformation or other complex IT/OT projects, it can be advantageous to have one partner who leads the charge. Larry Walsh of Channelnomics explains why in this blog post.
Should you be using AI to inform decisions or drive action in the warehouse? If so, where and how? Mark Butler, Global Partner Manager at Zebra, consulted with two experts from Körber Supply Chain to get you all the info you need to make the right decision for your people, processes, and profit targets.
Are you a military service member or veteran? Don’t let your current or past affiliations define who you are or who you want to be. And don’t let your career history define your current self-worth, say these two Marines-turned-Zebras. Find out why they warn you not to attach your military experience to your identity.
When store shelves are empty, people clearly notice. While that’s a problem, the bigger issue is what people are missing before that empty shelf becomes apparent. Let’s look at that for a minute and talk about what more retailers can be doing behind the scenes to avoid out-of-stocks and solve this hidden crisis.
What do 3D printing, Nikola Tesla, pharmaceutical production, the future of healthcare, and farming on Mars all have in common? Check out the podcast below to find out!
Need to connect your Zebra printers to a new Android mobile device? Or want to know how to initiate a print job from a Zebra Android mobile device? There's an app for that...and it's free! Here’s everything you need to know about how to download and use the new Zebra Print app to print labels, PDFs, images, and more while on the move.
In a very candid conversation, tech industry leader Tim Stoddard shares the best way to steer your career and life so that you become who you want rather than who others want you to be.
Sometimes it takes more than “industry standard” best practices and policies to protect your people. These are the extra efforts that have helped us reach a rarely achieved workplace safety milestone: one million hours worked with zero workplace safety incidents.
Do you dread the day you have to migrate to a new Android OS? Are you delaying the move to Android 14 because you fear it will be too much work? According to one solution architect, doing these things should help reduce your anxiety. They may even prompt you to get excited about migrating applications to A14 (or whichever OS is next for you) rather than dreading or delaying it and paying the price.
Zebra's Senior Director of AI and Advanced Technologies, Stuart Hubbard, sat down with inspired software engineer Saliha Demir to find out what she has learned – and once misunderstood – about AI. Her early AI experiences are certainly a wake-up call to us all. Listen to this…
There’s both an art and a science to forecasting, especially when trying to achieve the “right” level of inventory. That’s why you need both people and AIs contributing to your fact-gathering and decision-making. Find out how you can get them to work better together.
Unlike most clinicians, nurses at Hull University Teaching Hospitals don’t have to worry that patient care will be compromised due to missing equipment or medical supplies shortages. Why? They’ve found an unconventional but effective ‘cure’ using RFID. Hear about the inventory management solution that is helping clinicians focus on patient care.
The features and functionality of the cameras, sensors, and scanners used across your vision system won’t matter if you don’t have the right software underneath. Software is the glue. So, I'm curious: Did you closely inspect the software needed to run each of those pieces of hardware before buying them? Did you consider how easy (or difficult) it would be to get all the software platforms to work together as part of "one system"? Or have you found the software complicating things since putting those new hardware components in place? No matter your answer, you need to read this post.
While AI is certainly proving helpful with quality control during the electric battery production and electric vehicle assembly processes, AI isn’t the only thing that improves inspection results. Find out what can help automotive suppliers, manufacturers, and integrators even more.
It's Deanna's Self's (new) job to steer Zebra’s Global Supply Chain and Repair Operations toward an innovative digital future. More specifically, she will be looking for ways to bridge technology and business in a way that benefits our customers, partners, and employees. But what does that mean in actionable terms? She explains in her latest blog post.
Did you know there’s a way to configure your SAP mobile apps so they – and you – can keep working when offline? That's probably good news if you’re losing access to your SAP data and workflows every time your mobile device loses its connection to a Wi-Fi or 4G/5G network connection, you’re going to want to hear this. Read this blog post to learn more.
What are you doing to ensure your newer utility workers can keep up with retirees? Are you training them more? Using technology to transfer knowledge? Or just hoping that expertise will be restored with time? Find out which method(s) is going to be best for your next-generation workforce and your business.
Two AI experts explain how exactly you can maximize your margins by integrating, adopting, and executing AI-powered solutions.
There's a lot more to consider than just the temperature rating when choosing a handheld mobile computer or tablet – or even an RFID reader, barcode scanner, printer, or wearable – for use in cold chains (or cold weather). So, Andre Luecht took the time to detail what other factors influence the performance of technology devices, accessories and supplies in different types of cold settings so that you always make the right choice for your operation the first time.
Responsible AI development, training, testing, and use require ongoing engagement and foundational practices to ensure long-term success and ethical implementation. Here is what you need to do to get started, whether you're an AI model developer, tester, or user.
The thinking used to be that a warranty plan was enough to protect business mobile devices, scanners, and printers. Here’s why that thinking has proven to be flawed.
You need to know everything there is to know about deep learning OCR, a new AI-based text reading tool, mainly because it’ll tell you what you need to know about so many things – such as your products’ quality and status.
Optimizing operations and enhancing customer service can be easy if you’re using the right key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess schedule quality in workforce management software. But how can you be certain you’re using the right KPIs?
There’s a (data) science to AI. If you can understand the basics, you’ll recognize whether AI will solve your problems—or create unwelcome ones. Two AI experts explain.
