Psion recently announced that the international transportation and logistics provider, Dachser, is using its own tailor-made version of the Omnii XT10 handheld computer for warehouse picking. The Omnii device is a modular and extremely rugged mobile computer that meets the needs of users in every area of logistics. It was developed out of Psion’s Open Source Mobility (OSM) strategy and boasts a protection class of IP65, which certifies that it is impervious to dust, dirt, splashes and many other environmental influences.

The modular nature of the XT10 design enables the handheld computer to meet specific customer needs. In the case of Dachser, they wanted to develop a special keyboard for the Psion Omnii XT10.

Dachser uses the worldwide standard Systems Application Architecture (SAA) software from IBM. The concept underpinning this system is to create a unified interface for enterprise software, so that the user can navigate it quickly and efficiently thanks to an optimized workflow. This includes a uniform assignment of twelve function keys on all devices. Dachser needed its new handheld computers from Psion used for warehouse picking to follow exactly the same SAA key arrangement.

"Our employees are used to dealing with the twelve function keys so it was important to us that we made it easy for them to do their work by adapting our mobile hardware," explained Thomas von Jan, Head of IT Front-End Systems at Dachser. "The modularity and flexibility of Omnii XT10 enabled us to adapt our new hardware to our existing systems and not vice versa."

"With the Omnii XT10’s high degree of adaptability, we can easily manage the development and integration of a special keyboard with the required function keys and arrangement," said Jürgen Heim, Managing Director of Psion Germany. "Because the Omnii XT10 has been developed on the basis of Open Source Mobility, we were able to present the right solution in the shortest possible time."

Unique to Dachser, this new and totally customised keyboard features in their internal Omnii XT10 product catalogue, and is now available to any of the company’s individual subsidiaries. The company has been users of Psion handheld computers since 2003. Dachser currently uses 7535, 7035 and the rugged vehicle mount computer, 8580. Their current installed base of Psion devices numbers some 3,500 units in operations spanning 52 locations across Germany.

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