2021 Budgeting Season is Here!

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Budgeting

Budgeting

Are you budgeting for 2021? Not the most exhilarating activity when it comes to running your facility, but it is an essential part of maintaining profitability. Whether you run a healthcare clinic, large IDN, manufacturing facility, energy company/installation, or you run a utility company, it’s a necessary task that sets you up well for the following year.

I think we can all agree that 2020 got away from us in regard to the budget and keeping on track. Were there some projects or plans that got pushed to the wayside? Maybe some necessary technology improvements that you consequentially postponed?

Let’s explore some of the different styles of budget planning*:

Traditional Extended Budget

6 months or more of the year is spent investing in budget development. The figures used are loosely based on a full picture of the previous year, but because the process can take months, the results are often immediately out-of-date.

Flex Budgeting

This approach was developed to address the inaccuracies of an annual budget that leans on volume estimates and forecasts that are not based on historical data. Calculating the variable budget based on actual volumes of the relevant components.

This approach takes actual volumes experienced by the organization and flexes the variable budget revenues and expenses accordingly. This style of budgeting is based on what has actually happened versus was has been speculated.

Continuous or Rolling Budget

Each month, the budget is extended as the year progresses therefore always having a “12 month” budget in place beginning each month. This approach reduces the effort required for the budget process and therefore allows it to be more flexible.

Where does your organization fit in? If you are like the majority of organizations, you are probably viewing your budgets for next year with a tighter lens and stronger grip on your wallets.

Let’s take healthcare for example. Healthcare budgeting innovation has historically been lagging in responsiveness to the times**. The lag is caused by many different factors; use of traditional budget strategy and several different departments that typically have their own budgets and their own agendas. Many of the departments carry differing weights to their perceived importance, but they absolutely carry different needs, varying expense levels, and differing profit margins to consider. These battling departments either wind up getting favorable treatment or losing out on some necessary restocking or upgrade plans.

If these stories are resonating with you. You are not alone. There is, however, a strategy that can help many organizations in the circumstance where there are battling departments or divisions. Many utilize a centralized innovation budget**. This budget is specifically created for the purchasing and upgrading of technology and software amid different departments. It is dedicated to the upgrading of technology versus simply the essential consumables that the departments need. Each department can draw from that budget for the special needs and the authority is held by a central party.

It is likely that you skipped on some upgrading or “refreshing” of the essential support products that make your facility hum. While you have likely “made it” this year without the upgrades, it has likely had an effect on your efficiency in comparison to the upgraded materials. If you are looking to make those upgrades and request those budgetary funds, SK&T Integration can assist you with that. If you are needing to upgrade things like your scanners, label printers, RFID equipment, or reorder your quarterly supply of any label sizes you require we can help you get the necessary upgrades and refresh your stocks.

At SK&T Integration, we specialize in putting together holistic plans that incorporate all your needs. We listen, formulate a plan and presentation that fit your needs specifically, and then deliver a proposal at superior pricing that will save you time, effort, and more importantly budget. On top of saving money on the overall upgrade, consider the amount of time you are saving over a year by making your facility run smoother.

What does an upgrade through SK&T Integration mean to your business?

  • Healthcare: Imagine how much more time you get to spend with patients
  • Manufacturing: producing your customer’s biggest orders in shorter timeframes
  • Warehousing: increasing staging and load efficiency by even the smallest percentage could equate to more business, less misses, and fewer accidents
  • Retail: customer interaction is a better experience and you can create a contactless option for your consumers.

Find some more information about the solutions and partners SK&T works with by following this LINK. Or, reach out directly to our sales staff at info@skandt.com.

