Anglian Water, a company that supplies water and water recycling services to over six million customers across East Anglia and Hartlepool, was committed to efficiently managing and conserving water supplies. As part of its 'love every drop' commitment, the company aimed to raise customer awareness about the preciousness of water. A key part of their strategy was to implement a smart metering scheme across the entire region by 2030. However, the company faced the challenge of handling and securing the massive amount of customer data that would be generated. They needed a technology solution that could not only protect and secure customer data but also offer the compute and analytics capabilities to handle the huge quantity of data involved.

Google operates a vast network of facilities, including hyperscale data centers and smaller installations, to provide its sophisticated information services. The company designs and assembles much of the equipment used in these data centers in-house, which necessitates a complex physical supply chain. This supply chain handles everything from complete servers to components, racks, and networking equipment. Google manages hundreds of thousands of shipments annually between thousands of origin destinations. The cargo is often high-value, proprietary, and time-critical. The loss or delay of a single item can throw a build project off schedule and risk exposing sensitive intellectual property. Therefore, Google needed a solution to identify supply chain risks before they impact the in-transit supply chain.

Wilsonart, a manufacturer of decorative laminate and acrylic solid surfaces, faced a significant challenge in keeping up with the increasing demand for sample chips at home improvement centers. The company needed to modernize its sample chip production line to minimize label waste during changeovers and reduce the total cost of ownership. The existing system, which had been in place for over a decade, relied on DatamaxO'Neil printers, but it required an upgrade to meet the growing demand and improve efficiency.

Copper Mountain, a premier ski resort, faced significant challenges in managing the high volume of skiers entering their lifts daily. With over 10,000 skiers on average and up to 14,000 on busy days, the resort needed a fast and efficient scanning solution to ensure smooth operations. The existing scanning devices were heavy, had poor battery life, and struggled in extreme weather conditions, leading to frequent network drop-offs and potential revenue loss. The resort required a robust, lightweight, and reliable scanning solution to handle the high throughput and harsh environmental conditions.

When ClarkWestern and Dietrich merged, the facilities had several platforms of data collection equipment to support. The custom-developed data collection application ran on a Windows Mobile platform and connected to a central server. ClarkDietrich’s goal was to improve the wireless connection speeds for their devices, as well as standardize on one unit used across all facilities with an integrated Extended Range Scanner.

Jordano’s, Inc. faced the challenge of maintaining high order accuracy and customer satisfaction while complying with growing governmental regulations for food safety and traceability. The company’s existing double paper label processes were outdated and needed modernization to handle the increasing complexity of order fulfillment. Director of Operations Dennis Merchant recognized the need to improve accuracy levels in their 100,000-square-foot distribution center in Santa Barbara, California. The company sought a solution that could enhance operational performance and ensure perfect orders to maintain a competitive edge.

Providing aid for a large number of people requires extreme efficiency. World Vision needed a way to streamline the process of distributing aid to approximately 12-15 million people each year. The manual process of recording aid distribution was time-consuming and prone to errors. The organization needed a solution that could improve the speed and accuracy of beneficiary verification and aid distribution.

Accolade Wines, a leading wine company, needed to renew its fleet of picking forklift trucks and its estate of truck-mounted and handheld mobile computers. The company required reliable, robust hardware at competitive prices to support its general expansion, including the installation of a third bottling line. Additionally, the new hardware needed to minimize maintenance costs and reduce the time required for staff training and familiarization. Accolade Wines also sought a reliable partner capable of providing technical support for the rugged computers.

In the past, Parmalat’s Lidcombe distribution centre (DC) relied on manual, paper-based processes to direct their pickers. The disadvantage of Parmalat’s old system was a lack of visibility of the warehouse operations. Parmalat was seeking improvement in the utilisation of labour and in order to achieve that, it needed greater operational visibility and control. Increased visibility and control would offer Parmalat the ability manage which tasks were completed by which worker and in what order. Seth van Dijk, Sales Manager, Real-time Logistics at Dematic, said Parmalat initially enlisted them to investigate how technology could help them optimise their current processes. “The basis of Dematic’s initial investigation on the DC floor was for us to look at what was traditionally a paper-based process, and to determine how we could implement technology to help speed that up,” Seth said. “Following the consideration of a number of different technologies, it was determined that voice picking was the optimal solution.”

