Wes Coleman
Summary
In this episode, Wes Coleman, the industry principal for warehousing for Zebra Technologies, shares his expertise and insights in the warehousing and distribution supply chain industry. Wes talks about his background and experience in the industry for over 30 years, and how that has led him to his current role at Zebra. He also discusses how the industry has changed over the years, with a greater emphasis on user experience and retention of workers. Wes also mentions the influence of technology in warehouses and how workers now In this article, the author interviews Wes Haubein, a technology expert and CEO of a robotics company, about the impact of technology on warehouse operations. Haubein highlights the importance of having user-friendly technology and involving employees in the decision-making process when it comes to adopting new technology. He also emphasizes the need for businesses to have efficient processes in place before implementing technology. Additionally, Haubein advises businesses to work with experts and plan for change management when embarking on a technology upgrade. Automation and augmentation are often thought to be the same in terms of improving operations, but there is a subtle difference between the two. Automation refers to fully automating a process, while augmentation involves automating parts of a process, usually resulting in incremental improvements. In warehouses, automation typically involves automating small parts of processes, as it is difficult to fully automate due to the variability and variation that exists. There are many areas of impact in warehouses, such as driving more throughput, improving efficiency, and West Coleman is the Senior Director of Product Management at Zebra Technologies, a company that provides scanning and tracking technology for warehouses and distribution centers. West shares his background in operations and how he eventually moved into product management. He talks about Zebra's technology and their focus on understanding the pain points of their customers in order to provide effective solutions. West also discusses the importance of data in today's digital world and the need for leaders to understand and utilize it in their operations. He encourages people to connect
Transcription
Speaker 2
[00.00.07]
Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to another episode at the Warehouse Underground podcast, Real Talk or Warehouse DC and FC professionals of all levels around the globe. I'm Ben, the host of the show, and with me today is Wes Coleman. He is the industry principal warehousing for Zebra Technologies, partnering with businesses to achieve operational excellence through modernization, process optimization and strategic innovation. Now, Wes have been in the warehouse distribution supply chain industry for over 30 years, going back into the into the 80s. So he has seen a little bit about what's going on out there in the warehouse floor. So I'm interested to talk with him about his take on the industry, what he sees in terms of technology and automation and all those things that are coming down the pipe, and also where Zebra Technologies can fill that gap. I mean, most people know of Zebra Technologies if they're in the industry, but interested to get Wes take on all of it and more. So this should be a really cool episode. We're really excited to talk with him today. He's a podcast pro, so this should come off very well. So with that, I'll bring him on the stage right now. It was. Thank you very much for joining the Warehouse Underground podcast. How are you today, sir?
Speaker 1
[00.01.28]
Hey, Ben. Glad to be here. Thanks for the opportunity.
Speaker 2
[00.01.31]
Yeah, you got it, man. So I teased it in the intro a little bit, but you have been in the industry a long time. You know, sometimes I get guests on the show and they're new, and I do some things with startups. But that's not you. You are fully vetted in this industry. You just tell the audience a little bit about kind of your background and what led you to where you are today.
Speaker 1
[00.01.54]
Yeah, I can do. Yeah. So I, I got started in the warehousing and distribution industry, uh, back in the 80s. I went to work for UPS and spent about five years with those guys working my way through the ranks, and, um, uh, left there and went to work for a small company at a time called RFPs, Roadway Packaging Systems, which which most folks don't know that company, but they went on to become Fedex ground. Um, so so you know that company. Exactly. So I did the brown and did purple. Um, but, uh, but yeah, after that I joined the SP Richard's company and, and uh, did a tremendous number of roles for, for that company and ended up running their uh, operational excellence team for, for many, many years. And, um, you know, spending 36 years for the company. You, you, um, you learn one of the most important things in, uh, in the industry is to make sure you surround yourself with some pretty smart folks, um, which I did. And, uh, our team really did some great things, and, uh, it helped me, uh, that education kind of helped me with with the role I have today with zebra. We, uh, back at SAP Richard, we did some great projects, um, uh, automation projects, technology and boots on the ground SOP type stuff, too. So, um, uh, really paved the way for for where I am today. Yeah.
Speaker 2
[00.03.14]
I mean. I would say that from your seat. I mean, the industry has changed a ton since the 1980s and 90s even today. And now I think it's I think it's accelerating even faster than probably what it, what it did in the past. So, you know, you're you're at zebra now. You're doing a lot of good work for zebra. Like I said, zebra technology is well known in the industry. You know, I myself, I work in ops on the side and I'm also a customer of zebra, so. But can you tell us about what you do there? You know, what's your role like at zebra and kind of what what have you seen over the years in terms of, uh, performance out of facilities and, and how zebra can help support?
Speaker 1
[00.03.58]
Yeah. So, so maybe it's best to start with why I'm at zebra. I spent 30 years, 28 years, I think if I had it up correctly, um, as a zebra customer and, uh, it's pretty, pretty compelling. Um, when, uh, when, when when I got the call from zebra, uh, to to take that call. Um, it's a wonderful company to work for. Uh, what I do for them. Uh, as you said, I'm the industry principal for warehousing, and, uh, that makes me the subject matter expert. Um, and my day today involves a great deal of travel. I'm on the road 3035 weeks a year, and most of that travel is spent in customers warehouses. Um, so a really great opportunity for a continuing education to spend time with those customers, understanding what their challenges are, what their pain points are, and their their successes too. Um, you know, my my outlook when I'm in these customers facilities is to understand their processes and really focus on what the opportunities are. I'm not a solution first kind of guy. Um, I understand you know, how to how to, uh, read an opportunity and, uh, and turn that into potential solutions. Um, so that's what I do for zebra, and I, I turn that that Intel back to the, to the customer in the form of readout, um, helping them understand what their opportunities are. Um, from a functional perspective and a technical perspective, you know, you have to take take both of those looks at all these opportunities. So, um, that's most of my time. I do a good bit of, of media stuff. You'll find me on a stage usually a at Pro Matt or Mode X or automate and um, doing some podcasts here and there. Um, so, so yeah, that's uh, that's my day to day.
Speaker 2
[00.05.48]
Yeah, I would say if you're out there on the floor in the trenches, that gives you a unique view. I mean, I think, you know, there's a lot of folks that I talk to and they they think they know warehousing, they think they know operations, but they've been in one. Right. Or they've been into. And if you've been in 1 or 2 warehouses, you've been in one and two. That does not mean that you understand them all because they're all unique. They're all different. They all have different pain points and everything. And so let me ask this question to you, because, you know, traditionally when it comes to investments or advancements in technology or processes or things like that, it used to just be very brass tacks, hey, we, you know, we want to achieve a higher, uh, throughput or we want to improve our service to the customer. And that's the main thing that people were thinking about before. They would kind of go into something like this. But now it seems like user acceptance and that user experience that sometimes the folks on the floor are getting is weighing much heavier now in the decision making metrics matrix than maybe it did in the past. So is that I mean, what do you think about that? Are you seeing that or are you seeing that? Hey, you know, we've got to think about turnover now. And we and it's harder to find labor. So our user experience needs to be much better than maybe just, you know, the pure brass task metric, brass tacks metrics. What do you think about that?
Speaker 1
[00.07.17]
Yeah. It's a it's a good question. And, um, you know, this answer is going to sound a little bit like a story, but, uh, but I'll start telling it. You can cut me off if I go along here, but, um, you know, prior to the pandemic, uh, I think businesses took a very traditional approach to, um, defining what was important to that business and is usually the big three. Right. Throughput, efficiency and quality. And, uh, um, they, they would base business decisions based on that. So they're, they're looking at new technology. They're going to base on, on, uh, that, that technology decision on how they can improve over those three things. Um, after the pandemic things, things took a turn. Um, you know, I would say up until about a year and a half ago, uh, finding labor was was one of the biggest challenges, um, in any business and since the pandemic, uh, but about a year and a half ago, that changed. And and finding labor became a little bit less of a challenge. And finding the right labor became more of the the chase of businesses today. And. Recruiting and retaining labor. Over the past 6 or 7 years has driven businesses to really ratchet up user acceptance above those big three. Throughput, quality and efficiency. Um, which which is really a head scratcher for me, having, having done having not done that for for for 30 plus years. You know, what was important was what was best for the business and what was best for the bottom line in many cases, and customer satisfaction. But, uh, but now not so much. Now it's more about how to retain folks in the workforce. Uh, because it it it's it's it's such a pain point. So. Yeah, you're you're spot on. It's a it's a big deal right now. And for many companies it's top of the list.
