Reliable hardware for industrial digitalisation

Frank Rauner, Head of Brand Management at Jarltech Europe GmbH, spoke with Stephan Pottel, Industry Director Manufacturing EMEA at Zebra Strategy EMEA, about digitalisation in the industry.

Digitalisation in industrial production is progressing. Increasing efficiency through automation and optimising production processes are important topics. Transparency, traceability and cost savings are also becoming increasingly important in order to achieve competitive advantages. Other key topics are flexibilisation and adaptation to market requirements as well as quality improvement through error reduction and predictive maintenance. Zebra covers all of this with its reliable industrial products.

Frank Rauner: Hello Stephan, Im delighted to talk to you about the reliable Zebra products that are driving industrial digitalisation. Can you tell me what new solutions Zebra is offering to make industrial companies fit for the future?

Stephan Pottel: Hello Frank, I’m happy to answer your questions. Digitalisation in manufacturing has made huge leaps forward in recent years. Since then, many different technologies have been tested, some of which were hypes, but not all of them have proven themselves or are scalable across multiple locations or at company level. Customers are often faced with a »zoo of technologies« and it is very difficult for IT and OT to keep the »zoo« under control. Look at all the facets of AMRs. They all have their own ecosystems that are barely compatible with each other, so that other companies create harmonising platforms. In the mobile sector, for example, maintenance – and not forecasting, but maintenance itself – has undergone a huge transformation, from paper and Excel-based systems to fully embedded systems, smart machines and smart devices that support the technicians work. Zebras devices, such as the RS2100 and WT5400/WT6400, support this trend by providing ergonomic working environments combined with best-in-class technologies such as 5G support and powerful scan engines.

All of these technologies provide greater transparency, especially in neighbouring processes, but there is still a long way to go. The latest Manufacturing Vision Study by Zebra revealed that 84 % of manufacturers surveyed still have gaps in the transparency of their manufacturing processes.

Frank Rauner: So, there is still a lot to revolutionise. Tell us: is the manufacturing of productivity-enhancing products for industry a key focus for Zebra? And how does Zebra currently assess the market?

Stephan Pottel: Zebra supports its customers by enabling more and more transparency in automation and manual processing, responding to customer needs and bringing new products and technologies to the market. To meet fluctuating demand and onboard new employees quickly, Zebra’s product design focuses on optimised usability and handling. Together with our partners and ISVs, we ensure that our customers always utilise the latest technology combined with outstanding applications and user experiences. In addition to our workforce-focused products, Zebra is continuously developing new products and solutions needed for the growing industrial automation market.

Frank Rauner: Innovative technologies can really have a big impact on productivity. Zebra launched the new MC9400/MC9450 mobile computer with keyboard at the beginning of the year. In which industries is it best used? What advantages does it offer to increase productivity?

Stephan Pottel: That is correct. The Zebra MC9400 is the latest generation of our MC9 series, which has been on the market for decades. When I started in this industry over 20 years ago, the first MC9 was introduced (2003). A lot has happened since then. The MC9400 supports the latest chipsets from Qualcomm and the MC9450 is designed for P5G data networks. The capability of P5G enables seamless connectivity with back-end systems in areas where installing Wi-Fi was previously almost impossible or very cost-effective. Just think of large yards and car parks of car manufacturers. P5G-enabled devices – almost all Zebra mobile devices are P5G-enabled – open up these areas for greater traceability and visibility.

Frank Rauner: That sounds good. And what about the RS2100? The back-of-hand scanner has only just been launched on the market. Which target groups does it appeal to? How is the industry reacting to the device?

Stephan Pottel: The RS2100 is designed for light to medium-duty applications where it is particularly important to have your hands free. Although we already fulfil this requirement with our RS51/RS61 series, our customers asked for a simple, purely hand-guided solution for picking and refilling processes. The RS2100 offers various functions for screen- and voice-guided operations where confirmations of picking locations, SSCCs, batches and the like are required.

Frank Rauner: Is the use of the RS2100 and MC9400/MC9450 also worthwhile in smaller companies that have to work more cost-consciously and cannot afford to make large investments in the latest technologies?

Stephan Pottel: Definitely for the RS2100, especially as it is commercially more attractive than its direct competitors. It offers a simple and ergonomic introduction to barcode scanning.

The MC9400 and MC9450 are our most rugged devices, designed to withstand the toughest conditions. To find the ideal solution, both operationally and commercially, our many partners are happy to talk to companies of all sizes. It all depends on the application and the products to be processed with these devices.

Frank Rauner: Are there actually any measurable figures on the increase in productivity through devices such as the RS2100 or MC9400/MC9450? For example, do employees work faster or do industrial companies save X amount per month by using the devices?

Stephan Pottel: Experience shows that mobile solutions such as the RS2100 increase labour productivity by up to 30 % compared to other handheld scanners. Industrial workers also only have to exert half as much force, as they have both hands free. The inappropriate lifting of boxes is no longer necessary.

Up to 30 % higher labour productivity:

The time that employees would spend picking up and putting away handheld scanners is eliminated.

Up to 50 % less effort required:

there is no need to lift boxes incorrectly as employees have both hands free to grab things.

Frank Rauner: What does the future of digitalisation look like? Will there be no more handhelds at some point, but centralised data collection using stationary RFID devices such as the FXR90? Or will they even be replaced by completely different technologies that we don’t even know about today?

Stephan Pottel: The future of digitalisation will hold many new technologies and means of identification in store for us. The barcode has just turned 50 years old, Zebra has been on the market for 55 years and has always been at the forefront of innovation and new means of identification, traceability and action. We may see different ways of identifying products and also more automation in certain areas where human intervention is still required today. AI will support us in many ways, in configuration management, data cleansing, training, support and much more. Local language models are also becoming increasingly important. There is so much computing power in today’s devices that is not yet being utilised. There is still a lot for us to do, including in terms of education. We see that digitalisation is progressing at different speeds for different customers. Large customers of ours are always on the hunt for the latest technology, but then when you walk into one of their plants or DCs, you still see them working with old green screen applications. In our vision study, 89 % of respondents said they were struggling with the pace »from the top« to implement consistent digitalisation.

I’m pretty sure that RFID will become established in even more processes, but visual identification will also continue to increase. A current example is our MP92 scanner, which now supports product identification in addition to scanning the SKU barcode in order to prevent »cheating« at the POS system.

In my opinion, we will supplement the identification of codes (RFID, barcode, QR, etc.) with image processing-based inspection/verification.

Frank Rauner: Stephan, thank you for taking the time to answer my questions about Zebra’s role in industrial digitalisation. I’m sure this will help many people who are interested in the topic.