* “The Next Generation of Budgeting for Healthcare” https://www.hfma.org/topics/article/62571.html

** “Hospital Budget Systems Are Holding Back Innovation https://hbr.org/2018/03/hospital-budget-systems-are-holding-back-innovation

Vigilant Solutions – A Case Study

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Read the full article on at ASAMonitor.org

In late 2012, an outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to contaminated epidural steroids led to 753 infections and 64 deaths (asamonitor.pub/3ez66BW). Congressional inquiries

identified a slow FDA response and limited congressional intervention due to political and jurisdictional issues. Congress passed the Drug Quality and Security Act

(asamonitor.pub/3gW3sYo) in November 2013 to prevent future actions against pharmaceutical and compounding facility events from getting caught in similar red tape and delaying prevention of patient harm. The act includes sections that address loopholes in compounding regulations and drug supply chain monitoring. Drug supply chain monitoring requires “unit level traceability” by 2023, which means tracking individual vials and packages through the supply chain as they are packaged and repackaged and ultimately distributed to individual pharmacies. While the FDA has clarified that dispensing related to filling prescriptions and point-of-care delivered doses are exempted at this time (asamonitor.pub/38Ty0Y1), the legislation reflects the regulation and oversight trend to require barcode medication administration workflows throughout health care.

Barcode medication administration typically involves linking barcodes of both the patient identifier and the National Drug Code that is required to be present by law on all drug packaging. After a drug is dispensed, the patient and pharmaceutical are both electronically identified by barcode prior to administration, which allows the electronic health record (EHR) system to cross check existing orders against the drug and dose in hand. This workflow also facilitates documentation accuracy and administration timing, both of which reduce downstream medication administration errors.

Many facilities already use EHR technology with mandatory barcode medication administration in their inpatient care areas, but meaningful barcode medication administration doesn’t exist in most anesthetizing locations across the country despite high rates of drug delivery during operations. Drug administrations are commonly recorded on handwritten paper records or stylized EHR modules designed to mimic paper charting. Both methods favor the addition of drugs to the record only

after administration. Even when intraoperative barcode medication administration is available, adoption rates are extremely low due to clinician resistance and the significantly different administration workflow necessary in high-criticality areas.

Perhaps the most important workflow difference in the OR compared to other health care areas is that original pharmaceutical packaging is usually no longer available at administration. Drug preparation patterns in the OR include single patient multi-dosing and syringe preparation by clinicians before patient arrival. Vials are commonly discarded or separately stored from the syringes that now hold their contents. Syringe label printers are more common in ORs to improve labeling compliance and are a potential solution for OR barcode medication administration. Even when workflow obstacles are overcome, however, clinician resistance remains. A recent study demonstrated that label printer use in the OR improved barcode medication administration compliance, but not until anesthesia clinicians were incentivized with coffee.

Anesthesiology has a storied history of leadership in revolutionizing health care safety. Through the 1970s and 1980s, standardization of monitoring, equipment interfaces, and machine checkout protocols had exponential effects on reducing mortality and complication rates. Creation of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF), the Closed Claims Database Project, the Anesthesia Quality Institute (AQI), and the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry (NACOR®) have all contributed to our continued success as a specialty in pushing the envelope to keep the OR as safe as possible. The NACOR database has been particularly useful in tracking complication rates over the past decade, with reported medication errors appearing in approximately one out of every 300 cases (Anesthesiology 2015;123:1312-21). Inpatient studies demonstrate that barcode medication administration can reduce the relative risk of medication errors (J Hosp Pharm 2016;69:394-402). This evidence and more led to an APSF expert consensus conference on medication safety in 2018 that suggested the need for barcode medication administration in the O.R. and made specific recommendations (asamonitor.pub/2Ok8P7w):

  • Encourage and support the development of technologies that can identify drugs and directly link these to documentation in electronic medical records.
  • Develop collaborative efforts with electronic medical record corporations that support drug identification, documentation Oxford, and patient safety.
  • Encourage the perioperative practice of identifying and documenting drugs before administering them.

Ideally, EHRs are built by vendors to meet regulations and consumer demand. The rudimentary functions of barcode medication administration do exist for anesthesia modules in major EHR systems. To meet our specialty’s needs in the future, development surrounding barcode medication administration workflows and technology will likely require active lobbying by EHR users and regulatory pressure. Government and payer incentive programs, administrative body oversight, and society recommendations and guidelines have led to many of the quality and patient safety EHR features we enjoy today.