Speaker 2
[00.09.12]
Yeah. And I think maybe it follows the automobile industry a little bit with that. Like go with me on this. Back in the old days when people buy a car, they want the best engine and it needs to handle the best and it needs to perform. It needs to be able to corner all these hardcore things about cars. But then now it doesn't that that doesn't matter to people to buy cars now, right? They they want the screen to look a certain way, and the cupholders got to look a certain way. And where I plug in my phone and all that says with a change and what, what, what what matters to people over the years. And so I think that's happening a little bit in warehouses and distribution centers, too, which kind of leads me to my next question. And, and that is about that is about tech. Because when you're talking about hiring folks in a facility now. More and more people now that work in warehouses came up and grew up in a generation of tech, right? You can call it iPhones and YouTube and all these sort of things that they have. And so there's a mantra out there now that I've heard where, hey, the tech that they have at home and in their pocket is sort of setting the standard. So the tech that they have at work needs to be at least somewhat comparable to that. I mean, are you seeing that or are you seeing that feedback when it comes to tech out there and what the new folks that are coming in the facilities are, are expecting?
Speaker 1
[00.10.37]
Yeah, you're you're channeling me a little bit and I there probably even a week that goes by that I don't I don't make that statement that the workers today have great technology in their pocket, in their car and in their home. And when they get to the workplace, they expect it. And, uh, it's true. Um, and and I and it's not just the hardware. Right. It's it's the complete solution. Uh, workers today want their tasks to be lowest common denominator. Very simple. Um, and and it should be system driven because that's what they're used to. So um, so yeah, again, again, you're you're spot on. It's, uh, it's it's ever present. It ties right into the, um, the point that we just made about, uh, retaining workers. And, and honestly, I would go one step further. I think, um, businesses, if they aren't already, they should be using this as a tool to recruit employees. Yeah, they should, uh, 100%. You know, back in the day when you interviewed people, you'd you'd walk them through the warehouse just to make sure they could keep up with you. Right? You know, the little tricks of the trade like that, but now it's kind of turned on its head a little bit where, where employees should really employers should really, um, kind of take the time to show users and work, uh, workers what they, um, what they're going to be faced with every day. You know, they're doing hundreds and hundreds of transactions every day using a device, using a system, an application. And, um, and I think if they have those businesses that have really great technology and solutions, they should use that, uh, as a recruitment tool.
Speaker 2
[00.12.15]
Yeah, 100%. I mean, that's there's a large portion of people's weeks that they're spending at work, and it matters. I mean, and I've heard of operations out there that have lost employees because they said, look, you know, your scanners are too glitchy. The system is not flowing. Right. I'm leaving it. And they're like, well, you're getting paid still. I mean, you're still getting money and you're going to take less money. They're like, yeah, because 50 hours, 40 hours out of my week, I'm using this thing and it's it's stressing me out and I don't like it. Right. Like I'm not. And so that's a little bit of the paradigm shift I think that people need to be aware of. That's that's happening now. Let me transition a little bit because, you know, Wes, when you're talking about folks in a facility, we're talking about technology upgrades or process improvement or those type things go. I want to know if you agree with me on this, because you have a front row seat of how this goes. But a big mistake, probably one of the biggest mistakes that people will make, whether it's senior leaders or executives, is, hey, we're going to this new technology. It's going to be great here. I hand it down to you. You're going to like it. But they never bring them into the loop. They never bring the end user into the equation. And I've always said, if you do that, what was you? If you forget to bring that level of employee into it, into that process. Update one they, they, they know some things. And two, that's, you know, how they, they need to feel like they're a part of that. And so what do you see? I mean, are people the people miss that step out there. And what's it like for them if they if they do leave that step out for those
Speaker 1
[00.13.53]
