Symbol Technologies and Zebra Technologies Ink Partnership to Provide Customers with Integrated, On-Demand Enterprise Mobility

Zebra's Rugged, Dependable Printing Products are Key Element for Symbol's Broad Mobility Solutions

, The Enterprise Mobility Company™ and Zebra Technologies , a worldwide leader in on-demand specialty printing solutions, today announced a global strategic partnering agreement to provide customers with integrated business solutions, incorporating mobile and wireless products from both companies, designed to improve productivity and reduce costs.

Under this global alliance agreement, the companies will jointly develop, market and sell industry-specific solutions through mutual channel partners. The alliance supports both Zebra's and Symbol's go-to-market strategies, which rely heavily on value-add resellers, software developers, and systems integrators to deliver business solutions to end-user customers. Through this partnership, both companies now will be able to leverage each others' distribution networks, marketing programs, and channel partners. Symbol and Zebra also will collaborate in the development of new market opportunities such as radio frequency identification (RFID).

"This partnership has exciting implications for our distribution and channel partners and for the mobile solutions market as a whole," said Todd Abbott, Symbol's senior vice president of operations. "It demonstrates both companies' ongoing commitment to aggressively market our solutions to provide our partners in the channel the opportunity for the greatest success."

Symbol and Zebra have a rich heritage of jointly providing bar code and enterprise mobility solutions to the manufacturing, retail, government, and healthcare markets over the past 15 years. By co-developing solutions that are designed to be easier to use, implement and integrate, customers will now be able to extend the reach of their enterprise software systems to all applications with data collection, asset movement, or decision management transactional events, thereby enabling customers to receive a greater return on IT investments.

"Working more closely with Symbol gives Zebra greater insight into the business drivers in key markets, enabling us to develop new products together that improve business processes while maximizing customer value," said Mike Terzich, Zebra's senior vice president, office of the CEO.

Benefits for Customers

Zebra and Symbol initially will provide customers with mobile and wireless printing solutions that feature Symbol's and handheld computers and Zebra's QL series mobile portable printers. Today, retailers using these products have the opportunity to increase efficiency and improve their customers' shopping experience through better control over pricing and inventory, and by mobilizing point-of-sale staff to reduce wait times.

By using a Symbol-Zebra mobile point-of-sale (POS) solution from Agilysys, Inc., a business partner of both companies, IKEA North America has effectively utilized the technology during time periods with a high volume of shoppers such as at new IKEA store grand openings and has reduced checkout times by 50 percent. The mobile "line busting" application allows IKEA staff to scan merchandise and complete sales transactions before shoppers reach the checkout counter.

"At IKEA we are always looking for ways to enhance our customers' shopping experience and improve each store's efficiency," said Mark Fitzsimmons, US Customer Service Manager, IKEA North America. "The Symbol-Zebra Mobile POS solution from Agilysys helps us do exactly that."

Another key focus of the alliance will be the development and introduction of new products to serve identified needs in target applications. One example is the pairing of Zebra's forthcoming RW 420 mobile and wireless receipt printer with Symbol's MC9000 and PPT8800 handheld computers for direct store delivery applications. The combined solution is a lightweight and flexible integrated mobile solution designed to increase the speed and accuracy of field transactions and help companies improve their cash flow with real-time payment processing.

Symbol and Zebra expect to bring additional solutions to market through the channel as a result of their partnering agreement, which is effective immediately.