Today’s most efficient 3PL warehouses have recognized that to deliver the efficiency, real-time visibility and accuracy that their customers demand, they need to move from error-prone paper-based processes to modern, paperless workflows.
As a key part of Extensiv’s 3PL Intelligence Initiative – a comprehensive program that aims to transform paper-based 3PLs to modern, paperless warehouses through technology – we are very excited to announce the launch of SmartScan, a new mobile scanning application that integrates mobile barcode scanning with Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager WMS. SmartScan offers a web-based mobile scanning technology that fits any third-party warehouse workflow and budget – whether you’re new to scanning or have been doing it for years, from traditional warehousing to Direct to Consumer fulfillment and everything in between.
While SmartScan supports traditional 3PL processes (pallet in/pallet out, carton in/carton out, receiving, etc.), warehouses providing ecommerce and omnichannel fulfillment services will be the biggest beneficiaries of this new solution. SmartScan offers Receiving, Per-customer Billing, Pick-to-Bin, Inventory Audit, and Item Picking features available directly on the mobile device to provide real-time warehouse updates from the warehouse floor to the back office. More benefits of SmartScan include:
- Improved labor accountability and efficiency: SmartScan immediately communicates every action an employee performs, allowing warehouses to measure employee efficiency. This real-time visibility supports dynamic staffing adjustments and eliminates concerns about SLA compliance. Further, managers can modify an employee’s task list on the fly, eliminating the need for slow and expensive out-of-band communications to change assignments.
- Better order accuracy: Paper-based warehouses foster data integrity issues due to lost paper, illegible handwriting, and data entry errors. With SmartScan, the results of every task are automatically stored in the system, ensuring data accuracy.
- Complete visibility: SmartScan allows everyone associated with an order to see its status in real-time. The customer of third party logistics companies can see the status of in-process orders at any time through Extensiv’s customer portal. Order updates flow through Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager to most shopping carts automatically, meaning consumers will know as soon as their product is on the way.
Offering labor efficiency, order accuracy, and complete visibility are critical to winning new customers and retaining existing ones. A recent study by the Temkin Group indicated that improving order visibility was a driver of improved customer experience. Those improvements meaningfully impact business success, with 86% of buyers being willing to pay more for a great experience and 73% of consumers pointing to customer experience as a factor in purchase decisions.
As one of its earliest adopters, Logistic Edge has helped shape the direction of SmartScan and in turn, has been utilizing SmartScan with a goal of increasing worker productivity and maintaining inventory accuracy. “SmartScan is a valuable addition to the Extensiv platform,” says George Hynes, owner at Logistic Edge. “It has greatly improved our efficiency by saving time and reducing manual/duplicate tasks. Thanks to SmartScan, manual entry per warehouse worker has been cut by 50%.”
SmartScan is supported on a wide range of scanners, from purpose-built scanners like the Zebra MC9300 to customer-grade devices like handheld Bluetooth scanners or ring scanners paired with a smartphone or tablet. “SmartScan leverages a multitude of hardware options to bring the latest technology to growing warehouses everywhere,” concludes Hynes.