type products? Yeah, I think, I think um, I think businesses are keen to this now. I think they understand the importance of this. You know, um, you kind of have to look beyond the obvious, right? In many cases, I think, um. I think, you know, a business might say, you know what? This is some new technology we're going to. We're planning on deploy and let's go give it to to Johnny and let let's. Because Johnny's a rock star and let's see what Johnny can do with it. But but you really have to look beyond that, right? You've got to include a newer employee. So maybe somebody's still in there. Their their introductory period. You've got to you've got to definitely include a legacy employee in the conversation. Um, and, and across different markets too. Right. Where, where language may be a challenge. Um, so, so I think you have to make all those considerations and those, those things have to be done, uh, at a very basic time in your transition. It can't be after you've made all your technology decisions. Um, you know, because to, to to, uh, to workers, what, what matters is, is how they can best perform their, their role. And, you know, they may want a keyboard on that device or they may want, uh, they may they may be okay without a keyboard if the screen is large enough. Um, you know, maybe a tablet works better for, for a supervisor. So, I mean, there's there's just so many decisions to make. So I think, um, user acceptance matters. Um, and, uh, you know, while users may not be the expert, they, they can give you some real world feedback. Um, that that can benefit the entire business and the rollout. Yeah. And I think sometimes they may bring something up that you wouldn't even realize is important to them. But if you left, if you left that out, you didn't implement it. Now they now they don't like it, now they hate it. And you have an engagement problem and a morale problem and you're like, man, if I could just have a time machine, this would have cost us nothing. Yeah. Compared, you know, like like it would have cost us nothing to put this in. And yet we just didn't do it because we just didn't know. Right. So, uh, a little small things like that matter to the folks on the floor. Way more than what people think it should. Uh, it really does matter to them. And it's easy.
Speaker 2
[00.16.08]
Easy solution. Doesn't need to be, uh, self-inflicted gunshot wound to organizations that leave that out. So. Now, if you're an ops leader out there and you're in in the spot where, hey, I do want to do this, I listen to the Warehouse Underground podcast, and I was warned by Ben and Wes on this. So what do I need to do beforehand? You know, like, if I'm going to go through a big upgrade, what are the steps that I need to do before to ensure that this has the highest probability of success for me and my operation? Yeah. So I mean, you know, you would think that this is, uh, this is kind of a foregone conclusion, but I, I, I think you have to say this part, um, you bolting good technology onto a bad process is not good. Um, it it makes things worse. Um, and it certainly doesn't help with user acceptance. So it's I think, um, step one really is make sure you've got your process ironed out to be as efficient as possible. Um, before you start thinking about technology. Um, second, you you need to you need to build the right team of folks to, to be decisioning. Um, and that that needs to be, you know, both the technical team and the functional team. Uh, and, and the, you know, the right users as well involved in the conversation. Uh, maybe, uh, at a higher level. Um, it's, uh, it's important also for, for the, the leadership to drive that team to, to take some time and think about their decision making because, um, while you might have a process that's completely ironed out and solid on a, on a manual level. The opportunity to apply technology to that process provides an opportunity to to potentially change the process where you couldn't do it annually. But the application of, of of technology and in some sort of automation, um, provides the opportunity to make it even better. And, and this can sometimes be a tough conversation when you have somebody on the technical side trying to explain this to, to an operator. Um, so it's, so you got to be there's got to be some patience in that room. Um, you know, and, and, and ultimately part of that decision has to include, um, the, the, the pain point of change management. Right. So, um, you know, I don't know if I should put this out there on the air, but I'll do it. What the heck? Um, you know, when I was involved in a lot of change management, I used to like to say, if you if you gave a user a gold bar, they would just complain about how heavy it was, right? So, um, it's tough. And I think you have to all the decisions you make have to take that into account. Um, so, so, yeah, there's a lot of due diligence that goes into making technology decisions. And this is way beyond, you know, ROI and TCO and that kind of stuff. This is just core blocking and tackling and and I guess I should add that.
Speaker 1
[00.19.19]
If you're making system type decisions, software type decisions, it's it's it's vital that those that you try to work out everything you want to do during the integration, because those, those nickels are a little harder to get after the fact. Um, what you've what you've spent that initial, uh, find the funding on that project. So we're working out everything you need ahead of time. So I guess at the end, I would just add, uh, to kind of cap that the use the experts to there's there's a lot there's a lot of folks out there that that have been down this road before and would be happy to, to accompany businesses on that journey.
