Ask the Expert: Why Is Zebra Getting into the Industrial Automation Business? And What Role Will Channel Partners Play in this New Market?

Matt Van Bogart explains the growing customer demand for simple-to-use machine vision and fixed industrial scanning solutions and technology partners who can help solve process and quality control challenges.

A warehouse worker uses a fixed industrial scanner to scan a label on a box.

by Your Edge Blog Team

June 17, 2021

There are over a dozen good reasons why fixed industrial scanners and/or machine vision solutions should be installed in every warehouse, distribution center (DC) and factory today. Yet, there’s one main reason why they’re not: they have a reputation for being overly complicated to setup and difficult to deploy.

Many manufacturers have tried to integrate machine vision into their operations at some point to improve quality and yield. And most smaller manufacturers have never even considered this technology a viable option for them because of the extensive resource commitment required to implement, onboard and manage. The same holds true of logistics companies that have long needed a better way to track and trace picked and packaged goods moving along a conveyor belt or manage reverse logistics of returned items for reshelving.

Fortunately, “reputation takes a lifetime to build but only seconds to destroy.”

In our latest Your Edge podcast episode, Matt Van Bogart, a 20-year veteran of the industrial imaging and machine vision market, explains:

how Zebra recently reimagined the design of both fixed industrial scanners and machine vision systems to make them simple for both beginners and experts to use and beneficial to all supply chain organizations.
why the past year has primed industrial automation solutions for lasting widespread adoption – and which solutions are poised to make an instant impact.
why organizations that have had bad experiences with industrial automation in the past or have concerns the technology could disrupt existing workflows should reassess the new solutions (and benefits) available today.

Matt, who currently drives the Global Channel Strategy for Industrial Automation at Zebra, also reveals:

exclusive details about the new Industrial Automation track that has been created within Zebra’s PartnerConnect program to ensure customers have access to local experts on a global scale.
why Zebra believes the channel will empower customers to find new success with industrial automation solutions moving forward.

Listen to the 15-minute conversation now: