Zebra has established itself as a leading provider of computing devices for manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, transport, medical, retail, and other fields. And now the company is working to add AI smarts to make its tools do more, aiding companies in more error-free, theft-resistant, packing, picking, and selling processes.
Zebra global CTO Tom Bianculli and Zebra SVP and GM Ryan Goh addressed the APAC region sales team and channel partners in Perth earlier this year, unveiling a three-pronged strategy where it is focusing growth and leadership: track and trace, connected frontline workers, and intelligent automation.
"Nobody went to school to fill in shift handoff documents, but for patient care," Bianculli said. "We want to return time to people and let them deliver more patient care."
Zebra already has extensive reach with over five billion US dollars in global sales, from 120 offices in 55 countries. It holds more than 6,900 US and international patends issued and pending, has 9,750 employees worldwide, and in excess of 10,000 partners across 185 countries. 10% of sales spend is allocated to research and development. "We're scalable to meet any enterprise demands," Bianculli said.
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Zebra is ranked as a leader in rugged mobile computing, according to Gartner, for its proven strengths in data capture, barcode printing, and mobile RFID.
Yet, there is more to do. Bianculli outlined the megatrends happening around the world that impact the bareas Zebra works in: mobility and cloud, AI, automation, digitisation and IoT analytics, and the on-demand economy. "People want it now, fulfilling the order online while the brick and mortar business is still serving companies. The supply chain must act fast," Bianculli said.
"Productivity happens at the point of activity," he said. "People and robotics must work together to get a job done."
"Business leaders are looking at how they can do more with less in 2025, such as reducing technical debt, embracing purpose-driven tech, and simplifying decision-making processes."
This is why, Bianculli explained, Zebra had recently made a series of acquisitions of companies like Fetch Robotics, Matrox Imaging, and others, bringing greater capability in automating repetitive tasks with AI vision.
Zebra is investing in AI, RFID, real-time tracking, and new visibility technology, he said. "Demands for supply chain diversification and sustainability is rising, necessitating greater visibility and real-time insights."
At the same time, "customer expectations in retail are rising and retailers need far better operational insights and productivity," leading to Zebra working to empower frontline workers with insights for decision-making right from their devices, while doubling down on the customer experience.
This will be achieved, Zebra says, via those three pillars: track and trace of assets, connecting frontline workers to information and each other, and intelligent automation.
RFID, for example, is increasingly important in the industries Zebra serves. "You can see what's in the store, what's on the rack ... without this you might make promises you can't fulfill," he said.
And then AI right on the device - the Zebra Companion - will help frontline workers with next-best action workflows. For best performance and to reduce reliance on always being online Zebra will implement small to medium LLM models on the device itself, without relying purely on cloud-based services, based on Qualcomm 8750 chips. Further, Zebra announced it is using Google Gemini. "Google has what's called 'grounding' to ensure answers provided by GenAI are grounded in the documentation," Bianculli said.
Further, Bianculli explained, Zebra will release "more and more devices with neural-native processes in them. There'll be multiple cameras in the device for barcode reading with 3D depth of field cameras. Workers can read a barcode and then ask questions about it on the device - is it healthy? What food goes with it? What's the calorie count, and so on." The device can also help with assisted selling, cross-selling and more.
The goal here is multi-modal experiences; not merely text but video and voice, and with the Zebra handheld as a true companion. "A host of agents will be available to frontline workers to get their tasks done better."
"We;'re at the cusp of AI and GenAI transforming how people will act with their machines," Bianculli said. "With the device held in hand GenAI will see what you see, hear what you hear, and help get your workflow done."
For example, "if I'm told to pick something but I ping the wrong item that mistake doesn't get detected until the wrong item is shipped and the customer complains. But if I'm wearing a computer with assistive tech it can let me know if I make a mistake. For example, hey, you've picked the wrong item. It can eliminate errors by nudging, and orchestrating."
"The physical form factor will transform from handheld to wearable heads-up and be cognitively engaged ... this is where we believe things are going."
Locally, "APAC organisations want to do more with less, and they expect better from AI," Goh said. "54% of APAC enterprises now expect AI to deliver long-term benefits in innovation and revenue generation."
"Businesses are moving AI from experiments and proofs of concept to full-scale implementations to drive RoI and operational efficiency. In 2025 APAC orgs investment will centre on 21% enhancing customer experience, 18% business process optimisation, and 16% sales automation."
Technology is the key to bringing new opportunities, he said, such as using machine vision and AI to validate deployments and integrations in manufacturing, or providing real-time insights in transport and logistics, or delivering new insighfts through RFID in retail, or setting healthcare providers up for success with a strong foundation of visibility.
"APAC is a key priority region for Zebra," Goh said, explaining that India's GDP is growing 6.6% driven by manufacturing, and Japan's GDP is growing by 1.2% of which 70% is derived from services.
"Tech from barcodes and RFID will enable sectors like logistics to overcome challenges and grow, while increasing investments in automation will address labour shortages and an increasingly aging workforce."
Some customer examples include Gramedia in Indonesia who are deploying RFID chips everywhere - even on pencils, to Air Asia deploying Zebra tablets for in-air transactions and payments, updating inventory and processing the payments on the ground.
Zebra is betting on its three-pronged strategy: asset visibility through track-and-trace, connected frontline workers, and intelligent automation.
"These elements have been around for some time," Bianculli told iTWire. Obviously, asset visibility has been the Zebra core for a long, long time - "but intelligent automation and machine vision go years back," with Zebra having acquired companies in recent years to further these goals.
Bianculli quoted Klaus Schwab, "it’s clear we are no longer just in the throes of an industrial shift. We are entering the Intelligent Age, an era far beyond technology alone. This is a societal revolution, one that has the power to elevate humanity."