The importance of the Internet of Things (IoT) within postal and logistics services continues to grow, with the potential to greatly increase efficiency across organizations.
“Industrial IoT integration has emerged as one of the more critical factors for empowering workforces and increasing warehouse productivity,” said Andreas Koenig, CEO of ProGlove, a supplier of ergonomic wearables for industry, which has recently partnered with StayLinked, a developer of mobile software and IoT platforms for legacy supply chain systems.
ProGlove said that that this tie-up will facilitate interfacing of its wearable technology with existing warehouse systems, reducing the hurdles of integration. For example, German transportation firm Planzer recently selected ProGlove’s MARK wearable barcode scanner for its materials-handling platform operations. Of its 68 locations throughout Europe, 13 are equipped for rail receiving with 350 rail cars handled per night in Switzerland.
StayLinked developed the mobile interface that pairs the existing logistics management system with the MARK scanning solution. With this solution the Planzer team no longer needs to dismount from a forklift to scan pallets upon arrival or record inventory locations. Picking and packing teams are able to scan as they go and have their hands free to keep goods moving.
Shift supervisor at Planzer Dominik Gränacher noted, “With MARK we are now more mobile and have information we didn’t have access to before.”
ProGlove stated that the ability to integrate this type of technology rapidly into supply chains will assist operations managers to quickly re-examine workflows to make them more efficient, productive and safe for their workers.