What is a self service Kiosk?

21.08.2020

The idea and philosophy behind our self service kiosks came from the common and ever present issue of making every process within each business as efficient and as simple as possible, by getting rid of paperwork, manual entry and duplication. Our Kiosks are simple touch screen solutions that enable workers to conduct goods in, stock take, production and dispatch procedures with ease using an intuitive user interface. It can be used to delegate, facilitate, control, and report business operations which occur in the warehouse, weighbridge, and on the factory floor. Additionally, it also considers the needs of businesses with large stock or special requirements like traceability and batch management.

Management can delegate duties to warehouse personnel and catch critical data in real-time whilst empowering front-line staff to do their duties correctly. The solution is extremely customisable, with the ability to allow for all common inputs such as barcode scanners, weighing equipment, physical keyboards, mice and touch-screens, which can all be used for data input. Our goal is to empower the individual employee to do their job as simply and as efficiently as possible with minimal interference from the back office.

How does this help your business? Real time updates to the back office mean that you can remove the cumbersome tasks of manual entry and duplication on the administration side, all while adopting a paperless and leaner business approach.

How long does it take to implement and do I need to stop my operations?

Our Kiosks are fully integrated with the Herbst system and can be quickly implemented to give you every possible advantage. Thanks to our modular software design, your operations can continue as normal while we implement the software and make the necessary changes. Once we get the information and data we need, the setup is seamless with no interruptions or changes to your current operations.

How do each of our self service Kiosks works?

Goods-in Kiosk

A common issue across many businesses is the issue of “Dead Stock”, meaning stock that has been delivered into the warehouse but has not yet been receipted in on the back end system. This can happen for a number of reasons, one of which is that the delivery docket has arrived alongside the goods but the paper based docket may get lost or simply sit at the desk of the person who is responsible for it. This can be a common occurrence for many businesses out there, and it can cause huge problems with your ability to view accurate stock information as well as missing out on orders as sometimes, unbeknownst to staff, a delivery has occurred but the delivery docket may have been misplaced or there has been a delay in receipting the goods into stock. This type of miscommunication between staff members is something that we want to rectify here at Herbst, and we have the solutions to ensure efficiency across all employee roles.

With our touchscreen Kiosk, employees can control goods in procedures. Depots and locations are supported, while employees have the ability to reject all or a part of a received product, check if a supplier has got an approval to supply a product received, and conduct quality checks which can detect and highlight discrepancies that require the staff’s special attention. When the quantity and state of the goods are approved, they are placed into stock immediately, avoiding costly issues down the line while saving valuable time.

Goods-out Kiosk

Goods Out – Self Service Kiosk

Our goods out Kiosks follow the same philosophy. Goods that are scheduled for dispatch are shown on the Kiosk as soon as the back office completes the order, meaning efficient communication between both departments. Goods are inspected, quality checked and once approved, removed from stock in real-time. This again avoids costly mistakes when it comes to managing your procurement. Accurate and real-time stock information means that you can make better and more informed decisions across the business.

Full traceability is again supported here for batchable products.

Production Kiosk

Production – Self Service Kiosk

In certain industries such as food production, measuring each stage in the production process is often a vital component in ensuring the quality and standards of each product. Our production Kiosks make this process seamless, with work orders from the back office being sent to the Kiosk in real-time. The touchscreen interface shines in this environment, as workers can easily view source and destination items, conduct quality checks and manage batchable items. Signatures can then be captured ensuring that each individual employee has made the necessary checks and is happy with the finished product. These finished products are then made available immediately.

A huge advantage of our Kiosk is the removal of unnecessary paperwork that can often be lost, misplaced or simply just incorrect. Automation is created between the back office and factory floor, as work orders are sent to the kiosk in real-time and can be controlled from start to finish. Discrepancies and comments from production runs are also saved against each job and can be seen immediately in the back end system.

Stock-take kiosk

Stock Take – Self Service Kiosk

Doing inventory can often be a cumbersome process, often wrought with errors and discrepancies. Being able to reconcile your products, stocks and batches against your suppliers’ records will save time and obviously, money.

