Technology has become a driving factor of nearly every sector in the modern world. And warehouses are no different. The need to mass produce the handling of materials has necessitated the incorporation of technology in warehouse operations. 

Many of us are just getting used to asking our smartphones for directions or coming to terms with Alexa being a fixture in the home. Voice recognition technology has been around for several decades and is making people’s lives easier and more enjoyable. But, what about in the workplace? And, particularly, in the warehouse environment? 

Believe it or not, voice technology has been a fixture in some warehouses for about two decades. But, similar to those flip phones, what was considered high-tech voice technology in the 90s looks much different today. Here are some of the ways voice technology can benefit your warehouse and a list of the ways you can apply it to your operations.

Distribution center operations may not seem driven by technology. But times are changing rapidly, and anything that facilitates the management and organization of your operations can provide a huge advantage. 

Remember, a distribution center can encompass millions of square feet of space. Managing all of that with pen and paper invites error and can be tedious at best. Fortunately, RFID technology can have a tremendous impact on the modern warehouse and distribution center in terms of efficiency and results.

When searching for ways to reduce costs and improve efficiencies in the supply and distribution chains, many warehouses look to new hardware, software, and processes. But there’s a lot to be said for taking a second look at the labels that you use. A label is pretty much affixed to and used on everything that comes in and out of a warehouse. So poorly designed labels or the processes involving creating them can lead to bottlenecks or inefficiencies.

Fortunately, tech has entered the label arena, and Zebra Technologies has a multitude of solutions for warehouse environments and processes. Here is how your warehouse can leverage Zebra Technology solutions to maximize labeling accuracy and help you gain efficiencies in your warehouse operations.

With the last eighteen months have been unique in regards to how often the supply chain and logistics industries were featured in mainstream news, RFID technology continued to quietly inject itself into more and more corners of the industry – and beyond. While we have all been busy keeping up with the basics of our old supply chain, new versions of it continued to evolve even more rapidly.

We’ve all justifiably spent a lot of time over the last year focusing on the issues our industry is facing in keeping supply chains intact and running smoothly in the face of unprecedented demand and disruptions stemming from the pandemic. Amid all the shortages, delays and price changes, and like an exclamation point on a very memorable year, we also had a global shortage of containers due to the blockage of the Suez canal.

Last month the world briefly experienced a unique drama that involved no natural disasters, lost lives or homes or pile-ups of cars on the freeways. What got the world's attention like it never did before was a giant container ship stuck in a canal! 

While the sight of a large, fully-loaded ship sitting stationary in a canal for week did not have the "drama" of other disasters, it was a disaster in its own way - just a very slow-building one. While no property was destroyed nor lives lost, there was a significant cost to what was really a "Supply Chain Chokepoint" on a global scale.

How much did it cost? Numbers are still being crunched, but some early data points illustrate the monumental impact it had on global trade.

Where are the chokepoints in YOUR supply chain? 

The pandemic-induced spike in eCommerce has been credited with accelerating technology adoption in the supply chain at least five years ahead of what forecasters expected to see by now. But despite the rush to modernize, upgrade, automate and refresh hardware, software, and processes, many facilities are still missing some of their best opportunities to improve productivity with RFID.

There is probably a higher level of public awareness about how the logistics industry works and its technology than ever before. Who hasn’t had at least a passing interest in how a nation plans to get over 300 million doses of a vaccine distributed in a manner of a few months?

How do you measure success in your warehouse? Every business has their own “dashboard” of KPIs (at least we ASSUME they do by now). Your KPIs could be as granular – and basic - as “Picks Per Hour”, “Receiving Wait Time”, “Packages Shipped” or “Fulfillment Rate”. Or they could be at a more macro level to measure “Inventory Turnover”, “Average Order Value” (or “Average Items per Order”) and “Forecast Accuracy” (along with basic tracking forecast elements).