Schweppes Australia’s Archerfield, Queensland, distribution center faced significant challenges with its paper-based picking system. The system led to confusion among workers due to similar product descriptions, resulting in delivery errors. Additionally, the presence of multiple SKUs and pallets at each location made tracking a daunting task. The need for improved picking efficiency, distribution accuracy, and real-time visibility into the workplace was paramount. The manual paper-based system required an upgrade to a robust, automated, voice-enabled platform that could enhance worker safety and productivity.

The Ports of Auckland, a critical infrastructure for New Zealand's economy, needed to improve its operational standards and practices to handle projected growth. The port's management recognized the necessity of adopting new technologies to enhance the efficiency and safety of their operations. A key challenge was ensuring the reliability and performance of straddle carriers, which are essential for loading and unloading containers. Any downtime or communication failure in these vehicles could lead to increased risks of collisions and operational inefficiencies.

The company’s key strategic business challenge is dealing with extreme peak volumes the first week of every month and during summer holidays. In the distribution side of the business, dealing with these peak times – particularly a fluctuating order velocity and the need for correct orders – is pivotal. But this is compounded by other needs. Typically, hotels have virtually no floor space to accommodate storing amenities; they rely on Sysco Guest Supply to manage their inventory in a just-in-time fashion and send them what they need, when they need it. And, like so many other companies, there is an ever-present need to do more with less. All of this has made Vocollect voice a natural fit.

Sony of Canada faced challenges with their paper-based and RF systems for distribution. The paper system was cumbersome and lacked a locator system, making it difficult for employees to find products quickly. RF scanning, while faster than paper, involved too many steps and errors. Employees had to input data into handheld units, view screens, and the system was often slow to respond. The rapidly changing business model, with increasing online orders and more, smaller orders, exposed these weaknesses further. The company needed a more efficient system to handle high seasonality, support changing business models, and maintain a highly satisfied customer base.

The company’s sales agents had previously been using a range of dot matrix printers for printing all required documents to carry out their daily engagement with customers. However, poor printer performance, costly printer consumables, printer size and issues related to limited connectivity led to BAT looking for a new solution to ensure that their sales agents’ productivity levels were improved. They looked to upgrade to a printer that could withstand the rigours of the field sales environment and that could grow with them in the future. “We had been using dot matrix printers for over 12 years, but poor printing speed, reliability and just the time taken to carry out core day to day tasks was taking far too long and was impacting our team’s productivity. Plus the costs of maintaining the old printers was becoming a major issue for us,” said Cosmin Voinea, Project Manager at British American Tobacco. “Our sales agents also wanted to print required documents at their customer’s location rather than in their car so portability was also a key requirement for any replacement solution.”

In 2010, with the opening of a new terminal, Vnukovo International Airport needed to equip over one hundred check-in counters with reliable, fast, and easy-to-operate printers for producing boarding passes and bag tags. The printers also needed to be certified to work under a SITA CUTE multiuser access environment. The airport's IT team faced the challenge of finding a solution that could handle the high demands of a busy airport environment, ensuring high levels of uptime and ease of use by different airlines.