As individual clinicians, and as a specialty, we must return to our rich history to build a better system and not rest on our laurels, believing “only other people make those mistakes” with medications. Medication errors persist as a common root cause of patient harm in the OR, most being preventable. OR technology and EHR systems have evolved and could allow barcode medication administration workflows to become commonplace and reduce these preventable errors. Before legislation and regulation forces us to u

se systems not designed specifically for the OR, we need to lead innovation efforts and adopt effective solutions for the OR.

ASA could make formal recommendations regarding routine barcode medication administration use, as ASA did with pulse oximetry, which would lead EHR systems to be incentivized by guidelines and specialty demand to develop the technology for an optimized intraoperative barcode medication administration workflow. In addition, we could expect continuous improvement and innovation that would reduce barriers to both implementation and adoption.

© 2020 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

 

How to Disinfect and Protect Your Zebra Mobile Devices During COVID-19

Disinfecting Zebra Mobile

Disinfecting Zebra Mobile

To minimize the spread of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not just important to wash our hands, avoid touching our face, and maintain social distancing. It’s also critical to disinfect and clean our mobile devices regularly, especially in the healthcare industry and in enterprise businesses that are providing essential services. The same will apply to businesses that re-open in the future under local guidelines and restrictions.

For healthcare providers and businesses that use Zebra enterprise mobile devices, here are some important tips and reminders about disinfecting and cleaning your Zebra hardware at this crucial time.

 

  1. Know the right way to clean your mobile devices.

Disinfecting mobile computers, tablets, printers, scanners, and other devices is critical to infection control in workplaces and public spaces. It’s especially vital for protecting healthcare workers on the front lines against the COVID-19 virus.

A device cleaning policy should be in place and enforced in every organization, to ensure that employees are properly disinfecting their devices on a regular basis.

Guidance must be specific to each device since different devices are manufactured with different components and materials, and their physical designs vary.

If you’re using healthcare-grade Zebra devices, Zebra Technologies has issued disinfection guidelines for Zebra healthcare-grade scanners, printers, and mobile computers. Click the preceding links to access those guidelines.

For non-healthcare models of Zebra products, you can look up the User Guide for your exact model on the support section of Zebra’s website and turn to the Cleaning Instructions section. Once you’ve accessed the user guide, search the document for the word “clean,” and that should take you to the appropriate section.

In Zebra’s user guides, you’ll find step-by-step instructions on how to thoroughly disinfect each device’s casing, buttons, screen (if applicable), and more. You can also confirm which cleaning agents are safe to use, including the purity or formulation levels for each ingredient.

If anything is unclear or you have questions, contact our team at SK&T, and we’ll be happy to help.

For those in the healthcare industry, we also recommend reading Zebra’s white paper, “Best Practices for Infection Prevention,” written by Darrel Hicks, a nationally recognized expert in infection control. The paper provides recommendations for additional precautions the healthcare industry should take to protect the health of providers and patients.

 

  1. Protect your devices from virtual viruses too.

Unfortunately, anytime there’s a crisis, cybercriminals and scammers take advantage of the chaos to victimize people. This is why it’s important to make sure all your enterprise mobile devices are protected against virtual viruses and other IT security threats.

Our partners at Zebra have an excellent white paper on this topic as well, called “Establishing a Robust Mobile Security Policy.” It covers the key risks to mobile devices and how you can avoid them. There’s also a good overview of Zebra’s current security platform here.

Make sure you’re following the recommended security guidelines and that your devices have the latest updates and protections to keep them safe.

 

  1. Reach out for support when you need it.

If you’re having any problem with your mobile devices, or if your current mobile infrastructure isn’t keeping up with your tracking and automation needs during the COVID-19 pandemic or beyond, contact our experts at SK&T for professional assistance.

We can help you optimize and keep your mobile workflows running to ensure responsiveness and efficiency at this time of great strain on our economy, society, and the healthcare system.

Ask us any question about any mobility issue. Contact an SK&T technology specialist now and we’ll respond as quickly as possible.

