INNOVATION IN THE AI ERA
ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES GM ON AI OPTIMISATION AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIPS
Zebra Technologies has a wide reach in all facets of society , including retail , manufacturing and healthcare , to name a few . Tim Stoddard , General Manager EMEA at Zebra Technologies , discusses how the company is leveraging AI in its solutions to best address the needs of its customers , while also highlighting the importance of partnerships .
hHow is Zebra using AI to streamline internal processes and optimise decision-making across various industries in the Middle East ?
Tim Stoddard , General Manager EMEA , Zebra Technologies
We want to understand our customers ’ business challenges and leverage AI to empower them and drive different actionable insights and outcomes . We ' re using large language models , utilising deep insight through AI , across our solution portfolio to drive differentials .
Our vision is to enable frontline workers and the assets on the edge of the network to be visible and optimised at all times . There are three pillars which underpin that — asset visibility , the connected frontline worker and intelligent automation . We ' re looking at any use cases we can find to leverage AI to help us in terms of driving those customer business challenges going forward .
Can you elaborate on how Zebra ’ s AI-powered solutions address unique challenges in industries such as automotive and food and beverage ?
More than 60 of our customers , particularly in the manufacturing space , identify AI as one of the biggest investment opportunities to drive workflow optimisation and minimise errors .
When it comes to minimising errors and improving the customer journey — particularly in manufacturing — customers are leveraging our Aurora Machine Vision technology to identify quality production issues . We have customers who have moved from a 75-80 % accuracy up to 95 % accuracy by leveraging these actionable insights driven by AI .
What role does RFID technology and warehouse optimisation play in operational efficiency in logistics and supply chain management ?
RFID is an integral part of asset visibility , enabling customers to know where their assets are at a specific point in time , so they can make better decisions .
For example , one retailer highlighted that their manual process for inventory check in one store takes up to an hour and a half . Using our technology , perpetual inventory visibility , they can reduce that process to 12 seconds per store .
The benefits here are not only in the time saved , or the accuracy performed , but also in the ability to take those frontline workers and enable them to perform higher value tasks in store , like helping customers and upselling .
How does Zebra ’ s PartnerConnect program strengthen your presence in the region ?
We work with more than 250 channel partners . These include resale partners who provide wrap-around services and solutions and provide the scalability to meet our customer requirements .
We also work with influence partners , such as independent software vendors or strategic partners . Our channel network is imperative to our success , our scalability and our ability to be agile to meet our customers ' requirements .
Can you share some success stories where Zebra ’ s AI-powered solutions have significantly improved business outcomes , particularly in demand forecasting and planning ?
One example is that of a bakery whereby , looking at quality analysis , they ' ve been able to significantly improve productivity and throughput by around 25 %.
In demand forecasting , we ' re starting to see many different factors , some geopolitical , some weather , that could feed into the output of our customers . By providing the right contextual demand forecasting , we ' re enabling our customers to operationally drive efficiencies throughout their business . p
INNOVATION IN THE AI ERA 13