A recent report has identified a significant productivity challenge within the U.S. supply chain sector, resulting in an estimated annual loss of $3.2 billion. This issue, referred to as “dropped sessions,” occurs when connectivity is interrupted between workers’ handheld devices and back-office systems, causing work disruptions and necessitating task restarts.
The report, titled “Dropped Sessions – The Hidden Productivity Killer,” was published by StayLinked and is based on a survey of warehouse workers. The findings indicate that over 30% of workers encounter dropped sessions at least once an hour, leading to an average of 50 minutes of lost productivity per worker each day. This translates to a daily cost of $29.23 per worker. For a warehouse employing 50 workers, the annual financial impact can exceed $400,000.
Justin Griffith, Chief Technology Officer at StayLinked, remarked that many warehouse workers have resigned themselves to accepting dropped sessions as an unavoidable part of their work. However, the cumulative financial loss to the sector is significant, with the report estimating a total annual cost of over $3 billion.
The survey also revealed that nearly half of the workers (47%) incorrectly believe that these connectivity issues are due to device malfunctions. StayLinked suggests that the problem can be mitigated with software solutions that maintain session persistence, allowing workers to reconnect to their tasks without significant delays.
The report underscores the potential for significant cost savings and efficiency improvements in the supply chain sector by addressing this issue. Reducing downtime from dropped sessions could enhance overall productivity and operational performance.
Griffith emphasized the need for the sector to address this challenge, stating, “This is a significant issue that has largely been overlooked. Fortunately, it is a solvable problem with the right technological solutions.”
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