How Ambulatory Surgery Centers Can Save Costs and Ensure Patient Safety with Positive Patient Identification

Zebra - Patient Identification

This year ambulatory surgery centers are taking a massive hit from COVID-19 shutdowns Zebra - Patient Identificationand cancellations of all elective surgeries.

Under normal circumstances, surgery centers have a tough enough time providing high-quality care and surgical procedures while keeping costs under control. But the financial reality has been turned upside down this year, and ambulatory surgery centers will be battling unprecedented challenges in patient safety and cost control.

Fortunately, one effective strategy to minimize risks and costs for patients and providers is to invest in a positive patient identification and mobile workflow strategy.

Error-proofing patient identification is a critical first step, and it’s absolutely crucial to ensuring patient and provider safety, especially in the era of COVID-19.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the stakes are particularly high, but even under normal circumstances, patient identification issues are at the heart of some startlingly negative statistics:

  • 13% of surgical mistakes are directly related to patient ID errors1

  • 35% of denied medical claims result from inaccurate patient ID or incomplete patient information1

  • 1.3 million people (1 per day) are injured annually due to medication errors2

  • 64% of clinicians say a patient is misidentified very frequently or all the time in a typical facility1

  • 63% of healthcare organizations say incorrect identification at registration is the primary cause for misidentification1

Now that we’re battling a pandemic on top of these other risks, the best way to fight back is with a positive patient identification strategy using barcode wristbands.

Toward that end, our team at SK&T has teamed up with Zebra Technologies to provide leading surgery centers with simple and cost-effective solutions to ensure accurate patient identification, seamless medication matching, and successful surgeries and claims.

By equipping ambulatory surgery centers with Zebra’s ZD510-HC wristband printing solution and Z-Band disinfectant-ready barcode wristbands, we provide a complete system to ensure flawless identification from admission and medication administration to surgical procedure and final discharge.

Our solution helps replace manual and error-prone identification processes and track patients, procedures and medications accurately to reduce risk, deliver safer care, and prevent denied medical claims.

And, Zebra’s Z-Band wristbands are disinfectant-ready and can withstand harsh cleaning solvents, including 70% alcohol solutions and healthcare-grade sanitizers.

Moreover, we’re working with Zebra to help surgery centers streamline their patient care workflows and maximize cost-saving productivity with mobile technologies such as touch mobile computers and tablets.

For example, Zebra’s TC52-HC healthcare mobile computer puts all the tools for mobile and efficient patient care at providers’ fingertips. It combines high-powered mobile computing; real-time voice, text, and alerts; and advanced 1D/2D barcode scanning in a single device that can be disinfected and has a virtually seamless housing to help prevent the spread of bacteria.

In addition to providing Zebra’s positive patient identification solutions and running your EHR, lab software, or other applications, the TC52-HC is also an all-in-one device for bedside and mobile patient care. Many of our clients have been using these and other Zebra devices, such as tablets and barcode scanners, to automate more of their workflows, save time, and coordinate better care at a crucial time for everyone involved.

If saving costs and keeping your patients and providers safe are top priorities for your surgery center, contact SK&T now to learn more about our Zebra solutions. We’ll show you how we can help you error-proof your patient identification and create a more efficient operation through the power of technology.

 

1 The Ponemon Institute, 2016 National Patient Misidentification Report

2 World Health Organization, “WHO launches global effort to halve medication-related errors in 5 years”

Here’s How Your Barcode Labels Could Be Damaging Your Printer

When we’re printing barcode labels, many of us like to save on costs, so we buy cheaper labels and printing supplies. But we don’t realize that the money we save on up-front costs will often turn into much higher costs in the long run.

This is because cheaper labels and printing supplies are usually made with low-grade materials that aren’t consistently manufactured and can actually damage our printers. They can also cause major issues with print quality, label adhesion, and barcode scannability.

In the end, using cheaper supplies adds up to costly printer servicing and repairs and disruptions to scanning and data capture workflows that often far outweigh any savings we got by spending less money at the outset.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the reasons why cheaper barcode labels and supplies cause these problems. We’ll also talk about how to avoid them by spending a bit more to buy high-quality and pre-tested labels and supplies that are properly matched to your application and needs.

