Today we celebrated the ribbon-cutting ceremony for our new Cedar Rapids Technology Center (CRTC)!

After breaking ground in April 2012, the new CRTC is open and ready to house our team in Iowa!

Located in the heart of Cedar Rapids, the CRTC is a state-of-the-art research, engineering and office building where more than 230 Intermec employees will continue their terrific work helping to develop, design and test our products, among other key functions.

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Just like our mind, a scanner can read data in strange ways. Whether it is obscure lines and spaces or what appears to be bizarre squares randomly assembled. The scanner is not just for barcodes. It can read characters and decode them properly so as to make the unreadable readable. Intermec Imaging Solutions take advantage of this Optical Character Recognition capability to provide the ability to read checks, license plates, shipping container serial numbers, addresses, labels … or whatever your mind can imagine. Break out of barcode jail and run free with Imaging Solutions.

 Read on for more ...

Here's a free webinar that those in the trucking industry may find interesting ...

From the Trucking Industry Mobility and Technology Coalition:

Trucking industry stakeholders are invited to participate in a free webinar to hear industry experts discuss the benefits and consequences of truck drivers’ use of navigation systems.  Recent press has highlighted the role that GPS devices, particularly those that are designed for passenger vehicle use, can play in large truck crashes, most notably bridge strikes.  The New York State DOT, for example, has reported that 200 bridge strikes have occurred each year since 2005 and approximately 80 percent of those crashes were the result “misused” navigation devices.  While the roads and bridges are often well marked, many GPS units do not note large truck and bus restrictions.

Read on for more or to register.

Today, we are very excited to announce a new video case study with our customer, World Vision!

World Vision, a global Christian humanitarian organization that provides humanitarian aid to approximately 12-15 million people each year through relief assistance, has deployed the Intermec CN50 handheld mobile computers for use in aid distribution efforts around the globe. Paired with World Vision’s “Last Mile Mobile Solutions” (LMMS) software system, the CN50 has helped World Vision achieve up to 90 percent in improved time savings for in-field operations.

Read more to view a full video case study showcasing the solution in the field.

Come writers and critics

Who prophesize with your pen

And keep your eyes wide

The chance won't come again.

… Your old road is rapidly agin'.

—Bob Dylan, 1964

Like a great old tune, some business practices seem to live on forever. In some cases it’s for the good, but more often these days, the result is not nearly as great as we remember it. What happened?

Times have changed, and customers are changing quickly. Our customers are experiencing the most amazing evolution in the history of man when it comes to interpersonal interaction. While we all can argue the pros and cons of the internet, social media, digital multimedia, and so on, we can hardly argue about the profound impact these technologies have had on our customers’ service expectations.

We are so excited to announce this year's award winners from our Intermec Americas Summit event, which took place this week in Dallas!     

The awards recognized leading partners for their success in helping customers deliver results using Intermec’s diverse portfolio of solutions.  

“We are proud to honor and recognize this year’s partner award recipients for their commitment to supporting Intermec and our mutual end customers through outstanding achievements in technology innovation,” said Scott Anderson, Intermec Vice President of Global Channels. “I commend all of our partners for their exemplary efforts and look forward to another great year.”  

For more, including the full list of winners, click to read more.

Accidents happen, right? Without a service contract, customers lose their device investments, experience downtime and suffer unplanned expenses.  There’s a great way to avoid all this regret: Medallion Complete.

Read on for more on how services can help you avoid the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" and avoid regret.

Intermec's own Bruce Stubbs, Industry Marketing Director for Distribution Center Operations, recently contributed an interesting article to Manufacturing Business Technology.

Centered around his thoughts on food traceability solutions, his article, titled "Unlocking Potential for Greater Productivity and Accuracy," discusses how companies facing rising operational costs and growing awareness of consumer food safety requirements, are being forced to make some tough decisions.

Read more for Bruce's thoughts on the topic.

We're excited to share the Winter 2013 cover of Supply Chain World Magazine, which features Intermec's case study with customer LoBue Citrus!

The article, titled "Game-Changing Innovation," details how LoBue Citrus implemented Intermec mobile computers, printers and scanners as part of a full food traceability project.

Read on for more ...

Earlier this month we debuted our video case study with the PGA, showcasing how they are using Intermec solutions to better the fan experience at their high-stakes golf tournaments. Utilizing the Intermec CN50 and CK71 mobile computers for scorekeeping, shot tracking and entry-gate ticket scanning, part of the PGA's requirements for this solution was that it would be seamless and easy-to-learn for their large network of volunteers.

Read on for a look at a second video, showcasing how the PGA's large network of volunteers must learn the new technology solution quickly and seamlessly, often with little training.

We recently completed an interesting new case study with a customer in Canada, the Regional Hospital of the CSSS de Rimouski-Neigette, and their use of Intermec printers and media for infant wristbands.

