Symbol Technologies And Zebra Technologies Ink Partnership To Provide Customers With Integrated, On-Demand Enterprise Mobility
Symbol Technologies, The Enterprise Mobility Company and Zebra Technologies, a worldwide leader in on-demand specialty printing solutions, today announced a global strategic partnering agreement to provide customers with integrated business solutions, incorporating mobile and wireless products from both companies, designed to improve productivity and reduce costs.
Under this global alliance agreement, the companies will jointly develop, market and sell industry-specific solutions through mutual channel partners. The alliance supports both Zebra's and Symbol's go-to-market strategies, which rely heavily on value-add resellers, software developers, and systems integrators to deliver business solutions to end-user customers. Through this partnership, both companies now will be able to leverage each others' distribution networks, marketing programs, and channel partners. Symbol and Zebra also will collaborate in the development of new market opportunities such as radio frequency identification (RFID).
"This partnership has exciting implications for our distribution and channel partners and for the mobile solutions market as a whole," said Todd Abbott, Symbol's senior vice president of operations. "It demonstrates both companies' ongoing commitment to aggressively market our solutions to provide our partners in the channel the opportunity for the greatest success."
Symbol and Zebra have a rich heritage of jointly providing bar code and enterprise mobility solutions to the manufacturing, retail, government, and healthcare markets over the past 15 years. By co-developing solutions that are designed to be easier to use, implement and integrate, customers will now be able to extend the reach of their enterprise software systems to all applications with data collection, asset movement, or decision management transactional events, thereby enabling customers to receive a greater return on IT investments.
"Working more closely with Symbol gives Zebra greater insight into the business drivers in key markets, enabling us to develop new products together that improve business processes while maximizing customer value," said Mike Terzich, Zebra's senior vice president, office of the CEO.
Benefits for Customers
Zebra and Symbol initially will provide customers with mobile and wireless printing solutions that feature Symbol's MC9000 and PPT8800 handheld computers and Zebra's QL series mobile portable printers. Today, retailers using these products have the opportunity to increase efficiency and improve their customers' shopping experience through better control over pricing and inventory, and by mobilizing point-of-sale staff to reduce wait times.
By using a Symbol-Zebra mobile point-of-sale (POS) solution from Agilysys, Inc., a business partner of both companies, IKEA North America has effectively utilized the technology during time periods with a high volume of shoppers such as at new IKEA store grand openings and has reduced checkout times by 50 percent. The mobile "line busting" application allows IKEA staff to scan merchandise and complete sales transactions before shoppers reach the checkout counter.
"At IKEA we are always looking for ways to enhance our customers' shopping experience and improve each store's efficiency," said Mark Fitzsimmons, US Customer Service Manager, IKEA North America. "The Symbol-Zebra Mobile POS solution from Agilysys helps us do exactly that."
Another key focus of the alliance will be the development and introduction of new products to serve identified needs in target applications. One example is the pairing of Zebra's forthcoming RW 420 mobile and wireless receipt printer with Symbol's MC9000 and PPT8800 handheld computers for direct store delivery applications. The combined solution is a lightweight and flexible integrated mobile solution designed to increase the speed and accuracy of field transactions and help companies improve their cash flow with real-time payment processing.
Symbol and Zebra expect to bring additional solutions to market through the channel as a result of their partnering agreement, which is effective immediately.
About Symbol Technologies
Symbol Technologies, Inc., The Enterprise Mobility Company, is a recognized worldwide leader in enterprise mobility, delivering products and solutions that capture, move and manage information in real time to and from the point of business activity. Symbol enterprise mobility solutions integrate advanced data capture products, radio frequency identification technology, mobile computing platforms, wireless infrastructure, mobility software and world-class services programs under the Symbol Enterprise Mobility Services brand. Symbol enterprise mobility products and solutions are proven to increase workforce productivity, reduce operating costs, drive operational efficiencies and realize competitive advantages for the world's leading companies. More information is available at www.symbol.com.
About Zebra Technologies
Zebra Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: ZBRA) delivers innovative and reliable on-demand printing solutions for business improvement and security applications in 100 countries around the world. More than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Zebra-brand printers. A broad range of applications benefit from Zebra-brand thermal bar code, "smart" label, receipt, and card printers, resulting in enhanced security, increased productivity, improved quality, lower costs, and better customer service. The company has sold nearly four million printers, including RFID printer/encoders and wireless mobile solutions, and also offers software, connectivity solutions and printing supplies. Information about Zebra bar code and RFID products can be found at www.zebra.com.