April 2016

Zebra Technologies study finds seven in ten decision makers to accelerate warehouse technology investment by 2020
Zebra Technologies announced the results of its latest Warehouse Vision Study, which compares input from 1,378 IT and operations warehouse professionals. It shows how responses shifted between 2013 and 2015, as well as on expectations in 2015 versus 2020. In essence, consumer expectations will drive increased investment in IT and operational functions in warehouses over the next four years as manufacturing and logistics companies continue to adjust to delivering directly to consumers. In 2013 that meant more warehouse locations, but in 2015 emphasis is on more items shipped, shorter delivery times, labor performance and order accuracy. This means moving to more modern, full-featured warehouse management systems, real-time location systems, bar code scanning, voice picking, tablets, and IoT projects. Mark Wheeler, director, Warehouse Solutions, Zebra Technologies, said, "We see this as an enormous area of opportunity: providing workers with the tools they need to do their jobs accurately and productively will help companies meet and exceed customer expectations for accuracy and on-time delivery." [See Zebra news release and Warehousing 2020 infographic] -- Posted Tuesday, April 26, 2016 by chb

Cognex enters rugged mobile terminal market
Cognex, a supplier of machine vision systems and industrial barcode readers announced that it has developed a new product line — ruggedized mobile terminals. The MX-1000 combines a modern smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S4/S5, Apple iPhone 5/5S, 6/6S and 5th gen iPod for now) with a rugged hand-held assembly that holds both the phone and a specially designed Cognex barcode reader. At a time where existing Windows Mobile/Embedded handheld devices are being phased out, Cognex expects that this unique combination will enable it to become a major player in a $500 million segment of the mobile terminal market. [See Cognex media release, the MX-1000 product page, and into video] -- Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2016 by chb

Juniper Systems blog: transferring data between Windows 10 and Windows Embedded Handheld
With Juniper Systems having introduced their first full Windows 10-based rugged device, the Juniper Mesa 2, the company published a very helpful blog entitled How to Transfer Data on Your Mesa 2 Rugged Tablet. -- Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2016 by chb