Challenge
Update an obsolete inventory/restock application.
Solution
A custom web-based application with Zebra MC9300s.
Story
A pharmaceutical distribution center was running their fulfillment facility on an older Windows Mobile 6 platform. While the engineers at EMP were working on a separate application at their facility, they informed the customer of Windows Mobile 6’s obsolescence. This prompted the need for a complete redesign of their warehouse fulfillment system, and they knew just the engineers to get the job done.
To modernize the system, the customer upgraded their old mobile computers to Zebra MC9300s. The team at EMP then began the transition to a web application. Similar to the original system, the new Android application can tell when a canister is getting low and allow an operator to scan in the correct drug in the quantities required. The new system contains all of the data necessary to run multiple fulfillment machines at two different locations.
The team at EMP also determined it was best to utilize an industrial web browser called Velocity Web. This allows the customer to have the benefits of a web browser application, such as the ability to access the application from any mobile device (tablet, mobile computer, etc.), while also eliminating the URL bar to stop access to the internet while using the mobile computer. The new web application sits on the device’s home screen with a shortcut button to replicate an app. It gives the operators easy access to the new Android system to quickly fill the canisters and allow the fulfillment process to keep running.
This new solution can achieve the same tasks as the previous system but with better user access, improved hardware, and future-proof software that allows for upgrades down the line. Are you looking to upgrade your system? Reach out to the team at EMP!