Privacy isn’t born out of traditional cybersecurity tactics. It must be treated as a separate but equal action, according to Dr. Ann Cavoukian, creator of the international “Privacy by Design” framework. Find out what you should be doing differently to protect your customers and reduce your company's liability when handling customer data..
The RFID tag is not the next evolution of the barcode. It is technology you should treat as complementary to barcodes. Here’s why.
While equality is the main goal of societal I&D efforts, equity is the means to get there. Find out what equity looks like and how it can be used to help ensure equal opportunity access to historically marginalised communities, not just women.
Did you know that you don’t always need real-time visibility into trailer location to prevent goods losses on the road and labor-related losses in your retail stores, warehouses and distribution centers? Learn more.
A consultant for Körber Supply Chain Software says he has seen clients gain anywhere from 10 to 35% productivity improvement as well as an up to 25% improvement in accuracy with voice guidance.
Let’s talk about why enterprise mobility solutions are better suited than consumer market offerings in retail, hospitality and other business applications based on what we've learned the past two-plus decades.
Google and Zebra are pulling out all the stops around mobility (and AI and AR) so you and your employees can source the info needed to more confidently do your jobs and secure more wins. Hear what’s unfolding.
Have you been integrating your barcode scanners and RFID readers with your ERP system correctly? Or could a few adjustments to your approach make your job, and information sharing, easier? Find out.
Your in-house team may struggle to manage a software implementation project because they don't work for the software provider. They only know how the application should work, not how to make it work as it should. Find out what it really takes to define MVP, keep the project on schedule, and ensure software acceptance of end users.
Part of the third largest retail operator in Northern Europe, Kesko found a way to reduce costs and boost efficiency in its warehouse with…wait for it…a printer! Find out how exactly they accomplished this feat.
If you’re wondering, “How is deep learning already at work in the real world (i.e., my world)?” or “How could deep learning help me work in new, more efficient ways?” then you’ve come to the right place. This blog post serves as a primer to deep learning, explaining what it really is, how it works, and how you can make it work for your business for inspections, quality control and more.
Here are some calculations to run and often overlooked factors to consider before you think that a consumer mobile device is going to be “cheaper" than one purpose-built for business or industrial use cases.
Hear why you should be moving to the cloud, automating what you can and using gamification to make the hardest jobs easier than ever so people will be excited to work in a warehouse, even when the stakes are high.
The more mainstream AI becomes in business, the more important it becomes for developers and engineers to adopt best practices – and for technology buyers and IT managers to understand those practices. So, we asked an AI expert to share the practices he and his team use to bring AI into production, including the use of ML Ops.
As UNESCO calls out, “Literacy empowers and liberates people.” And there are millions of people around the world whose lives could be vastly improved if they just had access to one book. That's why Zebra's Therese Van Ryne sat down with Kristen Daniels, Executive Director, Bernie's Book Bank, to talk about ways we can all make books more accessible to those who need them.
Store managers say there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done, but there are – if you can make it easier for them to schedule retail associates.
Bimbo Bakeries USA has shown us how data-driven insights from AI can transform demand planning for CPGs and help keep fresh food on our tables without anything going to waste - even during a global pandemic.
There’s far more to consider than the “total cost of ownership" when deciding whether to set up a private wireless or Wi-Fi network, and consistency is worth more than anything when it comes to wireless connectivity in the workplace, says one mobility expert.
How long will humans outnumber the machine workforce? And is there a way to extract more value from their current co-existence? Those are two questions answered by a warehouse automation expert in this blog post.
When Zebra mobile devices are accidentally left at workers’ favorite lunch spot, a customer site or on a pallet in the yard, Device Tracker can now pinpoint their last known locations on a map.
Software requires technical support and feature optimisation (just like hardware). So, unless you have access to experts via ongoing consulting services, the business impact of your software investment may disappoint.
It could be a win-win to let employees use personal devices on the clock. However, more businesses are starting to backtrack on BYOD. Why? Hear both sides of the story.
Individual experiences differ based on culture, geography, gender, and many other factors. Of course, stereotypes can also lead to shared experiences of discrimination. Here’s how you and I can help change misperceptions, especially about the Asian community.
We are asked a lot of questions about why enterprise mobile devices should be the only type of devices used for business applications when consumer devices are being marketed for business use, too. Technology Solutions Engineering Fellow Bruce Willins attempts to answer them all now.
Learn how wearable devices that audibly or visually tell workers where to go and what to do when they get there can help them reach full productivity faster.
These veteran technology industry experts say you probably need barcode, RFID and vision systems to achieve your business objectives. Hear why.
Want to confirm passengers have the proper tickets before the train departs – or the passenger departs at the next stop? Consider digital wallet tickets powered by Apple VAS and Google Smart Tap on Zebra mobile devices.
Nurses need to be at patients’ bedsides delivering care today, not at computers trying to figure out who’s available to work tomorrow. This can help.
The continued use of handwritten records and manual administration processes in some healthcare settings is hindering the quality of care that even the best physicians and nurses can provide. Let’s talk about how to change that.
New universal software interfaces and DataWedge APIs enable you to make critical connections between your existing Zebra mobile computers and new Zebra barcode scanners without having to make any software upgrades. Learn more.
No one wants a dead battery, but that’s what you’ll end up with if you keep charging your battery too much or too often. So, let’s talk about the right way to extend your battery life.