No More FOMO! Fighting Planned Obsolescence in Warehouse Hardware Tech: Why You’ll Love Our Platform as a Service (PaaS) Subscription Model
What is a PaaS?
PaaS stands for “Platform as a Service,” and we use PaaS at Rufus Labs to describe our subscription-based, connected-warehouse operator platform, WorkHero. When you acquire our hardware, you aren’t purchasing a depreciating asset. Instead, you’re acquiring a dynamic platform comprised of hardware, software, ongoing upgrades, and customer support. Customers pay a fixed, monthly fee that includes:
Hardware. Each subscription comes with a wearable (wrist-worn) computer and a scanner. Associates can select their preference between a ring scanner, glove, and palm scanner. On-site redundancies are also included in case of breaks or lost devices.
Software. The WorkHero software works alongside most existing warehouse management systems (WMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, and allows you to analyze workers’ productivity metrics like scans, steps, and activity. The hardware and software also permit workers to receive broadcast alerts and send and receive messages, and more.
Ongoing upgrades: We are committed to continuously upgrading our platform to remain competitive and provide our customers with the best possible user experience. Subscribers will receive upgraded software and hardware as our product continues to evolve during their subscription period.
Customer support. Supporting your needs is a priority, and that is why software and hardware support is included with the platform.
Seasonal Flexibility: Our flex program is a perk that allows you to rent extra hardware during peak seasons to accommodate surges in temporary hires.
No More FOMO!
The frustration is real when you spend thousands of dollars on the latest and greatest technology, only to have it rendered obsolete when the next model comes out. Why does it always feel like that shiny new thing with all the good features is coming out just weeks later?! Some hardware companies have been accused of planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence describes a deliberate strategy of ensuring that the current version of a product will become out of date or useless within a known time period.
We’re committed to the opposite philosophy. Our PaaS model tries to avoid what often happens with hardware - you take a chance on introducing new technology, you provide feedback and the next generation of hardware benefits from your input, but you do not, because you spent way too much money up front on a depreciating asset. Our users are a living, breathing part of our platform, and we want you to stay with us as we continue to innovate.
Fixed Monthly Operating Expenses Mean No Significant, Upfront Capital Expenditures
WorkHero PaaS customers pay a fixed, monthly service subscription fee, without any upfront capital expenditure costs. That means that means freeing up resources to help improve technology in other parts of your business, add new labor, or get that fancy new coffee maker for your team.
Not to toot our own forklift horns, but we’d like to think we’re pretty knowledgable in the warehousing space. We are not, however, accountants. Accountants are the ones who can explain why a PaaS is typically booked as an operating expenditure, as compared with a capital expenditure. For more on that, check out this investopedia article:
The World and Technology Are Changing Rapidly - The PaaS Model Lets You Get Ahead Of The Curve
Warehouses are often slow adopters of technology. In a recent survey designed to “determine the state of warehouse automation,” almost 25% of survey takers responded, that “their company’s technological progress is falling short of customer demand.” Covid-19 is further stress-testing warehouses that have been impacted by the e-commerce, pandemic-related boom.
If your warehouse was not taking steps to improve its technological efficiency before the pandemic, and if your business is continuing to grow right now, our PaaS model makes it easier to acquire new equipment faster and with less capital expenditures. Our WorkHero platform has helped customers reduce error rates (most profoundly in warehouses switching from paper to wearable technology), improved pick speed, and our WorkHero dashboard metrics have saved managers hours of labor previously used to compile data that is now automated.
Reach out to us at enterprise@rufuslabs.com to learn more click the button below!
