Over $3.2bn Squandered by US Supply Chain Sector as Worker Productivity Issue Revealed

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Jun 12, 2024, 08:32 ET

Dropped sessions studied for the first time and true cost of lost productivity discovered as workers stop work and reconnect their rugged device

IRVINE, Calif., June 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent report commissioned by StayLinked has revealed, for the first time, a lost productivity issue within the supply chain sector that causes workers to stop the tasks they are working on, potentially resulting in an annual loss of $3.2 billion to the sector.

The issue, known as dropped sessions, occurs when connectivity is lost between the worker's handheld device and the back-office systems. This causes workers to have to stop and restart their activity, resulting in lost time and therefore lost productivity. Dropped sessions are entirely preventable with the right software.

"Warehouse workers get frustrated by dropped sessions, but most just accept it as 'part of the job," said Justin Griffith, chief technology officer, StayLinked. "But what we can actually see is that dropped sessions are costing the sector over $3bn per year."

StayLinked's report, 'Dropped Sessions – The Hidden Productivity Killer,' is based on a recent survey the company undertook with warehouse workers. For the first time, the people on the warehouse floor were asked about how often they experienced dropped sessions and how long they took to resolve the issue each time.

The report reveals that over 30% of workers experience dropped sessions at least once an hour, and each warehouse worker incurs an average of 50 minutes of lost productivity per day resolving them.

"If every worker on the warehouse floor has to spend nearly an hour each day resolving dropped sessions, then that soon becomes a massive hit for the supply chain sector as a whole," continued Griffith. "We have calculated that for an average warehouse of 50 workers, the cost of lost productivity could be more than $400,000 per year. In the US alone, this equates to over $3bn per year for the whole supply chain sector."

The StayLinked report demonstrates that the average cost of dropped sessions per worker, per day is $29.23. For a warehouse with 50 workers this equates to $1,461.67 a day and over $400,000 a year.

The report focuses on the direct impact on the warehouse worker as dropped sessions are often an issue that is hidden to management. One of the reasons is that dropped sessions are often attributed to other factors, with 47% of the workers surveyed thinking that their device was to blame.

"This is a major issue for the supply chain sector that it has been sleepwalking through. Fortunately, it can be solved, and over $3bn per year could be saved by choosing software that ensures session persistence, so warehouse workers can automatically reconnect to their workflow when the connection is temporarily lost," said Griffith.

A copy of the report: 'Dropped Sessions – The Hidden Productivity Killer,' can be downloaded here: https://info.staylinked.com/session-persistence-report2024.

About StayLinked:
StayLinked is the proven market leader in Terminal Emulation for the supply chain industry and continues to drive innovation with the most advanced software solutions available for the warehouse. StayLinked enables customers to easily migrate to state-of-the-art devices, measure and optimize productivity with cutting-edge business intelligence, and interface with ground-breaking technologies in the areas of automation, robotics, and emerging IIoT technologies. For more than two decades, StayLinked has delivered revolutionary software products with unparalleled customer satisfaction and world-class support to hundreds of partners and thousands of customers around the globe. For more information, visit www.staylinked.com.

Media Contact:
Sarah Chidgey | The Essential Agency| +44 (0) 7795 288302 | [email protected]

SOURCE StayLinked Corporation