The Application Of Rugged Tablet PCs For In-Transit Visibility

Asset visibility is vital for companies in highly-competitive, high-tempo business environments where success depends on meeting delivery deadlines, avoiding excessive inventory and operational costs, and negotiating the fine line of lead-time delays versus rush-order premiums. The greatest challenge in this area lies in the arena of in-transit visibility, where a company's resources can be on the move in numerous cities or countries, managed by numerous departments, and susceptible to constantly-changing conditions. Such in-transit visibility challenges require companies to make quick decisions at a corporate-level to optimize the use of resources. The Rugged Tablet PC has become an invaluable tool in providing companies with that type of rapid-response capability.

Total asset visibility encompasses three major areas: in-stock visibility, in- process visibility, and in-transit visibility—the latter of which is the hardest to achieve. By its very nature, in-transit visibility presents challenges in timing, routing, tracking and tracing, and optimizing resources across multiple departments. Historically, efforts to achieve in-transit visibility have been time-consuming and involved the use of everything from PCs to bar code scanners to hand-written inventory logs. Ruggedized tablets provide all the capabilities needed for full in-transit asset visibility, in one easy-to-use, tough, versatile mobile computer that eliminates most time-intensive tasks previously required.

From the time transport of materials or products originates until assets arrive at their final destination, countless processes and operations must be completed. Effective tracking, handling, verification of receipt, inspection, and any number of other activities must be seamlessly coordinated at the origination point, in-transit, and at the destination. Considered individually, each of these actions could be accomplished through the use of separate, specialized pieces of equipment. However, each of these specialized devices would require its own maintenance and employee training, and often, individual licensing contracts. The devices would also need to be integrated, often an expensive and time-consuming process requiring one or more outside contractors. Rugged tablet PCs remove the need for multiple devices, and for expensive, time-consuming efforts to operate, manage and coordinate multiple devices. The result is a powerful, comprehensive platform that performs all the functions necessary for complete in-transit visibility.