Investing in the right supplies is the best way to minimize your labeling costs and ensure seamless data capture processes.  The long-term cost-effectiveness has proven during our 20-plus years of experience in recommending and delivering barcoding solutions across a wide range of industries and use cases. So let’s get started.

Cheap barcode labels and supplies cause a range of costly and damaging issues because they’re designed for low up-front costs and not quality printing and adhesion. They’re also not usually made to match specific labeling application needs, and they’re not designed to minimize wear on your printheads, which is where costly damage and replacements come into play.

How can you tell if your supplies are destined to cause more harm?

One of the first problems is low print quality, whether it’s blurry or faded barcode labels, or some other quality issues. This occurs due to the rougher surfaces of cheap barcode labels, which cause excessive printhead wear.

To compensate for poor print quality, you usually have to make a lot of printer adjustments that require more ink or ribbon, which uses up your supplies. But your printhead still gets worn out prematurely, which can cost you thousands of dollars in early replacements.

Next comes heat sensitivity, especially if you’re using direct thermal printing. Cheap labels are often sensitive to heat and create more print quality issues, requiring more printer adjustments and wasted supplies.

Additionally, if you’re using cheap, low-quality labels, your label adhesives can easily fail, meaning your labels don’t stick. In the end, you can end up with damaged and unreadable labels due exposure to sunlight, moisture, water or chemicals.

If your labels need to adhere and be readable in these conditions, low-cost supplies won’t cut it. You need specialized label materials, adhesives, and printer ribbons, or you’ll end up with smudged, smeared, damaged, scratched, or otherwise unscannable labels that can even fall off.

To avoid all of these issues and minimize long-term labeling costs, it’s always best to choose quality and long-term savings over up-front costs. For true cost savings, it is imperative that you make sure your labels and printing supplies match your application requirements.

What can you do about this problem?

One simple way to do that is to invest in the best barcode labels and supplies. At SK&T, one of our esteemed partners is Zebra Technologies. Zebra, for example, manufactures all of its products with ISO-certified quality processes and rigorous pre-testing to ensure proper adhesion, scannability, durability, and minimal printhead wear.

At SK&T, we carry over 500 stock Zebra printing supplies products, and when you use Zebra printers and agree to use Zebra supplies exclusively, you also get 100% guaranteed protection against premature printhead replacements.

To learn more, contact our labeling experts at SK&T for pricing and recommendations.

Solving the Challenges of Compliant Medical Labeling

We understand that hospitals and surgery centers are constantly looking for ways to improve the process of medication labeling and documentation. Proper medication labeling leads to proper patient safety. In the past solutions have been complicated…until now.

We are excited to be partnering with Vigilant Software, founded by an anesthesiologist who was looking for an easy way to accurately label surgical medications in the operating room.

Read more about Vigilant’s Click-to-Comply system.

To learn more about our solutions in the Healthcare industry, contact an SK&T technology specialist now for a quick discovery call.

Matching Healthcare Patients to the Right Care

Positive and accurate patient identification is absolutely critical in healthcare. A single mistake can lead to a dangerous mix-up of medications, a treatment error, or even death. Sadly, recent statistics show that we have a long way to go in avoiding mistakes and ensuring patient safety through positive identification.

  • 3 million people are still injured annually due to medication errors
  • 13% of surgical mistakes are directly related to patient ID errors
  • 64% of clinicians say a patient is misidentified “very frequently” or “all the time” in a typical medical facility
  • 63% of healthcare organizations say incorrect identification at registration is the prime cause

Thankfully, we don’t have to settle for these startling statistics. Technology now makes it much easier to ensure flawless patient identification, and one of the latest innovations is Zebra’s new ZD510-HC healthcare wristband printer paired with Z-Band healthcare wristbands.

