Optimizing SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) with Better User Experience (UX) on the Edge

While technology plays a large part in the efficiency of warehouse operations, employees are the foundation. Prioritizing User Experience (UX) on employees’ mobile data entry devices, from handheld devices to fork truck-mounted barcode scanners, is crucial to maximizing productivity. SAP EWM provides the back-end functionality, but it is on these devices that everything comes together as they determine how, when, and where material handlers move products through the supply chain.

Productivity road blocks

There are a few common challenges that arise when leveraging SAP EWM with barcode scanners, particularly due to the HTML or web browser that is most commonly seen when using SAP ITSmobile. The screen real estate of a scanner is radically different to a traditional computer screen, meaning SAP workflow screens rarely fit properly on the device’s display. This results in warehouse operatives having to pinch, zoom and scroll to find what they’re looking for on the page, dramatically impacting productivity and error rates. What’s more, with generic workflow screens, warehouse workers are presented with many options that aren’t relevant to their work, again resulting in wasted time and avoidable errors as they must remember which menu option to select each time.

Even the most experienced warehouse handlers will struggle with these issues, but add seasonal staff to this and the results can be detrimental to speed and efficiency. It’s therefore easy to see the business-case benefits of recreating the UX on mobile barcode scanners that leverage SAP EWM to ensure shipments come and go on time, and that there is no customer disappointment.

Creating optimal UX with Ivanti Velocity – an SAP certified S/4 HANA solution

To facilitate a more productive workforce, supply chain businesses can turn to Ivanti Velocity, powered by Wavelink, which seamlessly complements SAP EWM.

On modern Android, iOS, or Windows 10 devices, Ivanti Velocity presents a more efficient and productive UX on SAP EWM Telnet (SAP Console) and ITSmobile (HTML) applications. Implementing Ivanti Velocity alongside SAP EWM can:

  • Transform the UX from a key-based interface to a touchscreen-friendly experience
  • Create enhanced screens on Android, iOS, and Windows 10 mobile devices
  • Remove unneeded options to keep material handlers focused on the task at hand
  • Voice-enable SAP EWM workflows to make the entire experience voice compatible with Ivanti Speakeasy, which doesn’t require training time to recognize different accents, dialects or languages. 

These simple changes can enable customizable and personalized formatting for users. This can remove menu options, reduce scroll times, automatically have the numeric or alphabetic keyboard appear when needed, and prevent users from being overwhelmed with options by highlighting those that are relevant to them.

By focusing their attention and simplifying the display, employees will be able to work faster and more accurately. It can also dramatically reduce training times for new, existing and temporary staff. To take this one step further, Velocity SAP integration can enable the device to display pictures to help pickers choose the correct item, which is helpful for seasonal or temporary staff who may not be familiar with certain items. This functionality also works both ways, so can help with documenting damaged goods, by enabling users to send and store a photo of the damage on the system.

Since the inception of the barcode, Ivanti Velocity has provided warehouse solutions that can take operations to the next level. Our SAP S/4 HANA certified solutions can help you save money, drive productivity and reduce errors in one go with our SAP integration, thanks to our fast and reliable software that delivers solutions just not possible with other providers.

To learn more, check out our apps in the SAP app store

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