Speaker 2
[00.20.02]
Yeah. I think it's a give and take on both sides. It's, uh, the famous Henry Ford quote. Now, if I were to ask them what they wanted, they just would have said faster horses or better horses because they didn't have the understanding or the, you know, the the ability to see what he was able to see. And sometimes you see that in warehouses and it's like you want to engage the folks. But sometimes I just don't know. Right. And so, like I, in my experience with the past, sometimes, like I have a beat up Jeep and I love that Jeep. And sometimes when you get, uh, technology upgrade, it's like, hey, I'm, I'm handing you a Mercedes. Like, well, I don't want a Mercedes. I just want my Jeep to run a little bit better. You know, like, that's the reason why we're coming to you. Because we want the Jeep to run a little bit smoother, like no no no no no. There's this huge leap that that we can make. So I think there's a lot of that, that that goes into it too. So, you know, I appreciate that anybody who's who's done some a change management with with warehouse folks on the floor managers know what this is like. You've never gone through that. You won't know if you've done that. You'll know exactly what we're talking about. So let me ask this question to you because, you know, you know, we have, you know, trade shows and pro mat and mode. And you know, automation is big. Everybody wants to know how can we how can we automate. You know, we can make investments in automation. And that's a capital expense. And it doesn't, you know, change our operating costs and we can maximize our EBITDA like that, like the whole thing. But there's a subtle difference I think, that people don't always understand because sometimes they group it in the same thing. And that is automation and augmenting. So, you know, you can automate processes, but you can also augment them and get gains from that too. So what's the what's the differences in the factors between those two concepts in your mind.
Speaker 1
[00.21.45]
Yeah. So this when this is a this could be a really long conversation. Just this one question because because for me, um, you know, I, I kind of believe that they're, you know, almost tied together. Um, yeah. The, the, um, automation of a process. Um. It is. It's an easy statement to make, but just just think about it in terms of, um, checking out at the grocery store. Right. And you consider checking out the grocery store a process? Um, it's really not a process. It's a whole bunch of smaller processes baked in. You got to get the stuff out of the basket, put it on, put on the belt. Somebody's got to weigh it or scan it. Uh, ring it up, and then somebody else has gotta, gotta put it in a bag and you've got to pay for it. So there's a whole bunch of small processes. So when you, when you use the term, uh, I want to automate a process. Um, it's to me you really need to first understand whether or not you're, you're talking about doing some sort of transformational change where you literally just push the basket towards an area, and then you walk out of the store and it's and it's in your, you know, stuff's in your car. Um, or are you, are you automating little parts of a process which to me kind of ties into the augmentation part of your, uh, your questionnaire. So, uh, in most cases in warehouses, what we see is the automation of parts of a process or or even on a bigger scale, the automation of a of a part of a really large process. So, um, you know, I think, you know, picking picking is a perfect example. You can certainly fully automated your picking, but but something's probably still coming to a human for them to pick. Right. So, um, so, so even even when you've automated it, it's still, you know, if you, if you Google automation, it's I think it says the removal of, of the human from the process. And it's very tough to get to that point in warehousing. I know some folks that are doing it and have gotten to that point, but it's and it's, uh, it's doable if you if you have the check book to make it happen. But, um, but for the most part, what what happens in warehouses is, is the automation of small parts of processes. And that's, that's, uh, that's really where you, where you get this incremental continuous improvement type gains in facilities. And the outcome can be transformational in and of itself. But, uh, but it's still not fully automated to that, you know. Yeah.
Speaker 2
[00.24.25]
And I think. Like there's so much variability and variation that happens in warehousing and like sometimes and I've, I've mentioned this on other shows. You know, you get some pushback from warehouse leaders, ops leaders, whatever. When you talk about, hey, we have this new automated process. So we're looking at robotics like you get a lot of pushback from them. And sometimes people write that off. Oh, well, you know, they just they just don't want to change. They just want to keep it. Well, it's like, no, what they're trying to tell you is that there's so many things that they know in their head. That's variables, that's variation that's going to cause potential problems for this automation because it's not known to the to the company yet. Maybe they know it a little bit but they don't they don't really follow. They're helpful. They have their arms around it. So I think that variation and variability in warehouses is always what's going to make people say, yeah, I want to have things that's going to help me a little bit, but I'm not ready to go all the way. Right. I'm not ready to remove the human from every single process that I have, because there's so much variables and variation that I just can't account for now, you know? And that could change in the future too. So
Speaker 1
[00.25.35]
yeah, I think that rolls right back into what we were talking about earlier with user acceptance. I've certainly seen this firsthand where you do implement some sort of technology where the legacy users have a real challenge with it. And the, the, the folks that are brand new don't have a challenge with it at all. They roll right in and almost perform better. Um, so, you know, sometimes you have to move chess pieces around to keep, keep it rolling, but but, uh, yeah, it's a learning experience.