Zebra’s ZD510-HC printer is designed specifically to provide the quickest and most effective way to identify patients accurately, from registration throughout the entire continuum of care. It’s validated for use with AllScripts, CareFusion, Cerner, CPSI, Epic, McKesson and all leading admission, discharge and transfer systems.

The ZD510-HC printer integrates with these systems to print barcoded identifying wristbands with exceptional quality, ensuring optimum image durability and first-time scanning, even for narrow barcodes. It also includes a disinfectant-ready and UV-resistant housing to handle regular sanitizing with harsh chemicals as well as exposure to UV light.

The printer is also the easiest wristband printer to use on the market, with fast-loading Zebra Z-Brand wristband cartridges. You can just pop them in and start printing.

Zebra’s Z-Band wristbands come in a wide variety of options, with antimicrobial coatings and hand-sanitizer resistance, so you can prevent the spread of germs while ensuring accurate patient identification and better patient safety.

Z-Bands deliver two to six times the durability of other products, and they’re available in a wide variety of sizes, from infants to adults. Adhesive and clip closures are also available for extra safety, and there are even additional options for sensitive skin.

Importantly, Z-Bands are also MR-Safe, so they don’t present additional patient hazards during MRI procedures.

Each wristband cartridge also contains a smartchip for automatic calibration. The ZD510-HC uses the smartchip to instantly identify the wristband size and automatically configure print darkness and speed settings to ensure optimal quality and maximize wristband durability.

Connectivity is also reliable and easy with Ethernet, USB, USB Host and Bluetooth LE as standard options. You can also choose an optional 802.11ac wireless connection and Bluetooth 4.1 with concurrent wired and wireless communications.

The device is powerfully secure and includes the latest wireless security protocols plus advanced security and management features such as Zebra’s PrintSecure, which allows you to configure your printer to use secure connections, block unwanted access, and protect your data and infrastructure.

The ZD510-HC also simplifies HIPAA compliance with direct thermal printing, so there are no printer ribbons to secure, incinerate or shred.

If easy yet accurate patient identification and improved patient safety are priorities in your healthcare facility, we strongly recommend Zebra’s ZD510-HC wristband printer and Z-Band wristbands. Our technology experts at SK&T have been recommending and deploying Zebra patient identification systems in healthcare facilities for years, and the ZD510-HC is the most convenient, advanced and effective solution we’ve seen to date.

To learn more about the ZD510-HC and Zebra’s patient identification solutions, contact an SK&T technology specialist now for a quick discovery call.

Here’s What’s Different with the 2019 GO Zebra Trade-In Program (And Why You Should Check It Out)

If you use enterprise mobile and printing technologies, and especially Zebra products, you may already be familiar with the GO Zebra Trade-in Program. But there are changes to the program this year, and it’s worth a careful look, particularly if you’re planning to upgrade your legacy devices or migrate from Windows to Android in the coming months.

The GO Zebra program offers significant rebate savings when you trade in your existing mobile devices or printers and upgrade to the latest next-generation technologies.

Rebates start at $15 to $25 for relatively inexpensive devices but reach as much as $650 per device, depending on the hardware you trade in. You can even get these savings by trading in qualifying non-Zebra devices.

This year, in addition to adding some of the newest Zebra technologies to the program, Zebra has expanded trade-ins to include barcode scanners. Savings are now available on the following products:

  • Handheld mobile computers
  • Vehicle-mounted mobile computers
  • Rugged enterprise tablets
  • Smartphone-style touch computers
  • Barcode scanners
  • Industrial printers
  • Mobile printers
  • Card printers
  • Select charging stations
  • Mobile printer batteries

The expansion of GO Zebra is great news for companies that need to upgrade their aging, underperforming devices and take advantage of the latest technological breakthroughs—without paying full price.

It’s also timely for businesses that are facing the end of support for all remaining Windows Embedded Handheld operating systems. This end of support is wreaking havoc on many organizations, leaving them with the prospect of running an unsupported operating system with no security patches and potentially major security risks.

