Significant rise in e-commerce volumes caused by the pandemics this year has affected not only online retailers but also smart technology suppliers. Raso company operating in the field of shop equipment and retail solutions for decades admits having encountered a number of extraordinary challenges in its business practice this year – in order to provide unexpectedly increased teams of e-retailers, the company had only a few days for collecting and delivering devices from all over Europe, smooth processes of product collection and delivery without which would be impossible.
‘Operation of large e-retailers cannot be imagined without smart devices: staff selecting products according to the client’s order receive orders to their palmtops. Couriers delivering orders use the same devices, where they can see the route, information about the parcel they are delivering, they can also contact clients. This way, the devices make the operation fast and effective minimising the probability of mistakes’, asserted Sales Manager of Rasa Ričardas Tamašiūnas.
The specialist with long-term experience in this business notes that unusual tasks were faced this year. E.g., the company cooperating with Barbora for some time this year had to supply nearly one thousand smart devices Honeywell EDA51 and PointMobile PM45 extremely promptly.
‘Naturally, these types of devices cannot be purchased in a shop as usually – they have their own manufacturing, supply cycles, therefore we had to mobilise our partners in a number of countries in order to ensure the client’s request expressed on Friday’s evening is fulfilled on Tuesday. True, in the situations when a big number of devices has to be purchased in extremely short time, a client can be tempted to opt for simpler products of lower quality. We are pleased that Barbora even in critical situation kept the quality, reliability and functionality of the devices in the list of its top priorities’, said Mr. Tamašiūnas.
His opinion is repeated by Head of foodstuffs and daily products e-shop Barbora Andrius Mikalauskas saying that the quarantine showed that management of big volumes of orders without robust modern technologies would be much more complicated. ‘A jump in sales flows in March naturally resulted in enlargement of our e-shop team, and a sudden increase of the demand for smart devices. Our partner Raso managed to satisfy the demand in the shortest time possible’ affirmed Mr. Mikalauskas.
Superior than smart phones by key parameters
According to Mr. Tamašiūnas, new clients considering acquisition of specialised devices often start comparing them to usual smart phones. However, the specialist emphasises that there is no crucial difference between these devices: professional devices are intended for business not domestic use, therefore their various parameters are designed for more intense use.
‘Though it might seem that even an inexpensive smart phone could perform a similar function, but that is not true. Long-lasting battery is highly important for professional work – it could not happen that in the middle of a shift a product collector would have to stop his/her work and wait until the battery of a device is charged. The battery works throughout the shift, and once it goes flat – it is replaced with the other one while the first one is charging. Besides, the barcode reader scans products much faster than a phone camera. Third, devices are shockproof – if you dropped a phone while working there is a big possibility that it would break or would not work the same as before’ noted Mr. Tamašiūnas.
Another crucial advantage of specialised devices is that when purchased they are supplied with their maintenance contract that operates as a warranty and insurance at the same time. Even if a device breaks through the consumer’s fault, it is repaired free of charge in a very short time – several working days. The above-mentioned service, according to Mr. Tamašiūnas, allows the client to record his/her costs: he/she knows that the maintenance of the devices for three years will cost the specific amount of money, which definitely will not increase. Furthermore, the client is guaranteed that performance of devices will be restored in a short time and he/she will not have to take care of substitute technologies.
‘Exclusive feature of these products on the market is their long life cycle, stability and parameters adapted for professional use, as these devices perform crucially important tasks for business. Therefore, an attempt to replace them with smart phones leads to certain consequences – extra costs’, noted Mr. Tamašiūnas.
While professional devices may cost more than cheap smart phones, investment into specialised products brings return from tens of per cent to several times in a long term. Professional technological solutions not only help to save by avoiding idle time and extra expenses related to faults of devices but also have a longer service time, usually from 3 to 5 years, though there are examples when this type of devices were used for the whole decade. According to the specialist, the life cycle of products is prolonged thanks to the peculiarities of Android operating system – it is regularly updated in specialised devices, while manufacturers use their own resources to ensure longer support of a certain Android version than Google, therefore the devices serve for longer.