In particular, investing to improve inventory management (real time visibility, out of stocks, fraud control) is unanimously reported as one of the top priorities for today’s retail technol- ogy: where the key point here is not just about »having the correct and most up-to- date in- formation available«, but it is also about »making sure that the most-up-to- date infor- mation is visible to the appropriate stake- holders«. For example, empowering retail as sociates is reported to be one of the key concerns today: two out of three of the retail associates we have surveyed feel that shop- pers could be connected to the product infor- mation more than they are. Providing retail associates with those technological tools that can help them work is really perceived as a key need today. Axel Schmidt: Zebra has been offering the ET40/ET45 enterprise tablets to retailers since late 2022. What features do the ET40/ ET45 tablets offer employees in price-sen- sitive retail? What advantages do you see for a retailer to equip their shop employ- ees with a Zebra ET40/ET45 tablet instead of relying on a traditional consumer tablet? Leonardo Borgini: The enterprise-grade ET4x series is a general-purpose set of rug- ged tablets ideal for a wide range of use cases. The ET40 name identifies the config- uration with Wi-Fi connectivity, while the ET45 model is offered with full connectivity, including 5G and Wi-Fi support. All models come with an integrated barcode scanner and are offered in 2 different display sizes: 8-inches or 10-inches. The offer of these 2 different display sizes and of the different connectivity options makes the ET40/ET45 a flexible device for a myriad of retail use cases. For example, an 8" tablet with 5G connectivity can be the perfect solution for delivery drivers and fulfillment personnel in transportation and logistics, while in-store retail associates prefer a Wi-Fi 8" tablet with easier portability for frequent price and inven- tory checking, or rather a Wi-Fi 10" tablet with its bigger display for assisted sel ling and line busting tasks. This goes in the direction of empowering sales associates with the appropriate technological tool, with the ulti- mate goal to offer customers the seamless shopping experience we mentioned a few minutes ago. that are more time-consuming and costly for IT departments to support. With Zebra’s op- tional OneCare Maintenance Plans, busi- nesses can also rely on service and support for their ET40 and ET45 tablets for up to six years, helping front-line workers to continue to perform at peak levels while also reducing device vulnerabilities, unbudgeted repair ex- penses, and unexpected disruptions. Finally, the ET4x series of tablets offer the Zebra Mobility DNA software tools to optimise workflows, and to improve usability for mo- bile workers. These tools include Mobility Extensions (which adds powerful enterprise- class security and manageability features to the standard Android ecosystem) and Stage- Now, which allows businesses to stage a handful or thousands of devices in seconds. ET40/ET45-TABLETS • Business tablets with an integrated enterprise scanner • Capacitive 8" or 10" multi-touch display with Corning Gorilla Glass • IP65- and MIL-STD-810H-certified, suited for office and field service • Wi-Fi 6, 5G, Bluetooth 5.1 (BLE), NFC and GPS (ET45 only) The ET40 tablets are ideal tools for such a purpose, not only thanks to the ergonomics optimised for portability in assisted sales and the embedded scanner we have men- tioned so far, but also thanks to the offer of accessories we have developed. Accessories include hand straps for easier portability, auxiliary batteries with easy swapping in order to use the same tablet over an extended time shift, single and multi-station cradles to conveniently recharge the tablets in the store, and even Intelligent Cabinets to lock and unlock the devices from their charging stations. Further dedicated accessories allow our store associates to dock the ET40 tablet and to use it as a desktop computer, for example connecting it to an external keyboard or monitor, so as to enable the associates to also run the administrative tasks that are necessary to finalise and order, or to fill a document. But, as I have already mentioned, assisted selling is just one of the multiple use cases for which the ET40 tablet has been designed. Last, we need to mention that one of the natural evolutions of tablets for assisted sales can be a larger deployment of mobile POS stations, where every employee equipped with a tablet can leverage it as a POS device to speed up the customer checkout experi- ence. For example, an item ordered online can also be paid in-store thanks to a mobile POS station equipped with an ET40 tablet and its dedicated payment interface. For our ET40/ET45 8" tablets, we have developed dedicated POS accessories, enabling the tablet to act as a cash register through a payment terminal on the back. Overall, the full accessory ecosystem of the ET40 has been developed with a special attention to offering effective tools to boost the customer journey in specific vertical mar- kets – and this is true not only for retail in our example, but also for healthcare, transpor- tation and logistics and hospitality. Axel Schmidt: Thank you! Axel Schmidt: In your view, why are the Zebra ET40/ET45 enterprise tablets ideal for addressing the challenges of omni- channel retail to effectively translate an online experience into the shop? Get to know the Zebra tablets on our microsite! Equip your customers perfectly for omni- channel challenges in retail and order the Zebra ET40/ET45 tablets from your sales representative! Needless to say, we are talking of a rugged device: despite their light weight and their slim design, the ET40 and the ET45 tablets can withstand drops on concrete from 1.2 me- tres, and even from 1.5 metres if they are equipped with the dedicated rugged boot that we have developed. The robustness of the device against drops, tumbles and shocks is a key element in order to reduce the total cost of ownership over the expected life cycle of the retailer’s investment. On top of this, and unlike consumer tablets, Zebra guarantees that the ET4x series will be available for purchase for up to three years, eliminating mixed device deployments Leonardo Borgini: I do believe that the use of tablets in a retail store should be a natu- ral extension of the customers’ purchase journey. A few minutes ago, we referenced how today’s shoppers embrace a »hybrid« or »unified« commerce model more and more, and we suggested equipping store associ- ates with »assisted selling« tools that enable them to quickly check inventory in storage facilities, other stores and even warehouses for desired items. Even if the outcome of this »assisted selling« is directing the customer to purchase an item online, we’re still fulfilling their order from our retailer inventory versus a competitor, and we are finding a solution to solve his or her problem. www.jarltech.com 19