Jul 18, 2023

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 The outdated OS had made its reputation as one of the top enterprise systems in the world, only to be replaced by Android for Enterprise.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:

• Ongoing security patches and support
• Familiar touchscreen interface
• Open app ecosystem

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.

Understanding how traceability still challenges businesses today.

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.       

Proactive Planning Leverages Android’s Flexibility to Create a Standard System

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:

• Incorporate common identifiers used within the whole supply chain – Individual locations may have internal identification codes for their products. As inventory arrives, teams must decipher through additional information to accurately capture relevant information in a new facility. Even with an automated barcode system, matching incoming data to a custom form can take some effort if both sending and receiving systems are not in sync. Custom forms built within your Android device can capture and transcribe different codes to ensure product information isn’t lost after shipping.
• Ensure Support for Unique Programs without Manufacturer Involvement – An open application ecosystem allows teams to create a system tailored to their needs. To ensure unbroken application uptime, consider partnering with consistent IT support to help manage upgrades and patches without drawing away from productivity.
• Protect Data within Custom Applications – Along with struggles to incorporate more SKUs in the tracking system, unsupported apps may serve as a vulnerability gap in your cybersecurity plan. Thanks to its ongoing updates, Android can help protect data with multi-factor authentication and reliable encryption.
  
  

Android’s Benefits Don’t Stop at Flexible Traceability

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:

• Intelligent Scanning – Matching data by hand is a hotbed for errors. Consequently, modern Android devices integrate a  scanner to transmit submitted data into predefined fields on your custom report.
• Compatibility with RFID systems – Real-time locationing provides 99.99% visibility into inventory movement thanks to RFID technology. Android’s adaptable OS can now be paired with RFID systems, bringing a layer of simplicity to one of the most innovative technologies on the market.  
• OS support beyond standard device lifecycles – At the end of the day, a supported operating system is much better than an unsupported one. Android’s continuous support notifies teams of bug fixes and available updates, extending the device’s lifecycle, so you can get more out of your solution and spend less on replacement costs.

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.