Security and control of mobile devices, i.e. Antumo locker in Rossmann warehouses

Rossmann

Rossmann is one of the largest drugstore players in Europe. The company was founded by Dirk Rossmann in 1972 and currently has more than 4,700 drugstores in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Albania, Turkey, Hungary, as well as Kosovo and Spain. In Poland, the brand has been present since 1993, when Rossmann opened its first self-service drugstore in Lodz. Since then, the systematic construction of the brand in Poland began, and the dynamics of Rossmann's development has been steadily increasing. The company consistently implements the adopted strategy̨ opening drugstores in good and well-thought-out locations, of which there are already more than 1,940 in Poland.

The company is also increasing the number of drugstores in Poland.

The company is also increasing its share in the drugstore market and currently serves more than 32.5 percent of the market.

Challenges - baseline

Rossmann's customers in Poland perform hundreds of millions of transactions annually. The company enables them to shop in an omnichannel model, i.e. multi-channel sales. Consumers can shop in stationary drugstores or online, but during a visit to the drugstore, and later pick up the ordered goods also at the drugstore or using courier services.

The stocking of stationary drugstores and handling of orders placed online are carried out by logistics centers: in Lodz, Zgierz, Grudziądz and Pyskowice. These warehouses total 162,000 m².

When picking orders, employees use mobile terminals. The devices are configured with a warehouse management system (WMS), which transmits all the necessary information regarding orders for fulfillment. Employees retrieve the equipment themselves at the beginning of their shift and are required to return it at the end of their work. If they see malfunctions or other damage, they should report it to the appropriate support unit. However, such a work model has led to numerous problems. Due to personal preferences, employees often left devices in places only known to themselves to use them again. Such actions had direct consequences in the form of lost or damaged equipment and uneven wear and tear - something that shift leaders and heads were not informed about in a timely manner. The lack of a proper system for managing and monitoring the condition of equipment led to a situation where not all employees were able to receive working equipment at the beginning of a shift. The result was disorganization of work, which often resulted in downtime and delays in the order picking process.

Rossmann decided to implement solutions at the company that would eliminate further problems and improve the operational logistics of the warehouses.

The company decided to work with Antumo and purchase metal locker cabinets to store mobile terminals for three distribution centers, and implement an equipment management system - Antumo MDM.

Run of implementation

First, Antumo employees presented to engineers working at Rossmann the technical and hardware capabilities of the locker cabinets and their functionality, which would meet the requirements and standards of the retail chain.

Antumo's metal locker cabinets are advanced hardware that allow efficient management of mobile devices and corporate data. They consist of a system of fully automated card-opening lockers, managed by specialized software. The locker is used to automatically issue terminals and other types of mobile devices to employees. It brings many benefits to the organization: it informs who, where and when mobile devices are currently being used, reduces the time required to manage, issue and pass equipment.

The locker is equipped with an LCD screen that provides additional information such as the number of mobile devices currently in use or remaining in the system. Proximity sensors mounted in the lockers determine whether an employee has taken or taken off equipment. In addition, there is a visual LED indicator next to each locker, which turns on to indicate that the locker is full. The locker can be easily integrated with external systems, such as MDM-class mobile device management software.

The size and shape of the cabinets, as well as the number of lockers in each module, is tailored to the customer's needs. The range includes models ranging from about 20 to even more than 100 lockers.

Rossmann engineers determined the number of caches needed so that each device in use could be located in a cabinet, requirements for the size of screens and readers, and specifications for how employees would authenticate, open caches, retrieve and pass equipment. Based on these guidelines, Antumo engineers designed the configuration of the equipment.

The equipment configuration was designed by Antumo.

After the cabinets were delivered to Rossmann's distribution centers, the Antumo MDM device management system was deployed and integrated with the applications already in place in the retailer's IT environment. Antumo employees also provided training in the use of the hardware and software.

Smooth flow of devices and data

Each of the locker cabinets has been completed with two types of modules: single-column and double-column. The units have built-in RFID readers, which are used to open the lockers to retrieve mobile terminals, after applying an access card. Employees can use the same card they use to open the entrance door to the company's headquarters or internal doors between rooms. This solution eliminates the need for employees to have a separate key or access code, which greatly improves the use of the locker. Once the locker is opened - randomly by the system - an employee can retrieve the necessary equipment. By default, only one locker is opened during a single operation, but it is possible to change the settings, in cases where a device is associated with another, such as a mobile terminal and a portable printer. High-quality electromagnetic locks minimize the risk of unauthorized persons taking the terminals. In the event of a power failure, the locks lock automatically. The return of equipment looks analogous to its retrieval.

To manage the cabinets, Antumo MDM software has been implemented and launched. The system allows special permissions to be granted to two groups of users:

1. Leaders have the ability to open individual lockers, remove damaged devices, and put away the device assigned to an employee without that employee being present.
2. Leaders have the ability to open individual lockers, remove damaged devices, and put away the device assigned to an employee without that employee being present.
3. Administrators, in addition to the same rights as Leaders, can open all caches or only caches with damaged equipment and add new equipment. In addition, they have the ability to program equipment so that specific terminals are issued only to authorized users.

The system also prepares for Administrators reports with the history of operations for each terminal, which include information on the dates of equipment retrieval and return, cabinet number, users and reported defects. Thanks to this functionality, in the event of theft or damage to a terminal, the register from the system will immediately indicate the last employee who used the equipment and is thus most likely responsible for its failure. In addition, Administrators know which equipment has not been returned by employees and can contact them to explain the reason for not returning it.

The equipment also features easy-to-read LCD touchscreens that convey information about the number of mobile devices either currently in use or remaining on the systems. The displays also serve at the same time as a tool for employees to report equipment malfunctions and failures via the Antumo MDM system. This information goes to Administrators. They forward the faulty terminals for repair, and their place is temporarily taken by service terminals. This organization of work has eliminated situations in which employees starting a shift were given faulty terminals.

- When launching a comprehensive solution for managing mobile devices in the company's daily warehouse operations, we wanted it to be functional and practical for employees. The crew quickly saw the advantages of installing a locker cabinet. By placing the devices in the lockers at the end of their shift, they are guaranteed that the next time they retrieve the equipment, it will be in working order," says Marcin Janikowski, Head of the Technology Development Section of the Drugstore IT Department at Rossmann. Controlling the technical condition of the terminals and having them in one place also makes it easier for shift managers to organize their work. They are assured that all employees will receive terminals and will be able to perform their tasks without interference. This is very important, especially during so-called hot periods, when the number of orders to be prepared increases," he adds.

- Collaboration with Antumo and the launch of their proprietary IT and hardware solutions in our organization have helped us solve a number of problems in the area of mobile device management and improve the work of the warehouse," concludes Marcin Janikowski.

Step-by-step design:

• pre-implementation analysis
• development of software and hardware system
• delivery of locker cabinets with installed software
• configuration and commissioning of the hardware

Applied solutions:

• modular locker cabinet for mobile terminals
• system for managing mobile devices in the company - Antumo MDM
• storage cabinet service and technical support

Benefits of the launch:

• reduce the time required to manage, issue and return devices
• provide employees with an application to report equipment failures
• properly identify and eliminate defective terminals from use
• providing employees with access to functioning equipment
• access to equipment location information and the ability to identify user data
• security of equipment storage
• reduction of equipment failure and damage