Richard Barfield, EMEA Portfolio Marketing at Zebra Technologies: It’s easy to point to the global pandemic as a catalyst for innovation for businesses in the warehouse, manufacturing and logistics industries. Driven by the need to cater to increasingly disparate workforces and the many challenges that it presents, from logistical hurdles to security considerations, organisations have embraced technology to enable this change.
Yet, while the spread of COVID-19 catalysed innovation in many areas, businesses of all shapes and sizes were grappling with digital transformation long before the pandemic. Emerging technologies promised greater efficiency and productivity, but also highlighted increased complexity and the challenges in managing all these new technologies.
In-fact, prior to the pandemic, 80% of warehouse operators were planning on implementing new technology by 2024 to stay competitive1, from industrial scanners, to wearable computers to smart watches.
With businesses living through an era of unprecedented change that stretches beyond the events of 2020 and 2021, technology that provides ease-of-use and reliability, as well as boosting functionality to enable innovation, is a gift to any organisation. Here, we discuss the vital importance of a reliable, flexible and secure printer to businesses in manufacturing, logistics, warehouses and beyond.
Reliability
For the warehouse, manufacturing and logistics industries, an unreliable printer can impact workflow efficiencies. Instead, it should be a key component in ensuring worker productivity is consistently performing at peak operational levels.
With this in mind, a solution that can be relied upon to provide optimal performance, regardless of external factors, is absolutely essential. Take Zebra’s ZD421 and ZD621 desktop printers, for example. These 4-inch desktop printers feature innovative architecture, specifically designed to handle advancing technology, all while delivering outstanding print performance.
Due to innovative architecture, both ZD421 and the ZD621 are substantially faster than their predecessors. As a result, these devices enable users to perform more operations simultaneously, run more tasks, while helping to ensure robust security.
With this reliability of performance, change is something to be embraced, rather than feared.
Flexibility
Boasting a high level of performance is important, but it means little if a solution is too rigid to roll with the punches of a modern organisation. A recent study found that 61%2 of warehouse operators agreed that IT/technology utilisation is their biggest operational challenge now and within the next five years. A printer should be flexible, meet user requirements and be part of a solution.
The ZD421 and ZD621, for example, have multiple models to match a warehouse operator’s specific needs. The ZD621 supports RFID. Both offer different application requirements and are available in direct thermal, thermal transfer and healthcare models. The ZD421 is also available as a ribbon cartridge version.
In terms of flexibility, both ZD421 and ZD621 can support different network deployments. With the ZD621, Ethernet connectivity is included as standard, and it has a wireless option. The ZD421 has options to integrate onto existing Ethernet and wireless networks and connect directly to any PC or device, be it Windows, Android™ or iOS.
Speaking of slotting your printer into an existing infrastructure, the ZD421 and ZD621 can be smoothly integrated into your printer fleet by using the same label formats and applications is a boon for any business. Not only that, but it supports both EPL and ZPL printer languages, and can emulate languages normally associated with other printer brands by using Zebra’s Print DNA tool, Virtual Devices.
Ease of use
While the need to embrace new technologies is critical, deploying these new technologies requires investment of both time and money, requiring validation, testing and retraining to ensure workers are able to use them with ease. Opting for solutions that are simple to use, therefore, can save warehouse staff time, increase operational efficiencies and enable businesses to reduce financial outlay.
The Zebra ZD621, supported by the Print DNA software suite, is simple to operate and can be deployed anywhere with setup tools, wizards and emulation capabilities. Both the ZD621 and ZD421’s boasts easy-to-use interfaces, requiring minimal training, as well as providing status at a glance, reducing the risk of downtime for the device.
The ability to immediately spot a printer’s status is vital in helping to ensure daily operations run smoother. The ZD421’s five LED icons enable warehouse staff to instantly see what’s needed to keep the device up and running, while colour-coded touch points guide users through media-handling tasks to deliver quicker media changes. It is also the only thermal printer to offer a ribbon cartridge that takes just a few seconds to load.
The ZD621 also has an optional Colour Touch screen. This is included as standard on the healthcare (HC) and RFID versions, but optional for all other ZD621 printers.
In warehouse environments where technology can be complex, an easy-to-use printer is essential.
Keep it secure
New technology, for all its advantages, also brings its own share of risk. As organisations move to digitise operations, new types of security threats emerge. Increasingly well-resourced cyber criminals have access to more sophisticated methods of attack, and businesses have to be vigilant to help ensure that points of vulnerability are kept to a minimum.
This is why Zebra’s PrintSecure functionality, which can be found in both the ZD421 and ZD621, is so important. It enables users to easily configure printers via secure connections, identify vulnerabilities, block unauthorised access and more, helping to protect against cyber-attacks.
Meanwhile, Zebra’s Printer Profile Manager Enterprise gives users the ability to easily manage, secure and troubleshoot networked printers from one remote location, so users can manage one printer, a group of specific printers or all printers anywhere in the world. In an age where remote workforces are now the norm, this is a key tool to help secure a warehouse’s devices.
The same study found that up to 62%3 of decision makers will see increases in investments in smart technologies, including mobile and stationary printers, over the next three or more years. It would be no surprise to see this number increase as the advantages of adopting such technology becomes clear, and in the meantime, warehouses that embrace printer technology like the ZD421 and ZD621 will begin to reap the benefits and be better equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
Zebra
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