So you’re considering a new solution to improve your warehouse and supply chain operations. But is it worth the investment?
First and foremost, your company needs to make a profit. Introducing cost-reducing efficiencies into your supply chain can have a big impact on your organization’s bottom line.
Luckily, there is a way to calculate the return on investment (ROI) for these solutions. In this case, we will be looking at mobile data collection.
Calculating the ROI on any new technology is critical to gaining buy-in from senior leadership.
Why Mobile Data Collection?
Recent technological advancements put manufacturers and distributors under more pressure than ever to operate an incredible level of efficiency. Failing to keep up may mean short-damage to profits and long-term reputation loss, which can affect contracts and partnerships. Even small inefficiencies in the warehouse can compound with time and volume to create significant gaps down the road. In fact, there will be numerous indicators that better data capture practices are required.
To help optimize supply chain efficiency, accuracy and productivity, many companies implement automated mobile data collection and barcode scanning in their warehouse and supply chain operations.
By digitizing this process, employees no longer need to spend hours maintaining paper records or completing manual data entry—an outdated process prone to errors and data inaccuracies.
The right automated mobile data collection solution can also help you:
- Track and trace products using barcode labels and RFID tags.
- Automate warehouse operations with wireless barcode scanners and mobile devices.
- Voice-enable inventory management for even greater efficiency.
- Keep your operations running 24/7 even when your ERP system connection is unavailable.
- Capture data in the field or in remote locations where wireless coverage is limited or non-existent.
- Produce pallet labels on-demand for improved customer satisfaction.
- Enhance inventory control to mitigate risk.
- Track fixed assets to improve accuracy and timeliness of fixed asset records.
Clearly, a mobile data collection offers many impactful benefits. But maybe you are a warehouse manager and you need approval from the senior management team before moving forward. Part of your pitch will involve knowing the ROI before investing in a new technology.
Which Factors Matter in Calculating ROI
When researching if mobile data collection software will help your company’s bottom line, it’s important to evaluate warehouse efficiency improvements on a variety of meaningful criteria. That way you can plainly see and communicate where productivity will be positively and negatively impacted and how much overall work capacity will improve.
During your ROI research, gather information on processes like cycle counting, picking accuracy, current warehouse productivity and inventory management effectiveness.
These values will help you gather an overall view of total ROI savings. For more precise information, consider utilizing a consultation service with mobile data collection experts. Knowledgeable professionals will be able to flesh out a corporate profile, answer challenging questions and provide detailed feedback.
In the meantime, you can start calculating your potential ROI on mobile data collection with RFgen’s quick and easy ROI Calculator.
Don’t wait to start researching new technologies like mobile data collection. Effective mobile data collection software can have a transformative impact on a warehouse operations with compounding long-term effects.