Speaker 2
[00.26.06]
Yeah, I've definitely seen that now.
Speaker 1
[00.26.09]
Let.
Speaker 2
[00.26.10]
Let's go inside of a warehouse. So now we're inside of the four walls, and you've seen hundreds, maybe thousands of them. And you know that there are many different areas of work. Call it, you know, different paths that are in there, yet you know, you're receiving and you're picking and you consolidating and cycle counting and replenishment and all these different things. And so the answer to this may may depend, um, but what are the kind of workflows that you've seen that you think can provide, like technology advances or process improvement advances can provide the biggest impact of of the ones like what's the major areas where you think, okay, the tech can come in and help provide a good bang for the buck in this area right here.
Speaker 1
[00.26.58]
Can you start thinking? I think for this one, you almost have to define the word impact, uh, for you before you answer the question. So I mean, there's so many points of impact, right? Are we are we trying to positively impact what the customer sees. Um, are we trying to drive more throughput, uh, push more productivity, um, or improve quality? Um, or or. You know what? Take costs out of the operation. Right. So, um, all of those are considerations. For the most part, I think when you talk to businesses today, they're either trying to drive more throughput or improve efficiency and drive costs out. Those are the two big ones. Um, and, you know, the typically in warehouses, you're talking about picking, packing, um, put away staging. Those are the big four usually. Um, if if you're if your C-suite comes to you and says you, you need to take costs out of the operation, you're probably not going to start with a cycle counting. Um, you know, or the unloading that's typically the, the lowest number of, uh, fewest, fewest number of users. So. Um, so, so that's that's probably the, um, the the the, the big bang for your buck. I think it's when you, when you talk about. Um, you know, applying technology to processes. Um, and, you know, when, when businesses are trying to figure out where to start, um, they do have a pretty big challenge there. Uh, because it's a risk reward. You know, if you if you say, hey, I'm going to apply technology to my picking operation, and, and that's where I can have the biggest impact. Uh, you, you know, there's more due diligence involved to make sure your customers don't feel that pain and agony, uh, of the process change. So, um, you know, making sure that you you do that due diligence and and you, you're ready for that change. Um, because even if you even if you, you know, the if the go lab doesn't go well and you, you, you, um, you know, you have to apply a bunch of overtime hours to compensate. Um, you know, leadership might think, okay, we're still we're still good from a customer perspective. But, you know, you start applying overtime to, to functions and, and it can affect quality. So, um, so yeah, I think again, you just you have to be prepared for those types of changes. But but those are the big ones.
Speaker 2
[00.29.23]
Yeah. Now, in the, in the world of in a where on a warehouse floor. You're talking about ops manager or senior ops warehouse manager, what have you. There's so many different things that they balance and so many different competing priorities because you, you know, you got your you pressure from labor or you've got your pressure from your customer, or you get pressure from variable variability and the facility's too small. You get all sorts of things that come up. And sometimes I think maybe even more so than what senior leaders and executives may, may give them credit for. You know, I mean, there is a lot of things that that happen. I mean, there's a lot of pain points that they're solving. So how can you help them? I mean, I mean, where does zebra come in? I mean, how can zebra help with this type of reality that ops leaders have on the floor, which is just, you know, I'm balancing I'm wearing like, 50 different hats and solving all these problems every day. You know, we're we're we're some relief to that. Where can you come in on that?
