Case Study

Radial Optimizes Its Warehouse RF Technology with Ivanti Wavelink

Radial, Inc. a bpost company, is a multinational eCommerce company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Formed from the merger of Innotrac Corporation and the enterprise services unit of eBay Enterprise in 2016, Radial has a global network of fulfillment centers along with enabling technologies such as advanced order management and omnichannel, payment and fraud management, and customer care services that help clients meet increasing consumer expectations and maintain market competitiveness.

With more than 15 million square feet of purpose-built fulfillment capacity coupled with impressive technology and transportation solutions, Radial specialists source orders and send them to their final destinations with unparalleled efficiency — not just when orders are steady, but during high-demand holiday spikes or when a “must-have” item goes big on Instagram. It’s about finding the correct product and setting it on the right path speedily.

Website: https://www.radial.com/

Ivanti Wavelink Solutions

  • Ivanti® Velocity
  • Migrate from Windows CE to Android without making the investment to their backend IT system
  • Increase picking accuracy and process efficiencies
  • Reduce training time to onboard new employees

Key Benefits

  • 24% reduction in total cycle time per pick transaction
  • Reduced training time for new task workers to get fully up to speed
  • Enhanced user experience on touch screen improves productivity

The Backstory

Radial had been using Ivanti Wavelink software on its Zebra Technologies devices for well over a decade. Since 2015, Scott Gehrke (Sr. Manager, Enterprise Support Services) and the engineering team at Radial were tasked to evaluate the RF (radio frequency) technology the company was using and to consider various opportunities to enhance the technology.

Part of this effort was due to the need to move away from the existing operating systems since their support was nearing end of life. Radial decided to migrate to the ultra-rugged Zebra TC72 Android Touch devices and implement Ivanti® Velocity, the industrial-browser warehouse automation framework that brings apps to Android, iOS, and Windows 10 handhelds and mobile computers at the same time.

Small Pilots Started at Several Sites

Radial initially started small pilots at several sites and saw positive results. It was then determined to transition two of the company’s largest sites in North America to 100% Androids. Radial is now scaling the technology across their entire network. With increasing volumes as their clients’ businesses shift more towards eCommerce, there is a need to process orders quickly and correctly to the customer.

Partnering with Zebra Androids and the Ivanti Velocity software, powered by Wavelink, has enabled Radial to be more efficient in RF mobile device processes by replacing up to 12 key presses with one touch of the screen. This has led to a 24% reduction in total cycle time per pick transaction using this software.

We've been able to replace 12 key presses as we call them, and that's led to a 24% reduction in total cycle time per pick transaction using this software.

The Ivanti Velocity solution can interface to any existing warehouse management system (WMS) or other supply chain management system without the need to migrate or modify the host application. In Radial’s case, the Velocity application enables the company to simplify the end-user experience for all their six different warehouse management platforms.

Cody Tipton, Outbound Manager with Radial Fulfillment Services, added some color to the efficiencies his team has realized. Concerning the inbound process, the company has seen an uptick in “put away percent per associate and how many carts they’re able to put away in an hour,” he said. “We’ve had to actually rebalance the way we run our department between the prep and the put away side to provide a better balance of work for our associates.”

Zebra and Ivanti Velocity Team Up for Greater Efficiency

The Radial team shared high praise for the Zebra TC72 Android devices and the Ivanti Velocity solution which enables the Android devices to function. In fact, Velocity works on all mobile hardware devices. Migration with Velocity means no changes are needed to telnet or browser apps, nor to the host application. The framework can also integrate, collect data, track, and quickly detect issues that impact operational efficiency.

As for the Zebra devices, Radial’s Dennis Wegenast, Value Stream Manager, praises their ease of use. “The old technology we had was physically larger, and a little heavier. The new Zebra scanners look like a smartphone with a touchscreen and no physical keys on the device. Simple scanning of barcodes is better with the new equipment — one click of the gun versus three or four clicks of the old RF gun.”

For Radial, Velocity accelerates task-screen navigation and enables the workforce to enter data more quickly and accurately. It’s taken less time to bring new task workers fully up to speed. It’s very easy for picking staff to learn to use and picking efficiencies have increased.

Ivanti Velocity Makes Recruiting and Onboarding New Task Workers Easier

The Ivanti Velocity console and client are localized to support multiple languages. According to Dennis, this makes it easier to recruit new task workers. “Here in Tradeport, we have a large Cuban population of Spanish speakers, and many who speak Swahili. The end goal is to be able to attract those populations, especially as we get closer to our peak season. This technology provides these new task workers with the opportunity to switch to their native language, that is big.”

Speaking in Spanish, associate Ofelia Calderon added, “I could see that the Zebra RF gun has the option of English or Spanish on the first screen. It made me happy because I can use my Spanish language and continue working in Spanish.”

About Ivanti Wavelink

Ivanti Wavelink, Supply Chain division of Ivanti is the global leader in supply chain solutions that focus on task worker operational excellence in business-critical environments. The world’s top organizations use our industry-leading Mobile Enterprise Platform to enhance worker productivity at the edge while offering IIoT capabilities using low-code, low-risk automation, with actionable outcomes.

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