Courier, express and parcel companies can save operating costs “massively” and reduce pick-upand delivery times by 30% with the new CN51 mobile computer launched last month, a senior Intermec
executive told CEP-Research.Intermec, now part of Honeywell Scanning & Mobility, launched its new CN51 rugged mobilecomputer in October offering the choice of Android or Windows operating systems on a single device.The product was showcased at the Post-Expo in Vienna last month. Designed for flexible applicationsupport, the mobile computing solution is versatile, suitable for use in Courier, Express, Parceland Postal operations as well as general Transportation, Field Service and Direct Store Deliveryapplications.
Jeff Sibio, Industry Marketing Director Transportation & Logistics at Intermec, toldCEP-Research: “Depending on how broadly customers want to implement our technology, we see returnon investment sometimes as quickly as a short number of months. If you have hundreds or thousandsof workers and you save them 1-2 seconds on something they do 150 times a day, calculate thesesavings over one month – it is an amazing amount of time and cost that can be saved.”
According to Intermec’s recent research report, which sampled 375 transport and logisticsmanagers from around the world, transport and logistics (T&L) operations could save an averageof over 30% of the current time spent completing pick up and delivery activities as a result ofprocess re-engineering and the implementation of mobile technology across workflows. However, manycompanies may be missing out on these potential savings, Intermec claimed.
Transport and logistics managers have identified improving operational efficiency as their toppriority this year. The study showed that the deployment of mobile, location-based technology isessential to improve operations with 83% of managers currently deploying or planning to deploy GPSin new and innovative ways to provide proactive customer notifications. These new approacheswill not only cut operational costs associated with customer service but also provide the types ofproactive service today’s customers are looking for.
“One of the technologies we work a lot with is route optimisation and navigation,” Sibio said,explaining that the system organises everything in the most cost-efficient round to meet theservice levels.
“Usually, the courier driver knows all the roads and he knows the service levels that he isrequired to provide. But the complex algorithms it would actually take for the courier to figureout the most efficient route to deliver each of his items and to be able to organise all thesedifferent complex nuances of the data – the courier can’t do it in the most efficient manner. Thesystem obviously can calculate it much more exactly than a person can.” It organises the route andthe optional navigation app, available for download from our partners, can be integrated into thesystem. “This is one example of an option which is very well integrated into the device design butdon’t come from the factory.”
Sibio explained that the first generation of this model – CN50 – was made for the postalindustry in mind. “We did a survey, based on ergo-dynamic testing, user-acceptance testing withmodels of the CN50. We talked to couriers, postal, logistics and freight companies around the worldthat represent about 350,000 workers and hundreds of thousand users and we had them help us designthe product. When the user used the product, it felt very good in the hand. A product like this hasto be comfortable so users don’t dislike using it so a lot of the design characteristics of thedevice actually came from the end users.”
“With the newest devices, we’ve brightened up the screens and we’ve made them bigger. We’veadded advancements to the touch screen: you can do a pinch, a squeeze so it is more in tune withthe consumer devices that people are becoming accustomed in using. We are picking up consumerthings that make users feel more comfortable and integrate them into our devices.”
The CN51’s large, multi-touch, outdoor-readable screen enables less scrolling for greaterproductivity and provides more space for capturing signatures. It’s also equipped withstate-of-the-art smart battery technology with battery life that lasts through a full 12-hour shiftand beyond without interruption to replace or recharge. Compared to the CN50, it offers improvedprocessor and area imager performance, while still maintaining accessory compatibility withexisting CN50 installations.
Another advantage of the CN51 rugged mobile computer is that the device is available both forWindows and Android and can be re-configured to either of the operating systems without changingthe hardware. It is based on a formula switch so all the features and functions, the scanning, thecamera etc. stay the same which eliminates the need of re-investing in new hardware saving moneyfor the customer.
The new generation device CN51 fits all of the previous model’s technology including the docks,adapters, holsters, saving customers time and money. “If you don’t have to replace the supportinginfrastructure, you can save 20-30% of investment so the return on investment is massive,” Sibioreiterated.
In terms of the price of the CN51, Sibio said it is in line with similar products and veryconsisting with the pricing of its previous generation. “Generally speaking, the price depends onthe quantity of the devices and the equipment you put into it. It can also vary by countryaccording regional differences.”
“The return on investment has to do with the improved performance of your workers, reduction inconsumable costs, eliminating paper, or technologies that help eliminate manual error such as OCRcapability etc. For example, scanning the delivery address on the package is saving time for thedriver avoiding potential errors that could cost you downstream problems, cause a failure on theservice level. We are eliminating any paper getting into the process. It is cleaner, more accurate,efficient and faster than the paper process. This, in turn, can generate a few additionaldeliveries and pick-ups in one day with the same number of trucks and people.”
Following the pilot tests of the new product, the company received a very solid feedback fromthe testers: “They really like the device, the bigger display, the clarity, the light illuminationenabling the drivers to read things on the screens easily in any light condition. We challengeworkers to keep up with the device and they don’t have to worry about the device slowing themdown,” he said. “The newer computer processes and memory are much faster than anything we wereusing before. We’ve seen tremendous acceptance of CN50 and some other devices such as the CN70 andwe expect the same for the CN51.”
The new CN51 is available with Intermec’s EA30 or EA31 high performance imagers for optimalreading of 1D and 2D barcodes in various conditions, including low light scanning environments.With unmatched motion tolerance and snappy scanning, the CN51 also eliminates delays or userfrustration during scan-intensive applications improving the productivity of workers.
Despite the launch of CN51, Intermec continues to sell the CN50 with many customers buying theolder product for many years because of the consistency and the integration into theirinfrastructure. “We generally have supported our products for 5 years of production life andusually 5 years as post-production support because our customers use our products for so long.”
The depreciation range is between 3-5 years. “We see customers using the same productsconsistently obviously from the 3 years up to 6-8 years but I’ve also seen customers using them upto 10-12 years. But most customers will stick with the depreciation. What most of our customersfind: the only reason they actually upgrade or buy a new generation technology is because theyfound something new, a new operating system or a new feature that wasn’t available when they boughtthe original product and itt will give them a worthwhile return on investment to buy the newgeneration for. They generally don’t buy because of any kind of outdatedness as the devicescontinue to operate and outlast their actual design life and normal customer depreciation life,”Sibio concluded.
