Zebra Technologies & Google Cloud Join Forces to Improve Employee Productivity

 Zebra Technologies Corporation, a leading digital solution provider enabling businesses to intelligently connect data, assets, and people announced its collaboration with Google Cloud, Android, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to help enterprises deliver transformative customer experiences along with improved employee productivity and insights powered by generative AI.

The aim of this approach is to reduce the cognitive load on front-line employees and allow for better just-in-time decision-making with faster onboarding and training. It will further empower the frontline as labor availability and cost challenges persist and employees are required to be more multi-skilled than ever while increasing the quality of their engagement with customers.

Front-line employees – from back-office staff to store associates – will be able to leverage a chat experience from a handheld device to easily access information to answer questions and prompts like, “How do I open the store?” and “What type of wiring should a customer use for a 100-watt electrical panel?” The capabilities are powered by generative AI with domain specific knowledge through the processing and ingestion of documents such as standard operating procedures (SOP), policies, employee training materials and product knowledge.

“We want to shift conversations around generative AI from ‘how’ it works to ‘what’ it can do to create new ways of working that make everyday life better for organizations, their employees and those they serve,” said Tom Bianculli, Chief Technology Officer, Zebra Technologies. “We now see the merging of planning and execution systems in the enterprise. Generative AI will accelerate that with finely tuned, real-world models that can schedule and automate tasks, respond to requests, and give recommendations based on the context of a situation in a worker’s moment of need.”  

AI Empowering Retail

Bianculli cites the real-life example of a European supermarket chain that has piloted generative AI with Zebra mobile computers by feeding the model its entire SOP library.

“Employees now have a huge volume of knowledge derived from policies, procedures, and product information in the palms of their hands – an ‘always-on’ digital assistant that can reduce the time to competency and ensure best practices are consistently leveraged,” said Bianculli. “They are saving time, improving customer interactions, training staff more quickly, and giving front-line workers more autonomy and satisfaction in their jobs.”   

These outcomes may soon be a reality across enterprises in retail, healthcare, and transportation and logistics, with Zebra devices built on the Android operating system and powered by Qualcomm Technologies’ processors with on-device AI capabilities.

“We are thrilled to work with Zebra to enable them to deliver transformative customer experiences and enhanced employee productivity through generative AI using our advanced on-device AI capabilities,” said Art Miller, Vice President, Business Development, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Zebra's new devices enable organizations to utilize the power of AI for improved decision-making, faster onboarding, and training. We are excited about the potential of these capabilities to drive innovation and create new ways of working that benefit organizations and their employees.”

Together with Google’s Gemini and open-source Gemma models, the full range of generative AI deployments is made possible, from on-device to on-premise, cloud and hybrid options.  

“Generative AI is fundamentally changing how many organizations operate and will fuel a new era of how both customers and employees will interact with businesses and brands,” said Rouzbeh Aminpour, Global Retail Solution Engineering Manager, Google Cloud. “By utilizing Google Cloud’s leading gen AI capabilities, Zebra can help companies across industries empower their employees with better tools and new capabilities, making their work more productive.”