Due to their need to ensure the highest quality throughout the production process, traceability is a key issue for MUMM. Pernod Ricard had introduced a solution to trace Martel Cognac in 2003 working with Intermec by Honeywell Platinum Partner Acteos. So, in 2008, MUMM started to work with Acteos to address their own batch traceability requirements. The production of champagne involves numerous stages, and the company wanted to ensure complete traceability of crates throughout this development process. The bottles of champagne are stored in batches of up to 500 in wire crates within the 25 kilometres of galleries that comprise the MUMM cellars in the heart of Reims. These cellars today house nearly 25 million bottles of champagne. These bottles need to be stored for about three years while the bubble formation and aging process takes place, before entering the riddling and disgorgement stages, where sediment is isolated and removed. To ensure the traceability of these crates MUMM needs to manage every production stage carefully, as well as the stocks associated with each of these stages. The challenge is that there could be a change in batch number during an intermediate stage. The aging stage can be longer or shorter depending on the bottles, for example, and it was necessary to implement a solution that allows the operators to know exactly what each crate is composed of.

LoBue Citrus, a significant player in the California citrus industry, faced challenges with their manual produce traceability program. The manual process was resource-intensive and prone to errors, which could impact their ability to meet the Produce Traceability Initiative (PTI) requirements. The need for a more efficient and accurate system became evident, especially given the scale of their operations, which involved exporting a significant portion of their produce to Asia. The company sought a solution that would automate their traceability process, improve inventory accuracy, and reduce the time required for trace-back operations.

Prior to using Intermec by Honeywell CN3 mobile computers, all of the processes associated with criminal, moving and municipal violations were manual. When an officer stopped a violator, he or she recorded the driver’s details, information regarding the incident and the ensuing court dates with pen and paper. Prone to human error, this process caused additional labor when information was recorded inaccurately, as well as caused potential trial delays. Many times officers neglected to fill in certain boxes or entered incorrect data. This created extra labor for both the quality assurance process and for the officers who would be required later to complete necessary paperwork to fix the error or risk the citation being thrown out in court. Once the ticket was issued, it was then sent to the records division for quality control. If the ticket did not pass the quality assurance process, the check person issued an amendment form, attached it to the original ticket and returned it to the officer to correct. If the information on the ticket was validated, one copy was sent to the courts and entered into their database, and another copy was sent to the police department and entered into a separate database. By segmenting the process for entering violations into the system databases, there was more opportunity for error. Two different data entry departments meant two separate opportunities for mistakes. Using this system, the SJPD was averaging a 10 percent annual error rate. Two systems for data entry also meant twice the labor— something the SPJD needed to optimize during budget cuts.

Unifaun AB needed to find a compact, durable, and robust thermal printer for high-volume Swedish shippers using their Pacsoft Online system. The challenge was to meet the stringent package labeling requirements of the Swedish Post Office, especially for large shippers printing 50 or more labels per day. Unifaun's CEO, Staffan Isaksson, tested various printers on the European market to find one that offered unmatched durability and quality, ensuring minimal trouble post-purchase.

As customers have turned to online shopping, Jersey Post has experienced a 196% increase in parcels handled since 2007. Customers expect Jersey Post’s parcel delivery service to be robust and reliable. They also want a real-time view of where their deliveries are and when they will arrive. To meet these challenges and create new revenue streams, Jersey Post needed to extend track-and-trace capabilities across its entire network. However, this was hindered by outdated, bulky handheld devices that could not be upgraded to the Android operating system and the newest technologies.

Ewing Irrigation Products faced challenges in optimizing their picking process due to the bulky and non-standard-shaped products they handle. The transition from paper to handheld devices provided some performance improvements, but workers still struggled with the cumbersome nature of handhelds and the company's odd-sized product mix. Management sought a solution to enhance individual worker experience and overall operational efficiency. Additionally, they aimed to expand voice functionality to the pick-from-reserve section without incurring costly customization fees and extensive IT time.

Back in 1997, Chronopost already broke new ground by introducing mobile computing and digital signatures. Since 2002, it has selected Honeywell Dolphin mobile computers, provided by the French integrator CEMI for data collection and communication. Facing the growing needs of the express delivery market, Chronopost has placed traceability of its deliveries using cutting-edge information technology in the core of its development strategy. Offering flawless real-time tracking information to its customers at each stage was one of the main concerns for Chronopost already at an early stage.

