VAR Service Model In Tractor Supply's Battery Management

A significant way modern organizations remain efficient is through the mobile devices that staff utilize daily. However, these barcode scanners, portable printers, and other key devices would be nothing without the source of their power: batteries. Despite their obvious importance, mobile device batteries remain a widely unmanaged segment of mobile operations for many companies. Read on to see how Tractor Supply Co. benefited from mobile device battery management services and how you can do the same for your clients.

In the Innovative Retail Technologies (IRT) cover story, “What Powers the TSC Supply Chain”, author Matt Pillar speaks with Tractor Supply’s VP of Technology and IT Strategy, Tom Hutchins about how managing mobile batteries has helped their business. In distribution centers (DC) like Tractor Supply’s, the scanning devices that fill the walls of their warehouses are a “cornerstone technology” for driving processes and recording data, but they’re only as effective as the power that keeps them running. As Hutchins explained, “if a battery fails mid shift, it creates a lot of footsteps. A team member with a failed battery must find a place to plug in an auxiliary charger and get to the RF [radio frequency] room to obtain a new battery before picking up where they left off. In a large distribution center, that can amount to a significant loss of productivity.”