Back in 2019, manufacturers, warehouses, retailers, and everyone in between scrambled to migrate operating systems as Microsoft announced support termination for its Windows CE operating system. The outdated OS had made its reputation as one of the top enterprise systems in the world, only to be replaced by Android for Enterprise.
Looking back, it made much sense to pick Android given its popularity among consumers. With the global workforce welcoming more digital natives than ever, selecting a user-friendly, familiar operating system for enterprise could help accelerate onboarding and solution deployment for faster profitability. Leading technology providers seemed to agree and selected Android as the top OS of choice, ultimately due to its:
While all these benefits have contributed to some of the most successful modernization plans in the supply chain, businesses still struggle with one of the most crucial tasks in the supply chain: traceability.
From textile goods to food and beverage, traceability has proven indispensable for virtually every industry. For example, studies show that eight in ten consumers will consider a product’s quality before making a purchase. Traceability is vital to display information such as product certifications, composition, and source of import for customers.
In a similar vein, businesses also rely on traceability to prevent mass recalls from affecting productivity. The Food & Drug Association estimates 48 million cases of foodborne illnesses occur annually, many stemming from recalls performed a little too late. In addition to endangering consumers, recalls can cost factories upwards of $10 million per event when factoring in lost labor, return costs, and liability fees. To protect both consumers and businesses, federal entities and big-box retailers have developed regulatory standards. Compliance regulations such as the amended Food Safety Modernization Act and Walmart’s RFID Tracking Requirement are just a few of the standards businesses must adhere to in order to meet expectations. In both cases, traceability systems play a role in gathering and storing data, however, the process has become increasingly more complex.
With numerous similar-looking SKUs now in production and e-commerce funneling in products from multiple manufacturers in different locations, tracking individual items is not simple, especially when manual data entry is employed for reporting and cross-referencing. While compliance codes require a specific set of data to be tracked in the supply chain, not every mandate outlines which systems and infrastructures are to be used. This is to give businesses flexibility in implementing solutions that fit within their needs and budgets, yet without a set rule, individual businesses can set unique parameters to capture data that may not be readable for other businesses in the supply chain, thus compromising traceability.
One of Android’s biggest benefits is its open ecosystem. Unlike Apple iOS, Android can easily accommodate software and applications without extensive coding, giving businesses ample room to design applications, software, and forms that capture multiple traceability identifiers. When optimizing traceability systems, work alongside your IT support team to:
In addition to securing adaptable traceability systems, Android provides much-needed versatility for other tasks supporting operational visibility. To minimize the complexities of traceability, leading Android devices integrate:
A tailored tracking system needs to expand visibility within the four walls and beyond – a task that may be difficult without dedicated IT support. To best harness the benefits of an adaptable operating system like Android, it is highly recommended that businesses take time to pinpoint implementation challenges and expectations shared across the whole supply chain. Speak with our modernization experts to see how you can overcome traceability challenges in your operations and maximize visibility within your facility and beyond.