Golden Messenger, a transport and delivery company in Australia, faced significant challenges with their manual, paper-based processes. These processes were cumbersome, time-consuming, and prone to human error, particularly when providing proof of receipt. The lack of real-time availability and visibility of goods was a major issue, especially for mission-critical deliveries to hospitals and laboratories. The company needed to replace their outdated processes with an autonomous, process-driven electronic system to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction.

With all products being produced and distributed in their 100,000 square foot Flint, Michigan facility, the company was operating an antiquated manual labeling system that required roll label dispensers equipped with roll-style date imprinters. They also had to stock a separate label for each product and were experiencing major downtime as a result. Their print quality had also begun to falter, causing unreadable labels. In short, they realized it was time for a major technology upgrade. However, because of the facility’s washdown cooler environment, any new solution involving PCs, displays, keyboards and all the resulting wires and fans – in addition to printers – was not an option. Koegel needed a simpler, cleaner and more reliable solution to improve their product labeling and tracking.

Kennards Hire faced the challenge of providing their customers with easy access to information about the equipment they hire. The existing manual log book system for recording maintenance and service history was cumbersome and not accessible to customers. This lack of transparency made it difficult for customers to verify the service history and safety records of the equipment they were hiring. The company needed a solution that would empower customers with real-time access to this information, ensuring that they could confidently use the equipment knowing it had been properly maintained.

With an entire supply chain relying on its operations, time is of the essence for 3663’s Logistics division. The division has a long-standing commitment to moving goods to the right place at the right time without incident or error. For the business to sustain increased growth and profitability, 3663 could not afford unexpected costs such as sending out half-empty lorries or high levels of inaccurate selection. In addition to accuracy, productivity and speed are of vital importance to the company’s profit margins. The more products the company can move in a day, the greater the increase in revenue, so having a focused approach to ensuring processes are not duplicated needlessly is essential. In their quest for logistics excellence, 3663 turned the spotlight on the company’s long-standing, paper-driven processes to see how voice technology could help to increase accuracy, speed up order selection, gain better visibility of stock, streamline processes and make the best possible use of its workforce.

Gateway Health, a top-ranked managed-care organization, needed to transition from outdated BlackBerry devices to Apple iPad tablets across all company departments. The goal was to enable employees to see sales progress in the field while minimizing downtime and ensuring information security. However, Gateway lacked the staff to manage the challenges of implementing new technology in a healthcare setting.

The company needed to migrate approximately 50,000 BlackBerry devices to Windows smartphones in a seamless and cost-effective manner. This migration was essential to maintain operational efficiency and ensure that the company's mobility needs were met across its global operations. The challenge was to find a managed mobility services (MMS) provider capable of handling such a large-scale migration while providing comprehensive services including procurement, deployment, helpdesk support, depot services, wireless optimization, and mobile device management administration. The company conducted an extensive request for proposal (RFP) process, evaluating more than six vendors, including pure play MMS providers, wireless carriers, and systems integrators.

Fastway Couriers faced significant challenges with their mobile computer repair process, which took 2-4 weeks. This delay forced couriers to use paper-based run sheets, leading to lost productivity and errors. The company needed a mobility solution to maximize device uptime, replace faulty devices quickly, and eliminate paper-run sheets. Additionally, they aimed to speed up the delivery process, allowing couriers to earn more money by delivering more parcels. Freeing up IT resources by removing the burden of mobile device management from the internal IT department was also a priority.

The pressure on suppliers for fast and accurate customer service is constantly increasing. An order placed today means delivery for tomorrow. Such delivery terms can have major consequences for suppliers. This was indeed the case for Kruitbosch, a leading bicycle supplier in The Netherlands and Belgium. As well as supplying the well-known bicycle brand ‘Cortina’, Kruitbosch also supplies bicycle parts and accessories to store and direct-to-consumer. In order to improve their service levels, they opted for a VocollectTM voice solution for their picking process.