How New Devices and Software Improve the User Experience
In addition to handheld Zebra devices that help log delivered packages, the Postal Service has adopted other integrated solutions that are essentially ready-to-use after purchase. It includes back-office package processing system elements such as a Wi-Fi-enabled overhead scanner.
Staying in place, the scanner can register a package after it is unloaded from a truck at a delivery unit.
“When the mail arrives, someone just puts the package under the scanner,” Cholkar said. “It will look at the information in the package, decipher that and give which route that particular package belongs to. It will be sorted into that particular route, and then the carrier can pick up that package for delivery.
After distribution, the scanning devices are particularly suitable for a quick integration, without the recipients having to make major adjustments, Cholkar said.
“It’s essentially a small system with software that can be loaded either remotely or before it comes out,” he said. “I can’t do that with big machines; it’s a completely different process because you have to install the thing on the site. When we ship technology, we want it to be as plug-and-play as we can, so sites can start using it right away.”
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That level of comfort can also help facilitate end users’ acceptance and continued adoption of new technology.
“The expectation, unless something goes wrong in transit, is that the devices are in a position where they will work when turned on,” Cholkar said. “When we give them technology, it’s good to go. We want to make their jobs easy so they can focus on our customers.”
Relatively painless implementation, however, is not the only advantage of plug-and-play equipment. Ongoing maintenance can be simplified if federal agencies choose a ready-to-use product, according to Wright.
“You have a built-in supplier who knows how their system works and works,” he said. “That’s a different approach than going to another company, having them design something specific for you and trying to work out all the bugs and issues before you deploy. You have something that’s been field-tested for different customers, and the company can support it in deployment.”