In a highly online marketplace, where the phrase “remote work” is thrown around with ever-increasing fervor, many crucial sectors within the global economy stand as a reminder that not every job can be done from the comfort of one’s home office or while dialed in from the neighborhood coffee shop.
Distribution centers are a major component of our economy that requires even more hands-on, in-person work as the rest of the world gets more digitized and “remote.” Today, a significant percentage of routine purchases of everyday goods occurs through totally online models. This new paradigm calls for robust warehousing, shipping, and distribution systems — with each of those, in turn, calling for in-person employees to show up on-site and handle critical day-to-day tasks.
For these vital components of our economy that are continuing to adapt to a post-COVID landscape, the challenge now becomes: how do businesses streamline processes, ensure employee accessibility to essential tools, and invest intelligently in their onsite staff? One answer lies in innovative products like IVM’s SmartVault.
The SmartVault is part of IVM’s comprehensive line of smart security, technology, and advanced vending solutions, which can be found in daily use at many operations across a variety of industries, including top-performing distribution centers.
In the face of dynamic issues like shift management, inventory, and equipment tracking, handheld devices and scanners have become crucial to these operations. Yet the efficient distribution, charging, maintenance, and management of these (often expensive) tools has remained a challenge. This is where IVM’s SmartVault comes in with the following benefits.
● Distribute Devices with Ease and Efficiency – Your distribution center employees already know that time is of the essence. Having employees on the clock waiting for an available handheld scanner to complete a routine task is not a luxury your operation can afford. The IVM SmartVault offers fully customizable access parameters and an uninterrupted flow of charged and updated devices, ensuring your staff has the tools they need when they need them. IVM’s built-in analytics and other network and software integration options also allow for improved monitoring and optimization of your devices.
● Seamless Shift Transitions and Maximum Accountability – With SmartVault’s best-in-class check-out/check-in functionality, daily transitions can occur more smoothly than ever before. Shared devices can easily be exchanged between employees, faulty devices can be checked in for service, and inter-department “loaner” units can be effectively assigned and tracked, all while maintaining your organization’s security standards and IT policies. You can even configure notifications to automatically alert you or your IT department about anomalies in device status, fostering accountability and reducing downtime due to equipment errors.
● Constant Connectivity at the Ready – IVM SmartVault is always connected, even if all of your devices are locked up and charging for the night. In the fast-paced worlds of distribution, shipping, equipment service, brick-and-mortar retail, and other “in-person” industries, equipment downtime means lost revenue, plain and simple. The ability to access, update, and reconfigure your devices without physically removing them from their secure SmartVault location can become a key asset, both in your routine IT workflows and during unforeseen tech emergencies.
● Customized, Scalable Solutions for Every “In-Person” Operation – No two businesses —- nor even any two distribution centers — are completely identical. As your operation expands, shifts focus, or relocates, your needs will likewise change. SmartVault is not a static solution but a single module in a fully scalable framework. Multiple banks of SmartVaults can be connected, integrated with other IVM solutions, or adapted to integrate with your internal IT infrastructure through custom coding.
While the world’s office environments continue their seismic shift towards remote and hybrid work models, distributors, and other industries dependent on onsite employee presence face their own unique set of challenges. For these hard-working teams that show up on-site every day, cutting-edge solutions like the IVM SmartVault can increase the efficiency of your workflows, boost the productivity of your staff, and improve outcomes in all phases of your operation. Contact IVM today to learn more about SmartVault and our other products.
