Warehouses, factories, and other supply chain facilities have become host to some intense competition and big prizes lately. Who would have thought? (Apparently, the people who understand how to modify behavior and started building gamification apps.) Tune in to hear how and why gamification works, especially on the frontline.

Is friction friend or foe in retail?

Most would argue the latter. But after talking to Rack Room Shoes’ CIO Brian Minnix recently, Zebra Retail Industry Principal Jim Musco believes friction isn't as bad as some might believe.

Think about it: If you're a retailer, what motivates you to modernize your stores more than friction (or the cost of friction)?

Not much, right?

And what happens when you uncover dozens of friction points in your stores?

You start committing a lot of resources to extinguish them.

The result?

Store operations run more smoothly because associates end up with the tools they need to better manage inventory, fulfill orders, assist customers, and more.

So, don't write off friction as the enemy too quickly. But do listen to how Brian worked fast (for the retail world) to rid his stores of friction in this 20-minute chat with Jim. Then learn more about the Rack Room story (that you don't normally see in the media) here.

Is enough being done to protect the health and safety of football players and other contact sport athletes at all levels of their game? Cognitive scientist (and former NFL tight end) Julius Thomas provided his professional opinion in a recent episode of Chalk Talk. See if you agree with his perspective and advice then check out this additional commentary about what pro football players experience on the field. (Constant car crash-type impacts?!)

Kristen Ludwig is taking a different approach to customer experience design, advocating for technology customers and end-users of all abilities to have representation in business decisions and are fully supported in their work. See if this might also work for you, then learn more about Kristen and Laura (the host) here.

Are you a military service member or veteran? Don’t let your current or past affiliations define who you are or who you want to be. And don’t let your career history define your current self-worth, say these two U.S. Marines-turned-Zebras. Hear why it's a mistake to make your military experience part of your identity.

According to one retail industry observer (and nearly every shopper), the answer is “yes!” Find out which conveniences matter most, though. It may not be the ones you think.

Bob Bova, President and CEO of AccuspeechMobile, sits down with Andre Luecht, Global Strategy Lead for Transport, Logistics, and Warehouse at Zebra, to provide his honest take on why you may be struggling with your voice technology. Bob also shares some additional thoughts on the issue in this blog post.

According to two home health specialists and a nurse, AI may not be what home health providers really need right now. It all depends on what type of basic mobile technology capabilities they have – and most providers are lacking the basics. Find out why they are more concerned about the technology home health clinicians have (or don't have) as it relates to communications, safety, and patient record access. Tune into this episode of Clini-Chat now, then visit the blog for more opinions on this topic.

https://www.zebra.com/us/en/blog/posts/2024/do-home-health-providers-really-need-ai.html