Fortunately, the mobile device industry has responded by making Android the new enterprise mobile OS of choice. It’s now available on over 90% of all enterprise-grade devices, and it offers a more intuitive and user-friendly interface, plus touch mobile computing that makes apps and workflows as simple as tapping on a screen or swiping to enter data.

With new Android devices such as Zebra’s MC9300 mobile computer, you can even combine Android’s touch simplicity with a traditional keypad and an ultra-rugged handheld device that provides advanced barcode scanning as well.

Alternatively, you can choose an Android smartphone-style touch computer, a rugged enterprise tablet, or even a revolutionary device such as Zebra’s TC8300 touch mobile computer. The TC8300 combines touch computing and tilt-free barcode scanning in a warehouse data capture and productivity device that boosts worker productivity by 14% and enables 40% faster data entry with 60% fewer errors.

Security has also been simplified thanks to Zebra’s Mobility Extensions (Mx), which is available on all its 20+ Android devices. These extensions turn Android into a powerfully secure enterprise OS that gives companies complete control over every device, app, connection, and user access. Android’s over-the-air updates also make it easy to install the latest security patches to keep devices protected, and Zebra offers 10 years of guaranteed OS support and security updates with its LifeGuard™ for Android™ program.

In addition to usability and security benefits, Android also makes migrating to a new OS much easier. Its open architecture, global developer community, and sample code allow enterprise Android mobile apps to be developed much faster and more efficiently, which lowers the total time and cost of a migration.

Thanks to the GO Zebra Trade-in Program, all of these benefits are available at significant savings. Contact SK&T now to help you determine if this program is right for you, whether your current devices qualify, and how much you can potentially save.

Our Total Solution Approach to Improve Your Supply Chain Operations

At SK&T, we have over 20 years of experience with clients across almost every vertical. Over the past few decades, we’ve refined and optimized our approach to helping clients improve supply chain operations. The result is a unique total solution plan that we now use with clients in any industry. In this post, we’ll outline our approach and how it benefits clients and their end customers.

Our Unique Approach

First, we take a deep-dive into your operations. We will identify what supplies and media you need to keep and what materials you need to invest in. Once we’ve determined what your needs are, we develop a comprehensive, total solution that identifies, tracks, and manages your assets and transactions.

As a result of our unique approach, our clients see reduced costs, higher return on initial investment, and improved efficiency.

Identifying Your Needs

Because our client base is so diverse, we have expertise in a variety of verticals. Using our in-depth knowledge of operations and best practices in manufacturing, healthcare, education, government, retail, and more industries inform the recommendations we will make for your business’s unique operations.

We’ll also take into account the future of devices while determining your needs. Our GO Zebra trade-in program allows us to get you back up to $650 per device that you swap for a Zebra product. This incentive alone has saved our clients hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.

Most of our recommendations will revolve around areas for improvement and innovation, smarter ways to track and manage assets and supplies, and industry-specific data on how your competitors are utilizing their supply chains for maximum efficiency. Additionally, these recommendations often include specific devices to look into for your specific needs, like the Zebra ZT610 Industrial Printer for your warehouse, Zebra’s DS4308-HC barcode scanner for clinics and hospitals, and the Zebra RFD2000 UHF RFID for retailers.

Developing a Total Solution for You

We are a leading provider of receipt paper, labels, tags, and thermal transfer ribbons. We also know about the best of the best in scanners, mobile printers, RFID tags and readers, and much more.

We’ve provided these supplies and devices in collaboration with Zebra Technologies, the industry leader in scanning and data capture devices. Whether your need is basic or incredibly complex and demanding, we like to ensure that the new set-up we recommend will help you see events happening in your value chain in real time. That way, you can continue to optimize your supply chain—from inventory, employee shift schedules, and warehouse relationships to return and shipping efficiency, ordering regulation, and assembly line production.

The devices we recommend will be durable, reliable, cost-effective, and flexible in nearly any situation. If you need more rugged devices, we’ll take that into account, too. And you don’t have to worry if your current devices are specialized; we’ll scour all of our partners’ product offerings until we find the best device for you.

Reduce Costs, Increase Profits

After implementing our recommendations, our clients typically see higher worker productivity, lower error rates, and less down-time and label waste.

