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With eCommerce fulfilment, faster deliveries, and omnichannel presence, the supply chain management process has now become more complex and multifaceted. Events like shutdowns because of the pandemic also impacted supply chains greatly, inducing labour shortage, material shortage, unavailability of transport services, etc. Enterprises have realised that it is crucial for them to identify the most common supply chain challenges and look for collective solutions.
A warehouse, which is at the heart of supply chain operations, is only as quick as the employees, and the employees are as productive as the tools they have. Over the past few years, rugged tablets are on their path to being a necessity in supply chain operations. From inventory management to transporting goods in time, rugged tablets can handle every industrial communication operation with ease.
Let's have a glance at some common supply chain challenges and how rugged tablets fit in the picture.
The use of multiple devices is one of the most recurring difficulties in supply chain operations across industries. Companies require scanners, computers, and talkbacks, in mostly all facilities. But with rugged tablets, there are built-in scanners and push-to-talk features for better communication. Rugged tablets can remove the need for multiple devices. From calculators and cameras to trackers and scanners, everything is packed in one rugged tablet design.
Due to rising labour costs, it is not practical to have manual labour for every task around the supply chain. With rugged tablets, one employee can handle several tasks, from documentation to logistics, decreasing the overall costs.
Smaller screen sizes are not calibrated to show all details clearly at once. In many cases, shipment details and product SKUs can be elaborate, thus requiring a larger display for better visibility. Rugged tablets are handy here. In one glance, more information can be consumed on the tablets, thus reducing the effort of extra scrolling, and sometimes wrongly reading information.
Manual data entry has a huge scope of errors. Correcting errors at a later stage takes a lot of time and resources, thus slowing down overall operations. Enterprises and supply chains also fail to get an overall real-time update of their operation due to the possibility of errors. The digitalisation of operations using rugged tablets can help in streamlining data entry and workflows. This further enhances productivity without compromising accuracy.
To ensure the proper delivery of the products to the end customers, all through the process of acquiring raw materials to dispatching the final goods, warehouse executives need to stay in contact with transport services. Any delays or errors in coordination with the transport services can cause delays. Rugged tablets help overcome these challenges by offering great connectivity and support for diverse applications to facilitate smooth coordination.
With manual entry and localised inventory, it is difficult to move out with crucial company data. Failed compliance data and audits create delays in operation. Rugged tablets, in this case, prove more sustainable and accessible as they can be easily carried anywhere. They are also more stringent in extreme situations, thus keeping important information available at all times.
For various auditing and compliance requirements, several reports need to be generated across the supply chain operations. Creating such reports manually is time-consuming and error-prone. Generating these reports through multiple systems can cause data discrepancies. With rugged tablets, reporting can be streamlined. As the tablets can be integrated with the back-end systems, the data is centralised and up-to-date. Reports can be generated without huge paperwork and manual efforts.
Electronic devices come with a warranty and are tested for quality, yet they can also be unreliable under extreme conditions. Meanwhile, some industries need to deal with extreme weather conditions and using any electronic devices that are not meant for such extreme conditions can be risky. However, rugged tablets assure functionality and endurance at extreme altitudes, temperatures, rain, snow, humidity, or any such situation. They are very reliable, with long lifecycle, and the ability to always provide top-class performance. They also have sustainable and rugged designs that do not wear out easily, thus guaranteeing prolonged usage and unparalleled experience.
A viable rugged tablet to solve all the above-mentioned supply chain challenges should have the following characteristics
With all these features, rugged tablets can ensure that the supply chain management process is smooth and consistent. Enterprises facing the most common supply chain issues should consider replacing their multiple devices with rugged tablets. From vehicle mounting assembly to docking stations, rugged tablets boast of every feature that most enterprises need.
This makes Zebra the most trusted brand for supply chain operations. All the features that a company should look for in rugged tablets are present in the entire line-up of Zebra rugged tablets – from pocket-friendly budget range to the high-end performing ones. With a careful assessment of your needs and planning, businesses can choose rugged tablets to future-proof their supply chain operations.
