How Intelligent Operations Are Emerging As A Competitive Advantage

A new Zebra Technologies study with Oxford Economics shows that organizations using AI, automation and data to improve frontline workflows are seeing real gains in revenue, profits and customer experience. For partners and MSPs, it’s a clear opportunity to help customers embrace intelligent operations. In this CRNtv interview, Zebra CTO Tom Bianculli explains what’s driving these results and how partners can capitalize.

Sydney Neely: This study uncovers some interesting data about how organizations can drive financial growth by optimizing their frontline workflows. What stood out to you most about the results, and how do they reflect what you’re seeing across the market today?

Tom Bianculli: There’s a lot of data in this survey, and many of our customers have enjoyed digging into it. One of the most compelling things to me was the consistency across all our verticals. If you look at retail, manufacturing and transportation and logistics, each saw about a 20 percent increase in productivity by focusing on improving workflows and driving intelligent operations. That consistency and the magnitude of the number is really compelling. A 20 percent productivity increase is something that we’d all like to achieve in driving our frontline operations.

Sydney: We’ve talked about how intelligent operations drive results. Zebra’s new “Better Every Day” platform builds on that idea. How is Zebra helping organizations improve the way work gets done every day?

Tom: When we work with customers across all the verticals we serve, including retail, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, healthcare and government, we start by meeting them where they are. The “Better Every Day” concept means we don’t begin with what we can deliver. We start with their problems and where they sit on a maturity model for their market. For some customers, that might mean moving from paper and clipboard to mobile computing and barcode printing. For others that have deployed mobile computing and sensor networks, it might mean moving to AI solutions that automate operations with technologies like machine vision and computer vision. It’s really about meeting customers where they are and making targeted moves to help them get better every day.

Sydney: AI, automation and data are reshaping how work gets done. From your perspective, how are these technologies helping businesses and their partners improve operations?

Tom: Glad you mentioned those three specifically because they really define intelligent operations. This isn’t a category we created. It’s a known concept. Intelligent operations integrate advanced technologies like AI, automation and data with human expertise to optimize business outcomes. At Zebra, we’ve been in business for more than 50 years, and we provide the foundation for intelligent operations. We deliver asset visibility, connected frontline technology through mobile computers and intelligent automation solutions through machine learning and machine vision. It’s about putting those technologies together in an integrated way, understanding where customers are operationally and using that to help them deliver better outcomes. The opportunities are enormous, and we’re excited to work with more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 to make it happen.

Sydney: This research highlights a major opportunity for Zebra Technologies’ partners. How can solution providers and MSPs use these insights to help customers take the next step toward intelligent operations?

Tom: Zebra has a tremendous partner network, 10,000 strong, and we deliver more than 80 percent of our revenue through partners. I’d encourage all our partners to dig into the research. For example, in retail, prioritizing inventory management workflows can drive up to a 1.8 percentage point increase in revenue growth and profitability. In transportation and logistics, optimizing inventory workflows can lead to a near 3.5 percentage point revenue boost with similar profitability gains. In manufacturing, focusing on quality control and assurance can deliver up to a 2.4 percentage point growth uplift and nearly 1.5 percentage point improvement in profitability. These are big numbers when you consider the margins many companies operate on. Partners should think inventory, think quality control and assurance, and work with Zebra to deliver more to customers every day.

To learn more about how workflow optimization is driving results, visit Zebra.com