Short on time or capital? No worries, you can still make an impact in the warehouse

As we write this piece, we find it hard to believe that September is already upon us. That means that time is fleeting… workdays will seem shorter and the calendar will quickly move to the holidays and end-of-year. For those of us in IT and operations, that means there is limited time to get things done prior to New Year’s Eve. Just as limiting, there may also be little unallocated capital left in the budget for new projects.

Thus, we’ve created a list of several high-impact projects which it are possible to get done in the final quarter of the year, without having to allocate significant time or investment capital. Some of these will provide immediate benefits, and some will set the stage for significant impact in the New Year. All will make you a warehouse hero!

Don’t have the time to tackle these yourself? Don’t worry, CSSI can carry the load to get these done so that you are free to execute on your company game plan.

Let’s take a look at some projects you can get started very quickly...

1. Improve Spotty Wi-Fi Coverage

Weak or inconsistent wireless coverage can be a leaky bucket for your productivity. The team gets used to it, and may have even stopped complaining, but the drip-drip of time loss is present every day. It’s possible that your problems can be solved with minor adjustments and fine-tuning. We often find that a quick Wi-Fi survey can reveal improvement opportunities which may not even require new or additional equipment.

Our team at CSSI deals with Wi-Fi challenges every day, and we’d be happy to help you trouble-shoot your issues. Contact us for Wi-Fi help.

See our prior post on the 6 most common warehouse Wi-Fi problems.

2. Conduct at RFID pilot project

No supply chain technology has been hotter than RFID. Major retailers are beginning to require RFID tags, and companies are discovering the massive time-savings which can be unlocked with RFID.

Here’s the challenge – RFID can be time-consuming and expensive to implement. However, regardless of your ultimate RFID destination, we recommend starting with a low-cost pilot project. Conducting a pilot gives you a basis to understand tag readability in your environment, helps you define specific workflows which will benefit the most from RFID, and allows you to understand challenges which must be overcome for broader rollouts. With just a few antennas and some basic software,

CSSI can help you pick a simple workflow where you can implement RFID. By starting now, you not only get some short-term benefits, but you also set the stage for more significant rollouts in the future. Contact us to discuss RFID.

See our prior post on how to begin your RFID journey with an RFID pilot project.

3. Use Telnet / Terminal Emulation? Modernize a Few Key Screens

Significant numbers of companies utilize telnet/TE on their mobile computers and vehicle computers. In many of these companies, the screens provided to operators have been unchanged for years. However, new telnet screen modernization technologies available from CSSI can transform your users’ screens… and this does not require making ANY changes to your back-end systems.

Imagine screens which are easier to interact with, easier to train new employees, and save time by reducing unnecessary taps and clicks. Modernization can be conducted as a pilot on a small number of screens for a very modest investment, allowing you to test the benefits before considering larger projects. Contact CSSI to discuss TE screen modernization.

See our prior post about telnet modernization and its value to your business.

4. Convert a Key Paper Form to Electronic

Every business seems to run on paper forms and clipboards. But paper is by nature slow, error-prone, and requires time-wasting data-entry. It’s quick and economical to convert to electronic forms which a) ensure the correct information is being entered, and b) provides immediate information access to those who need it.

Pick one of your business’s commonly used forms and discuss with CSSI your options for serving it on a tablet, handheld, or PC. Contact us to discuss electronic forms.

See our prior post on the advantages of electronic forms over traditional ‘clip-board’ paper forms.

5. Standardize Your Mobile Device Configurations

As mobile device fleets grow, it becomes ever more important to standardize configurations. This is critical both for security and to preserve the IT teams’ ability to manage and provide technical support for the deployed devices. Mobile device management (MDM) is a software tool which makes it easy to manage far-flung device deployments, as long as you have created your device profile.

CSSI can support your adoption and improvement of MDM, both on an ad-hoc basis and as part of our device lifecycle management program. This is a project which you can get done without a great amount of time and effort when you work with CSSI. Contact CSSI to discuss MDM.

See our prior post on Mobile Device Management and the benefits of standard device configurations.

6. Conduct a Pilot Project with Wearable Scanners

If you’re not already using wearable scanners, you’ve probably heard the buzz. Time studies show that wearables can dramatically enhance picking productivity. The best way to get started with wearables is to conduct a pilot. CSSI can help you select a wearable for your team to use in order to evaluate its effectiveness.

If you already use handheld scanners or mobile computers, the adoption of wearables is an easy next step, once you prove that the investment pays off with higher productivity. Contact CSSI to discuss wearable scanners.

See our prior post on the benefits of wearable scanners for your warehouse operations.

Bonus: Prepare for the future by testing your device configurations in Android 11 or 13

Here’s a bonus suggestion for you – if your company is running mobile devices with Android 10 or earlier, we recommend that you start now identifying any issues you will have deploying units with Android 11 and higher. Why? Because newer versions of Android have added security features which have been shown to cause havoc and break many applications which ran on 10 or earlier. CSSI has been regularly helping companies navigate this challenge.

The best way to start is by speaking with us about your current device profiles so that we can help to proactively identify upgrade challenges. You will need to have these issues resolved prior to being able to buy newer Android devices. Contact us to speak about testing Android 11 and higher in your environment.

See our prior post on challenges you may experience when you begin to implement mobile devices running Android 11, 13, and beyond.

Contact CSSI for Warehouse Success by Year-End

If you’d like to pick an improvement opportunity to tackle between now and the end of year, we’d be glad to help. Just contact CSSI to consult with us on your needs, and we will propose options for you.