Feb 01, 2022

Mobile devices play a huge role in modern distribution centers and warehouses. Implementing a mobility solution into your warehouse can improve productivity and efficiency to boost inventory and shipping processes. As multiple industries grapple with inflating labor turnover rates, mobility solutions empower changing workforces to keep meeting demands. Most modern devices consolidate workflows through one intuitive platform. However, because of the massive role mobile devices play in maintaining operational productivity, device failure can bring productivity to a grinding halt, costing over $100,000 per hour of downtime in most large-scale warehouses. It is estimated that at least 46% of unplanned downtime is due to hardware failure and malfunction, leading businesses to waste an average of 2,000,000 hours every year on unproductive stalled operations. To safeguard mobility solutions from unplanned downtime, systems should leverage the following tenants:

1. Higher durability standards suitable for work environments - While consumer-grade devices may seem easier to work with due to familiarity, they are more likely to break in the field, adding repair expenses to your total operational costs. Implementing devices that are specifically built to function in warehouse environments reduces downtime by preventing breakdowns and offering longer device lifespans beyond traditional 3-year plans. Furthermore, since most major manufacturers made the switch to Android for Enterprise as their OS of choice, newer enterprise-ready devices now run on a familiar platform for most new hires, thus combining simplicity with durability.
   
2. Ongoing solution maintenance for eventual scalability - Choosing services that continually maintain your devices ensures that your workers are consistently working with capable technology, and it also helps boost the lifecycle of your devices so they last longer. For example, as Honeywell’s exclusive H2A partner, Heartland supports mobility solutions with flexible AlwaysOn and AlwaysConnected  services to provide ongoing mobile device management within a tailored wireless infrastructure, so devices stay running.
   
3. Careful wireless planning to target unproductive dead zones - Regarding wireless planning, a tailored connectivity network prevents dropped signals and interferences, thus empowering workers with real-time operational visibility and undisrupted communication channels. Consequently, this nurtures better teamwork and facilitates data sharing to create actionable insights based on everyday workflows. Data can be used to create proactive plans to combat downtime before it happens.

Diving into the benefits of the H2A partnership. 

As the exclusive H2A partner, Heartland is equipped to simplify your modernization strategy no matter where you fall in the supply chain. From device procurement to careful wireless planning, to ongoing solution maintenance, expect non-stop performance from your solution with the Heartland/Honeywell Advantage. Heartland delivers superior device procurement, wireless planning, and solution maintenance to your warehouse with these services: 

• Simplify asset repair with Repair Management services that act as the base service of the AlwaysOn offering. Heartland simplifies the repair of your assets by managing the creation of manufacturer RMAs and asset tracking, while consolidating service contracts for easier budgeting and renewal.
• Enable more reliable replacements with Heartland’s Spare Pool Management that provides your business with overnight replacements for devices being sent out for repair. When you house your devices in Heartland’s spare-pool facility, you reduce the number of spares needed in your environment and shorten the turnaround time for the replacements.
• Help save time configuring and maintaining devices with Heartland’s Configure to Purpose. Devices are directly shipped from the repair depot to Heartland. We validate the repair and load the end-user’s configuration, which is established during the AlwaysOn onboarding process. With Heartland, your repaired devices will be sent back out-of-box ready, so you only need to put in batteries for use.
• Maximize operational visibility, tracking, management, and security of your mobile technology without interrupting current workflows through our Mobile Device Management Support solutions. Our MDM Support allows you to become an extension of our IT team to boost the management and development of your MDM platform. Empower time-saving benefits of MDM without the overhead of administrative burden on your IT team. Streamline hardware, software, and network implementations through one point of contact.                                                            

Remove the hassles of design, implementation, and maintenance when you enhance warehouse operations through Honeywell’s authorized technicians. Contact us today for a free assessment of your current systems to build a solution that’s customized to your environment.