They’d previously used children’s bracelets on newborns, but within hours after fitting the newborn skin showcased irritation. They looked for a new solution that would offer better quality and comfort, offering the same functionality and efficiency as the adult and children’s bracelets, but with a softer texture and a design entirely suitable for the wrists or ankles of newborn infants.

Read on for more ...

Today, we are excited to announce a new case study with the Professional Golfers' Association of America (better known as the PGA).

As a result of deploying the Intermec CN50 and CK71, the PGA expects to save nearly $3 million by 2016!

Read more to view the full video case study.

The past year has seen many factors affect distribution centers and the supply chain in general. The trend toward outsourcing inefficient operations continued, and best-in-class operations continued to increase their competitive advantage.

Economic conditions across the globe also played an important role in supply chain volatility and flexibility. There’s little doubt that some of these factors will continue to affect the supply chain in 2013. What other trends might play an important role in distribution in the coming year?

Read more to find out!

We mentioned in the previous post that according to the third release of our Distribution Center Survey results, distribution centers are losing an average of nearly $390,000 per year due to mis-picks!

The study, which surveyed 250 supply chain and distribution managers across the US, UK, France and Germany, found the average mis-pick costs approximately $22, with more than half (52%) of companies reporting a pick rate of less than 97%. A further 19 percent do not even measure the costs of mis-picks in any form, suggesting that the accumulated losses to the supply chain may be even higher.

This week we're at McCormick Place in Chicago at the 2013 ProMat show! Stop by and say hi - both Intermec and Vocollect can be found in booth #3964.

The ProMat show offers the latest solutions to move businesses forward. More than 800 of the industry's leading innovators showcase their latest manufacturing, distribution and supply chain equipment and systems.

Today, Intermec also released the third press release detailing our Distribution Center survey results. Among the findings? That mis-picks are costing businesses nearly $390,000 per year! For more on the interesting results, click here.

For those of you who follow Microsoft news, you may have heard that Microsoft launched their new Windows Embedded 8 Handheld at this year's NRF show. Intermec is proud to be one of Microsoft's four partners at the show.

Click read more for more on this exciting news.

Today Intermec is at the National Retail Federation "Retail Big Show" in NYC! It's definitely called the big show for a reason - this is a massive show with anything and everything to do with retail on display.

Intermec also made an exciting prodcut announcement this morning at the show - new integrated RFID capabilities for the CK70, CN70 and CN70e mobile computers. Read more for details!

Did you know Intermec Medallion Service plans enable the highest levels of productivity, device reliability, and uptime?

Check out this new video on Intermec's service offerings and see how you can choose from the complete, select, and standard programs to get the amount of coverage and protection you need. Medallion Service is available in over 70 countries with global pricing and global standards of quality.

Intermec is excited to announce we were named to the 2012 Food Logistics Magazine FL100 List! This is the third consecutive year Intermec has been named to the list, which will be featured in the November/December 2012 issue.  

This year, we submitted our LoBue Citrus case study, detailing the citrus company's success after implementing a new Intermec technology solution to aid in their food traceability and tracking efforts.

As a follow-up to the study released by Intermec last month, here is an infographic that illustrates the findings: 

The study, conducted by Vanson Bourne, shows that in the last six months alone, nearly eight out of ten (79%) warehouse managers have been tasked with finding an average 19 percent cost saving from existing operations. Despite this mounting pressure to cut costs and the need to find efficiency gains in every process, managers admit to losing time and money through known inefficient workflows.

In new research released today by Intermec, findings show that warehouses and distribution centers are under increasing pressure to reduce cost and increase margins.

The study, conducted by Vanson Bourne, shows that in the last six months alone, nearly eight out of ten (79%) warehouse managers have been tasked with finding an average 19 percent cost saving from existing operations. Despite this mounting pressure to cut costs and the need to find efficiency gains in every process, managers admit to losing time and money through known inefficient workflows.

The PGA recently improved its tournament operations by implementing mobility, and they have real-world lessons to share with you.

In this webinar, sponsored by Intermec and hosted by Field Technologies, you'll hear firsthand from Lou Manz, director of IT for the PGA, how the PGA successfully deployed its mobile solution, which has now been used at various tournaments including the 2012 PGA Championship and 2012 Ryder Cup. Read more for details!

After announcing our new CK3X and CK3R rugged mobile computers yesterday at the 2012 PackExpo Show in Chicago, we've had a busy couple days demoing these exciting new products in our booth.

We were also fortunate to have one of our great Canadian customers, Chalifour Canada (formerly IRLY), join us to discuss the benefits they've seen with implementing Intermec products in their warehouse.

Today, we're so excited to announce our new CK3X and CK3R rugged mobile computers.

When we released the first intermec CK3 mobile computer, it brought best-in-class processing, battery life, scanning, and deployment all into an ergonomic design. Our newest mobile computers - the CK3X and CK3R - take these features even further. 

One of the big features Intermec and partner Mobizent showed at the 2012 IACP Show was their e-Citation and mobile fingerprint application.