When the economic climate gets chilly, many companies start running scared, making IT solutions a hard sell. Solution providers, though, have notable opportunities to warm up their customers to the idea of investing in technologies that save time and increase efficiency. Data capture and point-of-sale (DC/POS) solutions, in particular, may be a rainbow in the clouds for companies that are reducing people power but want to maintain effectiveness.

Bringing bar code technologies, for example, to retail and warehouse customers gives them a way to cut costs by making employees more productive. Meanwhile, the addition of rugged terminals allows them to automate the receiving, tracking and shipping of goods in the warehouse -- all without increasing headcount. These solutions offer a compelling return on investment (ROI) by allowing people to work smarter, reducing the level of inventory kept on hand and cutting the potential for manual errors that create customer service snafus and time-consuming mix-ups.

Leading manufacturers are coming to the fore with new products aimed at providing these advantages to specific types of customers. Motorola, for example, recently unveiled a host of products for retailers. The Motorola DS9808 digital imager scanner increases the productivity of sales associates with a hands-free mode that allows them to scan multiple items rapidly and a handheld option for heavy and bulky items. Motorola's Total Enterprise Access and Mobility (TEAM) Express solution provides push-to-talk capability between different types of devices, including voice-capable Motorola mobile computers, bar code scanners, TEAM VoWLAN smartphones and Motorola two-way radios, to keep workers connected. Other new products include the PCI-compliant DCR-7X00-100R mobile payment module, which allows retailers to more quickly respond to and complete customers' credit, debit and loyalty card transactions.

Solution providers, meanwhile, appreciate the fatter margins these technologies provide compared to other technologies. In fact, bar code offerings typically double the margins over traditional IT solutions. As solutions that can be added to traditional solution sales, DC/POS technologies are a natural extension to existing business that allows them to expand their "trusted counselor" role by helping companies consider new ways for maintaining, and even increasing, profitability in a downturn.

By partnering with Ingram Micro, solution providers can leverage technical support and market development resources that make adding DC/POS simple.