Stock management is often a neglected area of the business for a number of different reasons, many of these we can relate to. What is the traditional view of stock management for many of us? It is often looked on as a tiresome, gruelling and complex process. You could argue that a new shiny and more modern premise will attract more customers, improved financial management will grow margins, etc. But sales is money and you sell your stock. It is therefore a priority that you give the necessary time and respect it requires as you have paid to place stock on your shelves, regardless of whether it’s selling or not.

Our stock-take Kiosk is designed to give you the flexibility you want and need when dealing with stock takes. What is the issue with the traditional method of stock taking? This is often a manual process involving pen and paper and in some cases can take a long time to complete. Our solution is a touchscreen kiosk for the warehouse floor, whereby employees can start stocktakes in different areas, leave sock takes open to be completed at a later date or by a different employee who can resume the stock take from where it was left off. Our stock app integrates with our stocktake Kiosk, which pushes the stocktake from the Kiosk to the mobile app, which allows employees to scan and add products to the stock count. This count can then be finalised on the kiosk and pulled into the main system where discrepancies are highlighted and can be rectified by senior management.

Manage your inventory and stock securely, effectively and proactively.

The self service Kiosk “Herbst Hippo”.

With Covid-19 affecting the way businesses operate, limiting contact between employees is now as important as ever, and this is where our Self Service Kiosks can help you adopt a paperless approach while limiting contact between employees and administrative staff. Our self service Kiosk is designed for environments where tickets are required and drivers are required to weigh in/out using the weighbridge. Our Kiosk sits on the weighbridge and is suited for quarry, aggregate, concrete and agri companies.

Does our self service kiosk work with both new and existing weighbridges?

As long as your weighbridge gives a digital reading, we can automatically pull this information straight into the Herbst system so that the driver can print tickets and weigh in/out without ever leaving his cab. This gives your business a tremendous advantage in terms of time saving and productivity. If your weighbridge does not give a digital reading, the driver can also simply enter the weight manually via the touchscreen interface which is still a very fast and efficient process compared to other existing methods.

Can our self service Kiosk handle harsh weather conditions?

We know that the weather conditions in Ireland can be less than accommodating to say the least, so we’ve designed our kiosks with that in mind.Featuring a rugged stainless steel design with a waterproof anti glare touchscreen, this self service Kiosk is suitable for all weather conditions, rain sleet or snow.

How does our self service Kiosk work?

The key here is in the name, complete self service for the driver. The weighbridge links directly with the Herbst system, meaning drivers can weigh in/out and print tickets on the spot without any intervention from the back office, the driver doesn’t even have to leave his cab.

How does the driver Kiosk integrate with the Herbst system and our handheld ePOD app for drivers?

Whether it is your own drivers or 3rd party drivers, the self service Kiosk works in the same way as drivers log in using a swipe card or code assigned to them, choose their load and customer site and weigh in, which can be pulled directly from the weighbridge onto the kiosk. As soon as the load is collected they again choose the correct load, weigh out and sign for the docket which is printed on the spot and ready to be taken on site. This also links with our Herbst Trucker ePOD (click here to know more about our Herbst Trucker) application which means the delivery is pushed straight to a mobile device, ready to be delivered and signed for digitally.

How much time can I save?

CheckPoint – Self Service Kiosk

Goods Out to Customer – Self Service Kiosk

Add Comments – Self Service Kiosk

This process takes 30 seconds on average, meaning quick turnarounds and vital timesaving for your business. This drastically reduces unnecessary administration and helps you adopt a paperless and completely digital approach while limiting contact between employees. As soon as a driver weighs in or out on your weighbridge (click here to read more about Weighbridge) it is reflected on the main system and accounts are updated in real time, meaning instant and actionable information.

So, what does all of this mean?

Delegate, facilitate and control with our variety of Self Service Kiosk solutions. As you can see we are a company that is constantly looking for ways to simplify procedures and make life for the individual employee as easy and as efficient as possible. Our touchscreen kiosks are designed to not only do this, but to eliminate a lot of the paperwork and manual entry done by back end staff. Seamless integration and automation between front line and back office staff means a more fluid and organised business environment where employees are empowered to do their specific job to the highest possible standard.

Our Self Service Kiosks are just a small example of the range of products and solutions we have here at Herbst, and they offer an insight into the way we think and operate.

You keep giving us problems and we’ll keep giving you solutions.