Fast data capture in the refrigerated high-bay warehouse with the mobile computer Denso BHT-1700

The Styrian company Estyria specialises in pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed oil, pulses and mushrooms - from contract farming to processing and international marketing. Since its foundation in 1997 as a subsidiary of Alwera AG, the company has steadily expanded its range of services, and today more than 180 employees cultivate the products.

The growth also brought a sharp increase in the movement of goods in the modern refrigerated high-bay warehouse with over 4200 pallet storage spaces. In order to perform these tasks efficiently and without errors, the head of the organisation department and the head of the logistics department decided to use new mobile computers with Android as the operating system.

From full touch to GunGrip with keyboard

The initially used handhelds from a global manufacturer proved not to be robust enough in practice and were also not convincing in terms of scanning range. Since many employees wear gloves due to the temperatures in the warehouse of 10 to 15 °C, entering data via the touch screen was sometimes awkward.

The subsequent switch to Barcotec therefore started with several clear requirements for the new terminals: the devices should be particularly well protected against hitting and falling down and should be able to read barcodes even in the second row of shelves. Equally crucial was Android as the operating system, so that the existing warehouse management app could continue to be used.

Based on his many years of experience with data capture projects in the food industry, our expert selected several suitable mobile computers, which were productively tested by Estyria employees in a second step.

Finally, the decision was made in favour of the Denso BHT-1700 with GunGrip and Long-Range function. This recommendation from the Barcotec expert not only met the specified requirements - the ergonomic grip and reliable keyboard input are ideal for the more than 18,000 picks in the Estyria warehouse.

Easy start with fast results

Since the employees were already familiar with the warehouse management app and mobile computers from Denso are basically very easy to use, the new devices were put to use immediately.

Workflows have been speeded up due to several factors. With the Denso BHT-1700's considerable reach of up to 10 metres, workers can now capture barcodes directly from the pallet truck. With the mechanical keyboard, they can now enter data quickly and error-free even when wearing gloves. And in specially made holders, the devices are always within reach.

This means that two Barcotec products are already successfully in use in the Estyria warehouse. Some time ago, the forklifts were equipped with terminals from Advantech. Similar to the Denso BHT-1700, the devices of the DLT-V83 series are characterised by particular robustness and reliability.