Speaker 1
[00.30.21]
Yeah. It's a it's a good question. So, um, you know, it's and it's a little bit, you know, I, I, we for years and years we would use the analogy of the whack a mole game right where you're trying to. Oh yeah. To, to knock them down as they come up. But, but really in today's world, I think, I think businesses are trying to get out ahead of that so that it's not a reactive, Um, you know, from a zebra perspective, our goal is to provide, you know, foundational intelligent operations, right? So and in whatever you need to accomplish in your warehouse, uh, zebras there. And they've been there for, for many, many years to, to, uh, to help take you to the, to the next level and solve for whatever challenge you're trying to solve for, um, you know, our, our ability to help with, with on the automation side, um, whether it be, uh, in-line automation or at the front line, you know, asset builders visibility. Um, and, and, you know, most of our processes, uh, try to help those frontline, uh, operators. So, um, you know, I think, I think it just goes back to, you know, spending more time, uh, with, with your, your zebra, uh, solutions experts to help, uh, help understand how we can help. So because, um, at the end of the day, uh, regardless of what, uh, what technology and what, uh, what functional areas you want to touch, uh, and whether it's incremental or, uh, transformational, uh, we can help, right? Um, and, uh, so, yeah, it's.
Speaker 2
[00.32.00]
Yeah. Yeah. And I think, I think it's just great to have partners like that. You know, I mean, to just have somebody that can go, hey, I, I, I have been in your shoes. Right? Like, I have been in these facilities for years, for decades. So like, I get it right. Like, give me your feedback, let me know where I can help and I'll kind of build it from there. You know, it's a solution for you, not something that's being just pushed onto you. And I think that that's a that's a big difference. So now let me ask you this, this last question, because I've seen you quote this online on LinkedIn. I follow you on LinkedIn. Other people should too, because, you know, you're putting out some really good stuff out there. And that is that. The biggest challenge in your distribution center today isn't moving pallets. It's moving data. And I like this quote a lot because to me it speaks to two things. One, the tried and true advice that every ops leader gets is, you know, hey, you need to walk the floor. All you need, every solution is out there. You just go walk the floor. And that is true. I mean, there is a lot of benefit from that. You cannot be a good leader without walking the floor and being aware of what's happening out there in the facility. But it's not enough. It's not enough in 2026 and beyond because it's digital now, right? There's so many things that are happening in the virtual world that you need to know and understand and to I think with data and and people will say this a lot. It's great that we have all this data, but what are we going to do with it? And somebody and something behind the scenes kind of has to be like making it all work, right? Like all these different ingredients. And they got to be kind of orchestrating it for lack of a better term. So first of all, you know, do you agree with me on that two thing that walking the floor is good, but the data matters and there has to be things that are actually doing something with that data to make it worthwhile, because otherwise it's just it's it's worthless. It's just a big pile of, of numbers like The matrix one zero.
Speaker 1
[00.34.04]
Sure. Yeah. No, 100%. Um, you know, that's that old adage, um, you know, the importance of walking the floor, that really what that translates to is, is leadership being in touch with what's going on and. Absolutely right. And, um, you know, I think, uh. Data in today's world of trying to figure out where AI is going to play in each of these workflows. Um, the the ever the the importance of of data is never been more important. Um, and the data needs to be accurate and it needs to be relevant. Um, you know, you think about something just as simple as whether or not, um, you're, you're, you're the a pen that you have is, uh, is blue or black ink. Just think about something that important in you, you know, hundreds of thousands of pens every day. Um, that that's a pretty that that, uh, that you or K in that, uh, two letter abbreviation can be, can be pretty important. Um, but but yeah, the, you know, the, the collection of that data, um, is very important today. I see that as a big pain point in, in customers businesses. Um, where where they're, you know, they get a new item in. They're having to take it over to a particular area. Um, and, uh, and do something with it to, to understand the dimensions of the product. Um, you know, uh, zebra's able to do that, uh, on a device now, uh, in, in the, in the flow of a receiving operation. So, um, just choosing opportunities to simplify where, how you capture data and what you do with that data. Uh, is, is something that's going to continue to grow. Um, the, the the other concern I think is, is with the amount of data. Right. Understanding what, what's important, what's being used and what's not. Um, because the, the, the storage and the pull of that data is, is, uh, is very important. So. So yeah, it's a, it's a big deal in today's world. Uh, it's it's top, top three. Top four of every every customer wants to talk.