When most clients come to us, we find they last upgraded their technology years ago. Avoid their mistake: don’t let slow or non-updated software affect your bottom line. Upgrading your technology can seem expensive at first, but think about how technology fits into your business’s future. If you anticipate needing specific features or capabilities, try to incorporate a plan for these updates into your new fleet of devices.

Take this opportunity to consult us about the best options for your operations. We promise you’ll be happy to hear about how much money you can save, even with the initial investment required. Contact SK&T today, and let’s start improving your supply chain operations together!

Everything You Need to Know About RFID

Supply chains all over the world use RFID (radio frequency identification) to save time, decrease error rates, and keep an eye on inventory.

RFID can transform your business into a well-oiled, efficient machine. To understand how, let’s discuss what RFID is, how to apply it to your supply chain, its shortcomings, and its future.

What is RFID?

Invented in 1970, RFID uses radio technology to identify objects by assigning serial numbers to them using ‘tags.’ In the ecosystem, there is also a ‘reader’ that continually scans the environment for tags. When a tag gets close, the reader detects it because the tag has a microchip with an antenna.

A reader’s information is sent to a database that records time, location, and proximity of the tag. Using this data, you can optimize your warehouse floor plan, employee shift schedule, inventory layout, and much more. RFID is a flexible and seamless solution; its benefits cascade down to your customers and up the executive chain of your company.

RFID utilizes three different tag types: passive, active, and semi-passive. Passive tags get power from the reader, while active tags have a battery inside. Semi-passive tags use batteries but talk to the reader using the reader’s power.

Here at SK&T, we can implement all of these together throughout different parts of your supply chains. For example, active and semi-passive tags work well for high-value goods that are traveling over long ranges while passive tags work well for cheaper items, like clothing.

RFID’s Limitless Applications

Combine RFID technology with sensors, and you’ve got a whole world of possibilities. Sensors that detect temperature, humidity, movement, and more can keep you on top of potential issues before they happen.

SK&T partners with manufacturers across several industries to provide a comprehensive suite of solutions to improve your supply chains. One of our biggest partners, Zebra Technologies, is the leading supplier of RFID solutions. Their products have superb quality and last our clients through many years of business.

Some of our cross-vertical clients that benefit from our partnerships are New Belgium, Rampart Supply, and Brannan Sand and Gravel. No matter your industry, we’ve got over 20 years of experience to help drive down costs, improve efficiency, decrease label waste, and much more.

RFID’s (Few) Shortcomings

We’d be remiss to skip over RFID’s shortcomings. The good news is, with some ingenuity, it’s possible to circumvent the majority of issues.

Reader collision is one of the most common problems. Signals from other, nearby readers can disrupt a reader’s ability to work correctly. Using TDMA (time division multiple access), we can avoid this problem; TDMA cleverly shifts readers’ signals to avoid interference.

On the other hand, tags can collide too—a reader reading two tags at the same time gets confused. As a result, most companies have their tags respond to readers with millisecond delays.

Lastly, if you’ve been holding off on implementing RFID because you have an open-loop system, wait no longer. SK&T can create a customized solution that never misses a beat and keeps your customers updated from the warehouse all the way to their mailbox.

A Foundation for the Future

RFID has a big, bright future. It isn’t going anywhere; it’s embedded itself as a major technology of efficiency in supply chains. We look forward to new major RFID applications, like tags harvesting energy from readers, automating tasks and alerts, and the continued update from barcodes and labels to tags.

Our industry partners Zebra, Honeywell, and Seagull (among others) are innovators that have transformed RFID into a major utilitarian technology. And as RFID keeps advancing, devices will eventually have to be replaced and repaired. With our Trade-In program, we can ensure your technology is cutting-edge. You can get up to $650 back for each old device when you trade them in for new ones.

As one of the largest barcode system integration firms in the Rocky Mountains, SK&T is a total solution provider that can address any problem you may be facing. Reach out today and get a consultation with our engineers to boost your supply chain’s efficiency.