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SATO Unveils Flexible Mobile Printer for E-commerce

SATO, a global pioneer in the development of auto-ID and labeling solutions, launched the PV4 mobile barcode label printer in North America and Europe today. This 4-inch entry model printer comes with best in class media capacity and rich interface options and is engineered for productivity and accuracy in the harsh environment of high volume e-commerce operations.

Growth of retail e-commerce has accelerated greatly worldwide due to consumer desire to avoid contact under the Covid-19 pandemic. It is estimated that the industry grew 27.6 percent globally in 2020 and are on pace for further 14.3 percent growth in 2021¹.

In e-commerce warehousing, a number of key processes require scanning, labeling and relabeling of items. These include basic order picking, split case relabeling², putting away, incoming inspections and cross docking processes³.

Manual order picking ranks as one of the most time-consuming and therefore cost-intensive operations in warehouses around the world⁴. Human error can also be a bottleneck in this process, resulting in issues that could lower customer satisfaction.  

Mobile printing of barcode labels can improve productivity compared to stationary printing by reducing walking time and other unnecessary movement. Also, by labeling at the point of storage, e-retailers can decrease mislabeling errors for more accurate shipments and higher service levels.

SATO Corporation Head of Global Sales Hayato Shindo said, “At SATO, we are continuously striving to innovate and fill the gaps for customers and the PV4 is built to complement a comprehensive track & trace solution. This mobile printer is truly flexible and durable for easy deployment and demonstrates our commitment to on-site optimization and our customer-first approach.”

E-commerce operators can enjoy full service and support with SATO from inventory, parts, support and services, localized engineering support, field support and all-inclusive coverage for total peace of mind.

By adding the PV Series to its printer line-up together with the existing PW2NX, SATO now has a full range of mobile printers able to cover all of the mobile applications with 2", 3" and 4" labels for the needs of all segments.

PV4 at a glance

Rugged – Durable construction and rubber over molding to survive 6 ft (1.8 m) drops, IP54 rating for water and dust protection

Capacity – Best in class large 2.6” roll with total length of 718 ft (219 m) for lower running cost    

Affordable – A balance of price and features with budget friendly plans

Fast – 5ips print speed

Endurance – High capacity 7.2v 6700mAh for long battery life

Connectivity – Flexible interface options from USB v2 HS, serial, Bluetooth-LE v5.0, WLAN (802.11 a/b/g/n) with 5 GHz & 2.4 GHz support, MFi, SoftAP, MPrint Server for direct printing from web browser

Integration – Eases deployment within existing infrastructure with leading mobile printing language emulation

Service – Technical support and maintenance by experienced engineers for continuous peace of mind

1. Insider Intelligence “Global Ecommerce Update 2021”
2. Split case relabeling: When individual products are picked in different locations and put in new packaging for shipping
3. Cross docking: When items are moved directly from receivables to outgoing shipping without long-term storage
4. Park B.C. (2012) Order Picking: Issues, Systems and Models. In: Manzini R. (eds) Warehousing in the Global Supply Chain. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2274-6_1