Month: September 2016

For POS applications across a wide range of verticals, mobile computing is fast supplanting other methods of enhancing customer interactions. The point-of-sale and point-of-service options provided by a rugged tablet PC can streamline processes in almost any customer-facing industry, increasing productivity and efficiency while eliminating lags in service.

Rugged tablets are durable enough to stand up in almost any working environment, and can be utilized to simplify operations across the board, with a vast toolbox of solutions for familiar issues and the flexibility to adapt to different environments. Whether the setting is a restaurant, a casino, or a hotel the tablet bears up under constant, rigorous use, and in the retail sector there is no device that compares for convenience and customer satisfaction.

Retail

Employees can use the tablets built-in RFID readers and barcode scanners to quickly bring up product information on screen and check available inventory. Tracking tells the employee exactly where the item is for easy, fast retrieval. Encrypted MSR and EMV smart card readers for payment allows the checkout process to begin immediately, eliminating long lines at the register. Out of stock items can be verified in stock elsewhere, purchased, and delivery arranged on the spot.

Hospitality

Rugged tablets can be used at the front desk for sign in, on carts for room service, and at checkout to settle the bill. Internally, linen inventories can be checked, rooms slated for cleaning marked off and notes kept for special instructions by room number. The durability of the tablet can stand up to drops or other shocks, and long battery life means they last the whole shift. Wireless capability allows for mobility and communication with adjacent restaurants or casinos for a seamless process.

Restaurant

Tablets used for at-table ordering speed up the process, immediately transferring orders to the kitchen, allowing more secure payment in front of guests and faster turnover. The check can be requested and handled at the customers convenience, and completed transactions can notify management that a table is opening up for faster clearing and reseating. The tablet is spill proof and durable, even for family style dining.

Compared to consumer grade tablets, or PCs at fixed points requiring repeated visits to the specific location, rugged tablets bring flexibility and mobility to the world of retail and hospitality. As a POS solution, tablets are rapidly outstripping more traditional options, with benefits that are unmatched by other devices.

When the ultimate goal is to get something from point A to point B in the quickest, most efficient, cost effective way possible, real time data can facilitate goods from one destination to another. Real-time, accurate data is vital to gaining efficiencies, increasing productivity and minimizing costs.

Rugged tablets allow you to access, process, and transmit data from anywhere to anywhere, giving both in-the-field employees, location based retail personnel, and warehouse workers access to information at every point on the supply chain.

Benefits of Rugged Tablets

Rugged tablets can streamline logistics and make the supply chain flow smoothly from start to finish. Tablet features valuable to the process include:

• Fast, efficient barcode and RFID readers that make tracking easy.

• Wireless integration that keeps all the important data right at your fingertips.

• Rugged builds that can survive handling around moving boxes, crates and packages.

Transportation and logistics applications start at the pickup point, whether it is the manufacturer to warehouse run, the warehouse to retail leg of the journey, or the direct to customer trip. If cargo must undergo cross dock transport, keeping track of it is easy with information passing rapidly between tablets at different points of access.

Yard logistics are simplified when loading, inventorying, and unloading, keeping the data trail intact. Finally, delivery can be verified and the ticket closed remotely, with all data sent immediately for confirmation online.

Rugged Tablet Extras

Extra mobility is added to the rugged tablet with the option of ports that can support various hardware and applications, and mounts and cradles that allow tablets to be secured to walls, forklifts, or inside vehicles.

The versatility allows each rugged tablet to be customized for a specific point of use in the logistics chain, and to be outfitted for crosspoint use and easy handoffs throughout the supply chain.

From the manufacturing facility, to the warehouse, to the road, rugged tablets are flexible and durable enough to take whatever the changing environment throws at them. Drivers can stay in touch with dispatchers regarding delivery details or any issues that arise while theyre in the field.

The bottom line? Increased productivity, less wasted time, and lower margins of error from the beginning of the supply chain to the end.

Rugged tablets are ideal for use in warehouse environments for many reasons. The marriage of superior software and durable hardware make rugged tablets the take-anywhere, do-anything solution for workflows that require mobility and functionality.

What Makes a Tablet Enterprise Friendly?

Rugged tablets need several key features to be enterprise-friendly. Battery life, overall quality, and reliability rank high on the must-have list, as well as wireless capability, optimal GPS quality, and drop and water/dust protection are n key decision criteria for many companies seeking to mobilize personnel in a warehouse environment. Rugged tablets from DT Research have multiple benefits for enterprise functionality, including:

• Long battery life

• High quality, fully integrated reliable components

• A range of display sizes

• Wireless functionality

• GPS options

• Camera availability

• Barecode Scanner, RFID reader

• Indoor/outdoor readable displays

• Drop/vibration protection

• Security features

• Competitive pricing, especially considering device life expectancy

Warehouse Use

The tablet can travel through the warehouse, creating a data trail that is recorded, stored, and transmitted as needed to other devices or stationary points. From the time an item arrives until the moment it leaves the warehouse, it can be tracked, identified, registered, inventoried, labeled, and deployed from the convenience of a tablet.

Workers on the warehouse floor can scan codes, take instant images of damaged goods or items that require repackaging, verify physical locations, and share information. Upper levels of management can carry tablets on the fly, receiving and filtering the data they need to keep the warehouse running at optimal efficiency.

Logistics can be seamlessly tied into the floor with incoming and outgoing shipments recorded at every step, and images taken of invoice numbers, details, security seals, and paperwork. Documentation data becomes much less error prone and is quickly retrieved when needed.

Rugged tablets are the answer to multiple choke points in warehouse operations, and can be utilized at every level to increase efficiency and productivity. These long lasting, durable workhorses will prove their value as productivity increases and issues decrease.