Sometimes it’s the least sexy applications that drive the most value, and in the world of Industrial IoT, Zebra Technologies has announced an innovative, connected solution that automatically senses the location of assets, goods and people.
Zebra is in an interesting position, given their embedded base of enterprises who are already leveraging their solutions – ruggedized mobile computers, barcode scanners and printers, all associated with real-time, on-demand services.
Today’s announcement of Zebra MotionWorks is an evolution into connected automation, with a system that senses location to streamline the workflow for employees who are responsible for managing and optimizing physical assets.
According to the company’s announcement, the solution is based on Zebra’s RFID technology that powers the “Official On-Field Player Tracking Provider” service for the NFL, delivering visibility insights via RFID.
Powered by Savanna, the intelligence platform, MotionWorks, is a portfolio of flexible and customizable, end-to-end solutions that integrate operational and edge data from multiple sources – including Ultra-Wideband (UWB), UHF RFID tags, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and cameras. The portfolio includes innovative options such as the MotionWorks Asset solution, the MotionWorks Material solution and the MotionWorks Yard solution.
Zebra’s MotionWorks Asset solution allows businesses to track and manage important assets with detailed, on-time information about the location, condition and state of their enterprise resources. Automated asset tracking saves time and money, making operations more efficient by ensuring assets are available when and where they are needed.
The MotionWorks Material solution helps manufacturers manage and automate the flow of material for their business. With seamless integration into other plant floor and enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, it provides valuable insights into smarter material usage and helps ensure just-in-time delivery, creating operational efficiencies and reducing costs.
The MotionWorks Yard solution facilitates the continuous flow of material and goods between transportation systems, distribution centers, and manufacturing plants. It also increases gate transaction speed, improving switcher productivity and ensuring the right trailer arrives at the right door at the right time.
This solution has helped a North American retailer reduce the average trailer check-in time by 80 percent – decreasing labor costs and dwell time while improving yard efficiency and conserving fuel costs. By getting the right trailer to the right dock door at the right time, the retailer has improved supply chain velocity and enabled faster product movement to the retail floor.
As part of the MotionWorks announcement, Zebra is also introducing three new RFID fixed combination reader/antenna solutions, designed to track items as they travel into, through and out of a facility.
Earlier this year, Zebra was recognized as a Visionary in Gartner, Inc.’s first-ever 2018 Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services, Worldwide. According to the report, “(clients) are looking for a vendor that can be a trusted advisor to provide a single framework that integrates multiple technologies to solve multiple location issues while eliminating redundancy and providing a lower overall cost.”
“With its global reach, Zebra offers the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of location solutions ranging from simple beacons on packages to the most complex tracking of athletes in real time, helping turn edge data intelligence into business value,” said Matt Seltz, General Manager of Location Solutions, Zebra Technologies. “Zebra MotionWorks helps manufacturers and transportation and logistics companies know the exact location and condition of their assets, people and goods to make smarter, faster decisions that improve operational efficiency, enhance business processes, identify new avenues for revenue growth and meet the market’s shifting demands.”
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
