Jade help mobilise The Pallet Network's forklifts with TOUGHBOOK tablets

The Pallet Network deploys 130 TOUGHBOOK Android tablets on its forklifts to improve productivity and customer service.

BRACKNELL, UK. - Jade Solutions has helped The Pallet Network mobilise its forklift trucks with Panasonic TOUGHBOOK Android tablets helping to improve productivity and customer service in the competitive logistics industry.

"We had ageing Windows 7 devices mounted in our forklifts that were no longer supported and getting pretty tired," explained Robert Haigh, IT Director at TPN. "These devices are critical to our operations and used by the drivers constantly, so it was clear that they needed to be modernised. Together with taking the opportunity to upgrade the old hardware, we also knew we could make further improvements by moving to the latest Android platform and deploying new software for our forklift operators to use."

TPN is the UK's leading pallet freight delivery network, last year shipping 4.6m pallets via its network of 119 regional transport partners and their 130 plus depot locations. Their purpose-built main hub is in Sutton Coldfield and is Europe's biggest cross dock, capable of unloading 57 trailers simultaneously and handling 20,000 pallets a night with workflows optimised using artificial intelligence. Its additional three regional hubs are in Preston, Coventry and Northampton.

Working with trusted IT services partner Jade Solutions, the company set about evaluating options. They looked at all the leading industry providers alongside Panasonic TOUGHBOOK and its rugged Android A3 tablet. TPN required 150 new devices, with 130 deployed on forklifts at any one time.

The critical factors in choosing the new devices were their ruggedness and reliability in the challenging working environment and the ability to run TPN's in-house developed software application for managing and moving the pallets. In addition, ease of management and long-term support for the devices were other important considerations.

"The Panasonic device immediately stood out as different," said Robert. "It was a much more polished and complete package in terms of design and robustness."

The roll-out went smoothly and the new devices have been well received by the users. "The drivers immediately noticed how quickly they work and that the connectivity is much better than with the old devices. There are now practically no connectivity blackspots, which has really saved us time and increased the productivity of our drivers. Importantly, we also didn't need to spend any time or money to train the drivers to use the devices. It is all very intuitive. They just went to the forklifts and started using the new solution straight away."

Moving forward, TPN plans to extend the use of the devices for additional purposes at the hub, by undocking the devices from the forklifts and using them for supervisor checks, yard management and door control.

"Ultimately, we now have a solution that is ideal for our working environment and that we can rely upon to do the job, allowing us to concentrate on delivering and fast, transparent and competitive service to our customers," concluded Robert.

For more information on The Pallet Network story, read the full case study: https://business.panasonic.co.uk/mobile-solutions/case-study/toughbook-a3-case-study-en-1

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About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a global leader developing innovative technologies and solutions for wide-ranging applications in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B sectors. The company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018, operates 522 subsidiaries and 69 associated companies worldwide and reported consolidated net sales of Euro 54.02 billion (6,698.8 billion yen) for the year ended March 31, 2021. Committed to pursuing new value through collaborative innovation, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for customers. Learn more about Panasonic: https://www.panasonic.com/global.

About Panasonic Connect Europe

Panasonic Connect Europe began operations on October 1st, 2021, creating a new Business-to-Business focused and agile organisation. With more than 400 employees, the business spearheads operations with its major new B2B solutions initiative called "Gemba Process Innovation", supported by its wide business product range.

Panasonic Connect Europe is headquartered in Wiesbaden and consist of the following business units:

*The Mobile Solutions Business Division helping mobile workers improve productivity with its range of Toughbook rugged notebooks, business tablets and handhelds.

*The Media Entertainment Business Division incorporating Visual System Solutions offering a range of high brightness and reliable projectors as well as high quality displays; and Broadcast & ProAV offering Smart Live Production solutions from an end-to-end portfolio consisting of PTZ and system cameras, camcorders, the Kairos IT/IP platform, switchers and robotic solutions that are widely used for live event capture, sports production, television, and xR studios.

*Business and Industry Solutions delivering tailored technology solutions focused on Retail, Logistics and Manufacturing. Designed to increase operational efficiency and enhance customer experience, helping businesses to perform at their best, every day.

*Panasonic Factory Solutions Europe selling a wide range of smart factory solutions including electronics manufacturing solutions, robot and welding systems and software solutions engineering.

For more information about the Mobile Solutions Business Division, please visit: www.toughbook.eu

Source: RealWire

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