Speaker 2
[00.36.21]
Yeah, absolutely. And it's not going away. It's only going to accelerate because the ops leaders out there like you, you need to get on board with this. You need to understand how all this works and is happening, because that is going to give you a competitive advantage if you have it, if you do, and if you don't, you're going to be at a severe disadvantage because other people are going to have that. And when they interview for, you know, roles, they're going to they're going to know and they're going to really help. So I agree with you on that. Get get smart with the data and the digital what's happening out there. You you will be happy that you did. So West where can people find out more about you? You know I know you're out there on LinkedIn. You're all across the trade show. So, you know, where can people find you and what have you got work and working up for the rest of 26 and 27 and beyond, maybe.
Speaker 1
[00.37.08]
Yeah. So so LinkedIn is the best way to connect if we're not already connected. Um, I definitely am always at the trade shows. I'll be I'll be on the stage at, uh, at Pro Matt this year or next, next year. April, I guess it is looking forward to that presentation. Um, I'll be at the At the Zebra exhibit as well, uh, at Paramount. So, so looking forward to that one in Chicago. Um, you know, uh, I, I as far as what's up and coming for me, um, every week is a is a new challenge. It's a new customer. Um, and I, uh, you know, I had to boogie through that because the following week, I'm, I'm at a different customer, so I. I've gotten pretty good at, uh, consuming that those notes and pictures and and turning that report pretty quickly. Uh, but but for me, it's the importance of the continuing education that I get from all these, these opportunities to be in front of, uh, to be in front of businesses and, and help them improve and let that carry forward to, to help the future businesses that I visit even more.
Speaker 2
[00.38.14]
Yep. Well, I, I love that about us. I mean, I appreciate people that do it that way, that understand the pain points are in there on the floor, comfortable in that environment. And really you're trying to create real solutions that are gonna work there for that real world, the operational reality. I respect that a lot. And, you know, if I make it to the trade shows coming up, I'll definitely come by and, uh, and say hello and I'll be I'll bring you some swag. I have some warehouse underground swag. So I'll bring you some of that so you can have that. Love
Speaker 1
[00.38.43]
it. Love it. Shake shake shake. Show all your.
Speaker 2
[00.38.45]
Show all your friends. Nah. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I appreciate it, Wes. Man, it was a really good chat with with you. You know, you're a wealth of knowledge. This podcast is just not even scratching the surface of all that. I know that, but I hope it's enough to really send people your way and zebras way because you know you're doing it the right way. You're doing some great stuff out there and, uh, some great solutions for operators everywhere. So good on you, man. I really appreciate
Speaker 1
[00.39.08]
that. Thanks, man. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2
[00.39.10]
Yeah, you got it. Also show. Take care. Wes. I'll see you around, man.
Speaker 1
[00.39.14]
Sounds good. Bye bye.
Speaker 2
[00.39.18]
All right. Check out Wes Coleman today. Follow him on LinkedIn if you are not already doing so. The guy is a great you know, came from the warehouse, came from the trenches, understands it very well. Travels around the country is one of us. He gets it and he's providing some real solutions. So I love when folks do it that way. So check out Wes Coleman today. Cyber Technologies. Thank you guys for appearing on the podcast. As the Warehouse Underground goes, please sign up for the community. Wes is a member of the community, by the way. He signed up this morning. I'll mention that. So it's a free community online. There's over 350 people that are part of it in there. We have message boards, networking. We do some live events, some live shows in their resources, you name it. Very cool. Check out the Warehouse Underground Comm community and sign up today and see what you think. Let me know what you think about that once you go in there. And also please check out the other podcasts that I do. It's called the Tiger Team Show. I do it with my co-host named Jordan, and we have a special guest, a stand in guest who's going to be in our next show, episode 12. So look out, look out for that. I'm not sure when that's going to release yet, hopefully in the next couple of weeks. So that show is not like the show at all. It's all about life in warehouses, distribution centers and fulfillment centers, the culture, but with some wit and humor and sarcasm draped all over it. So if you're working out there in those facilities and you want some lighthearted relief, check out that show today. You will understand right away what we are talking about with the humor on that show. As this podcast goes, I will see everyone next week or another episode. Thank you for listening. Bye bye.
