How Mobile Printing Can Help Improve Warehouse Operations

The supply chain and logistics industries continue to automate processes and implement new technologies because of the obvious benefits that they provide. The benefits include cost savings and increased workforce productivity all while receiving a fast return on investment. Mobile devices are just one cost saving tool that supply chain and logistics industries use. In this presentation we will discuss how mobile printers can help improve warehouse operations and where their benefits can be seen. Mobile printers are used in warehouse facilities to produce barcode labels and can be used in conjunction with other technologies such as warehouse management systems (WMS) and RFID systems. The reason that mobile printers have become a widely used technology is because they assist in eliminating operator errors and associated costs. Because the mobile printers can be moved around the facility or can be worn by staff, travel time throughout the facility is significantly reduced which increases productivity of both the operator and any other ancillary items such as forklifts. Overall time savings is, on average, 75%. Mobile printers can make many every day areas of operation more efficient and accurate. Some of these areas include: receiving docks, cross – docking, quality assurance, inventory putaway, picking, packing and order fulfillment. In the receiving area mobile printers can be used to print batch labels for expected orders (ASNs) and can even be used in outdoor yards for any bulk materials handling. If labels are printed and applied as inventory is received 100% labelling accuracy is expected. When using mobile printers to cross – dock time is saved by printing both the inventory label and shipping labels simultaneously. Because these are fast moving items it is beneficial to handle them efficiently and accurately. In the quality assurance area mobile printers are used to mark and track specific pieces of inventory being tested or identify products with special handling needs. This ensures high product traceability accuracy throughout the testing and handling processes. Labels printed from mobile printers can also be printed and applied as items are being putaway. This will reduce travel time needed to get labels from printers near offices and will reduce putaway time by nearly 38%. During the picking process mobile printers can be used to print labels used for sorting and staging. These labels can be easily associated to shipping labels printed at the same time. When packing items for shipping mobile printers are utilized to create labels to identify finished goods which can significantly reduce picking errors for similar finished goods products. In the fulfillment stage labels from mobile printers can be used to label inventory with order specific labels to verify order is complete and assist in verifying order accuracy. To learn more about mobile printing solutions contact me today at marketing@datexcorp.com or www.datexcorp.com