DPSGY Deutsche Post AG (PK)

By Loretta Chao 

Scanner guns--the bar-code readers used in warehouses world-wide--are getting a makeover, as retailers scramble to boost productivity amid a surge in online orders.

From "rings" that workers wear on their hands to modified smartphones, companies are testing alternatives to the "brick on a stick" scanners that have been the industry standard for decades.

The goal: shave a few precious seconds off the time it takes for workers to select, pack and ship items. Warehouse workers use scanners thousands of times a day. Retailers rely on the devices to keep track of hundreds of thousands of goods stored in, and moving around, massive distribution centers.

Zebra Technologies Co., the biggest maker of scanners, is betting on a new version of its gun that eliminates the need for warehouse employees to continuously extend their arms or rotate their wrists. Zebra, which is based in Lincolnshire, Ill., says the baton-like device, which features a touch screen and camera, will increase scanning speed and reduce stress on workers' arms. The company, which acquired scanner maker Motorola Solutions Inc. in 2014 and also makes printers, plans to roll out its new device on Thursday.

James Bonner, general manager of Exel Logistics, a unit of Deutsche Post DHL, said his employees make roughly 3,000 scans each during a 7.5-hour shift. He said that in a three-month test of Zebra's new device his employees had 10% to 20% improvement in picking rates--or the speed of assembling orders--in part because they no longer had to push buttons.

"In the big scheme of the world, it sounds like nothing," Mr. Bonner said. "But when you take away three [button] touches, that's like three halves of a second. And you're shipping thousands of shipments a day."

Retailers and others that sell online, as well as logistics companies, are hungry for new ways to improve efficiency to counter the added labor and transportation costs associated with filling online orders. Competition from e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. on both price and speed has forced them look for any possible way to cut costs and shorten delivery times, experts say. The most sophisticated of these companies already analyze the movements of their employees down to minute details.

Global sales of mobile scanning devices used in warehouses reached about $850 million in 2015, up 33% since 2013, according to VDC Research.

"The explosion of e-commerce has really driven the market need for investment in data capture solutions," said Richa Gupta, an analyst at the firm.

At the same time, more ergonomic design would help warehouse workers, who are pushed to their limits handling the ballooning order volume, said Regenia Sanders, a supply-chain consultant with SSA & Co.

Warehouse workers can suffer from carpal-tunnel syndrome and other injuries from repetitive movement. The transportation and warehousing industry has the highest rate of occupational injuries and illnesses among private-sector industries, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The new Zebra TC8000, which will list for $2,895 and up, runs software powered by Google Inc.'s Android and is controlled by a large touch screen, rather than the buttons typically found on scanners guns. It is designed so that the handle is the heaviest part of the device, allowing users a wider range of wrist movement than with top-heavy scanner guns. A camera lets users see items as they scan them, to prevent mistakes, and helps them navigate warehouse aisles.

Zebra leads an increasingly crowded market for scanning devices, including lower-cost solutions that rely on smartphones. But many retailers have stuck to industrial scanner guns, in part because they are rugged enough to withstand wear and tear and can scan faster, analysts say.

John McCranor, vice president of warehouse operations at Lifetime Brands Inc., which ships KitchenAid and Mikasa-branded household products directly to online shoppers from a warehouse in New Jersey, said shaving even a second off the picking or packing process is a priority. Over the past year, he started using ring scanners to help keep pickers' hands free to carry more product at once. The rings increase picking speed by 40%, he said, but cost about $6,500 each, almost double the price of a gun scanner.

"Most of our growth was in the e-commerce business. It's more labor intensive," he said. Picking speed is "a huge consideration and issue."

Write to Loretta Chao at loretta.chao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 07, 2016 05:44 ET (10:44 GMT)

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