Reaching for a small plastic card during payment transactions is becoming increasingly rare; instead, people simply hold their smartphone—with NFC enabled—up to the reader. And just like that, the transaction is complete. While the B2C sector has long had its own specialists in usability, in business processes it’s often treated as an afterthought: submenus and nested navigation paths with cryptic abbreviations are—still—the norm in industry software.
Learning vs. Knowing How
Yet there is enormous potential in adapting to existing user habits. Instead of laboriously explaining to new order pickers how the workflow works when switching devices, you can simply summarize it as “Just like contactless payment with a smartphone.” In contrast, the current reality in warehouses usually still looks like this:
- Go to a terminal near the replacement devices
- Open the third-party device management app
- Select your own MDT there
- Select “Transfer Status”
- Find the new MDT in the list and confirm again
- Wait for the third-party software to transfer the status to the WMS
- Confirm again, depending on the software—better safe than sorry
There are indeed alternatives that bypass the fixed terminal by using QR codes or user login on the device. While this reduces complexity, it may raise new issues: Login credentials must be readily available, and QR code scanning must work flawlessly. And behind the scenes, communication between the third-party software and the WMS must function seamlessly.
KISS – Keep it simple (and) short
Our answer: Device management belongs in the WMS. That’s why, with SML.BUMP, we’re expanding our device management integrated into TUP. WMS with this gesture everyone has long been familiar with.
The industry already knows a similar process as “Tap-to-Pair”—primarily used there for pairing MDTs and scanners. We’re taking it a step further: Two devices are held together, tokens are exchanged, and the same proven security logic used for virtual credit cards ensures that no one loses control—and work continues right away on the new device. Seven steps are reduced to a single gesture. The benefit lies not only in usability but also in the elimination of coordination efforts: no training, no explanations, no thinking. Just hold them together—done.
How We Approach Usability and Process Reliability
Our approach, “Software follows function,” has its roots in the Bauhaus principle “Form follows function.” For us, this means: We don’t view warehouse processes through the lens of software just to squeeze them into menus. We take into account the people who bring these processes to life every day. That’s why we offload complexity to where it belongs: into the automation running in the background. What remains is what matters: seamless, intuitive processes that support work rather than merely managing it.
