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7SIGNAL recently deployed wireless experiencing monitoring software with a global beer distributor that needed visibility into wireless scanner connection issues.
Key takeaways:
- Three distribution centers needed to understand why barcode scanners weren’t staying connected after the company received numerous employee complaints about “the Wi-Fi not working.”
- It can be difficult for warehouses, distribution centers, and other industrial spaces to maintain strong connections with so many wireless devices trying to connect, interference-causing building materials, and more challenges.
- Wi-Fi connection issues impact revenue and supply chains.
Distribution centers for a range of products and industries are large, intricate spaces with complex WLAN requirements. It's often challenging to identify and solve connectivity issues quickly enough to not interfere with processes and workflows.
A large beer distributor that sells a mix of domestic, imported, and microbrewery brands kept receiving employee complaints that thousands of distribution center scanners had connectivity issues. The company uses numerous Android scanners at its three distribution centers—devices that simply won’t function properly without solid Wi-Fi. And without working scanners, efficient business operations are impossible.
7SIGNAL’s Mobile Eye® now gives network managers precise visibility into how the scanners interact with the WLAN, enabling proactive, long-term solutions. The software is deployed on any Windows, Android, macOS, or supported Linux device.
Common WLAN issues facing distribution centers and other industrial spaces
Distribution centers are packed with varying equipment that needs to stay connected to the WLAN. Because these devices are so varied—ranging from handheld computers to scanners to advanced machinery—the resulting demand or interference can strain networks.
Other common issues facing distribution centers, warehouses, and other industrial facilities include:
- Network design with incomplete or no site surveys
- Insufficient access points (APs) or poor AP placement
- Physical barriers that get in the way of signals, including machinery and metal and concrete construction materials
One of the best steps network managers can take in these settings is to gain clear visibility of how client devices experience the wireless connection. Monitoring from the end-user’s perspective means tracking how quickly devices send and receive data and identifying specific problems such as roaming, coverage, congestion, interference, and inadequate throughput or latency.
This information enables network managers to identify root causes of WLAN problems that impact scanners and other mission-critical equipment.
7SIGNAL enables consistent industrial WLAN connections
Inconsistent or weak connections can't slow down day-to-day operations. And that's exactly what happens when vital equipment like product scanners don’t have the WLAN performance needed to keep productivity high.
Wireless experience monitoring platforms can improve and maintain the WLAN in large, complex spaces like distribution centers. 7SIGNAL’s wireless experience monitoring solutions, including the Mobile Eye and Sapphire Eye, are game-changers for network architects, engineers, and managers.
These tools allow them to quickly and proactively uncover the root cause of any wireless issues and implement fast solutions—keeping pickers, scanners, smart lift trucks, collaborative robots, and more up and running.
Try out this quick online assessment to see the possible value of wireless network monitoring. It estimates the ROI that 7SIGNAL’s Mobile Eye could achieve for your organization.
7SIGNAL® is the leader in wireless experience monitoring, providing insight into wireless networks and control over Wi-Fi performance so businesses and organizations can thrive. Our cloud-based wireless network monitoring platform continually tests and measures Wi-Fi performance at the edges of the network, enabling fast solutions to digital experience issues and stronger connections for mission-critical users, devices, and applications. Learn more at www.7signal.com.