It is obvious that IT is drastically affecting the world we live in. This has been said a thousand times this semester. But just as another example, there are many things that have been created and implemented into retail that make a huge difference in employment. I work in retail so I see these types of technologies first hand.
This a device called a Portable Data Terminal (PDT). It is basically a mobile computer with a built-in scanner. I've seen different styles at other retail stores. Parcel service companies utilize these to greater develop package tracking. It has the ability to tell us anything about any store's inventory. For example, a customer wants a shirt but we don't have his size; we can simply get out a PDT and scan the item and it will show what store around has his size. Also, if we are currently out of stock on an item, we can tell if there is more in transit. This device can receive shipments, transfer product, order more products, make signs/labels, and perform price changes (just to name a few). The PDT saves us a lot of time, and helps us help our customers.
Interesting article! Yes I believe technology can dramatically improve our lives. Like what you mentioned in the blog that PDT can save a lot of time for employees. However, do you think employees will complain about doing much more work but receive same payment everyday (since most of companies who use PDT such as grocery stores and cloth stores pay hourly)? And do you think companies would hire less people due to the efficiency of PDT?
ReplyDeleteI worked lots of retail and have used those before as well. I personally did not like using those scanners. we had to use those to do inventory and to check on items for customers. It's time consuming and my store particularly was not very accurate even with those devices
ReplyDeleteI think these devices are great and help to tremendously reduce the amount of time it takes to conduct various inventory processes manually. While nothing is completely fool proof, I believe this device is a great asset to retail stores worldwide.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is a great asset when It comes to doing inventory. Having the ability to just scan the items as you go and have the info go to a database instead of having to keep track manually is such a better way to go about doing things.
DeleteThis device, in my opinion, doesn't save as much time as companies think, but it does facilitate the ease with which companies can spit out reports for better decision making. This is a great tie in to MIS.
ReplyDeleteOn the surface these devices seem like an excellent addition to a business, particularly a retail establishment. However, I would be concerned that employees would blindly rely on the information these devices give them, which is only as accurate as whomever inputs it. I would also worry about employees with their faces down reading these devices and potentially not noticing what is going on in the store around them. If I managed a retail business, I would implement these devices cautiously and only with a thorough training program.
ReplyDeleteI think these devices can be very good and effective for many industries and employees because it can be easy for employees to perform price checks and inventory counts, also save time, and inventory counts can be done conveniently and effectively. I also heard that is becoming harder to find replacements parts for these kind of devices , and it can also be very expensive to repair these devices, so that will be one disadvantage about this kind of device. NICE TOPIC!
ReplyDeleteThis device is very convenient for us. It is useful not only for customers but also for the company, because the company can get more profit if customers want to put their size in other stores.
ReplyDeleteIT is leading the way has definitely taken over. Everything is being taken over by the IT world as you can see. I can even believe that it will even begin to affect and take over jobs in a way that we won't even believe. Hopefully that is many decades from now.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it seems that IT is taking a lot of jobs away but it is also providing us with many new jobs in fields like programming, information systems analyst and other tec related professions.
DeleteI think that is a very cool and convenient device. It would be nice if all stores had the ability to make the same accommodations for their customers. I just wonder how it will work since not all stores carry the same merchandise or even brand names. Also, I wonder if it will be accurate. If proper inventory of the merchandise are not done; the item can be sitting there somewhere and not get sold, or vice versa. This can definitely have negative impact on the company, including very dissatisfied customers.
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