NAUTIZ X2 streamlines workflow

Modernizing an entire metro area’s publicly funded health care logistics system is a tall order. But Finland-based Tuomi Logistiikka Oy, a large logistics company with more than 660,000 distribution lines, 800 supplier agreements, 3,500 delivery addresses and 20,000 available products ranging from pencils to surgical instruments, is accustomed to sizable orders.

Tuomi Logistiikka is implementing progressive digital supply chain management and transportation solutions for its joint owners — the city of Tampere, Finland, and the publicly funded Pirkanmaa Hospital District — with help from Handheld Nautiz X2 units. These rugged PDAs are streamlining logistics tasks and enhancing employee-supervisor communication, resulting in improved speed, accuracy, security, employee job satisfaction and customer experiences.

Tuomi’s material transport and storage division specializes in three areas: internal transportation services, including food, mail, laundry, waste and medicine delivery within a hospital campus; external transport, such as delivery of off-site laboratory samples and aids; and home distribution, which provides food and care items to residents who qualify for public assistance.

Following the decision to develop a new automated inventory and communication system, value chain manager Jesse Turkka oversaw the deployment of 70 Handheld Nautiz X2 units equipped with 2D scanners. In-house logistics workers are using the Nautiz X2 to receive, execute and report daily tasks and customer orders, and delivery truck drivers use a docked Nautiz X2 and its built-in GPS system to navigate around service areas.

“The Nautiz X2 proved to be a great option for Tuomi, with its compact size, large screen and integrated features. When the price appeared to be lower than competitors offered, our choice was clear,” Turkka says.

The Nautiz X2 rugged PDA is a powerful all-in-one mobile computer, Android smartphone and 2D scanner data collector. It’s also ultra-rugged, allowing work to continue uninterrupted through rough handling, messes, weather elements and vehicle vibration.

In Tuomi’s improved in-house logistics system, the Nautiz X2 provides one-handed access to job instructions, required locations and times. Workers use the scanner to read barcodes and QR codes at task sites and on parcels, instantly receiving information about customers, payers and services to be performed. The software also includes several integrations for billing and ordering directly from the handheld.

According to Pekka, a Tuomi logistics worker, “The new handheld devices have made our work far more efficient. We use them constantly, and they are much more user-friendly than what we had before. Reading barcodes is fast, network problems are gone, and correspondence is easier.”

Worker-supervisor communication and workflow are also vastly improved. The handheld system allows employees to provide real-time job status updates with the touch of a button, and to include detailed descriptions of problems – complete with images, thanks to the unit’s built-in camera.

Supervisors can manage and control jobs and orders through the supply chain management software, updating tasks as needed for logistics workers. The device even provides workers with reports about their own performance.

“The Nautiz X2 and its normal communication features have made it much easier to communicate within a large hospital area. Logistics workers can easily contact supervisors and customers and execute their tasks with one device,” says logistics assistant Lauri Laine.

Turkka reports improved work ergonomics and higher job satisfaction for in-house logistics workers, along with significant time savings and increased operational efficiency since deploying the Nautiz X2.

Laine, who has been communicating actively with Tuomi employees to gain feedback about the user experience, reports that ease of use is a theme he hears often. “Using the device is intuitive, and the charged battery lasts easily over the shift. This simplifies their work, and that saves time and increases employee satisfaction,” he says.

Satisfied employees are an asset to any company, but particularly so for an organization that works so closely with such a large number of customers. Turkka calls the transport management department “happy owners” of their Nautiz X2 fleet — and happy workers make happy customers, leading to greater organizational success.