Delivering Over the Past Decade and Continuing to Support the Frontline for Years to Come
Many frontline jobs have become harder to do over the last decade. That’s why we have further accelerated our innovative approach since making our largest acquisition 10 years ago. We want to create new ways of working to help make frontline jobs more efficient, impactful, and fulfilling.
Zebra’s acquisition of the Motorola Solutions Enterprise Business in October 2014 is the largest acquisition we have made in terms of deal size and employee integration.
We think the acquisition’s lasting significance stems from its impact on the millions of frontline workers globally who need increased capabilities from technology-based solutions to tackle everything that’s now on their plates.
And because this investment 10 years ago drastically reshaped our industry and enabled us to do our jobs better, you can now invest in the technologies you need to show your employees and customers you’re invested in them. And your frontline workers can continue to do their jobs even better to fulfill your customers’ needs with more ease, even as you experience more friction or demand.
Zebra plays a role in providing the things people need and want every day because it’s our technology that’s helping frontline workers deliver goods, services, and experiences to billions of people every day. We’re working to do more because our partners and customers are doing more.
There’s more you must see. There are more people to serve. And their expectations are higher than they’ve ever been.
You need to communicate and coordinate with more people. You need to collect and review more data to be able to communicate and coordinate with people. And you need to move faster to collect and review that data and to communicate and coordinate with people. Meanwhile, automation and AI are playing an increased role in virtually every frontline operation and impacting every frontline job these days.
So, the only way your frontline workers are going to be able to do their jobs well and keep up with customer expectations for the next 10 years is if we do an even better job at Zebra.
Thinking and Acting Customer First
Zebra has thousands of engineers, solution architects, business leaders, and market analysts who think about your frontline every day as we help ensure the technology tools they are using are the right tools for right now and beyond.
We are digging in to understand what it will take from a process perspective to make your operations safer, more efficient, and more impactful. And we are committed to designing and delivering the exact set of technology tools that, when brought together, will digitize and automate your environments.
We are providing new ways your teams can use core mobile computing, barcode scanning, and printing technologies alongside more automation-enabling technologies such as RFID, sensors, machine vision, AI-based software, and robotics. And we’re developing some impressive solutions to help solve your biggest problems. Check out some recent success stories across virtually every industry and region to learn how other Zebra customers are transforming their frontline workflows with technology.
Leading Through Innovation
As we drive a culture of innovation, we are giving Zebras the freedom to work differently and encouraging them to make a positive impact in their communities – all while challenging the status quo of frontline work. We are helping our customers transform their operational outcomes and the way entire industries work. Some key examples include:
- transforming “the on-demand economy” model that we’ve evolved from a vision in ecommerce to a global standard across multiple industries.
- reducing friction in manufacturing, supply chain, retail, healthcare, hospitality, and government operations.
- making healthcare more accessible, sports and entertainment experiences more exciting, and economic growth possible for billions of people.
- enhancing people’s jobs – and, subsequently, people’s lives – to be more fulfilling and less stressful.
We are also continuing to build a strong, unified culture at Zebra based on the belief that people – supported by the best technology – drive innovation, create impact and move society forward. Backed by our legacy of track and trace technology as well as our leadership in mobile computing, scanning and printing, we continue to invest in the machine vision, software and robotics technologies that enable us to support our customers’ growing transformation needs.
Our goal is that, in 10 years from now, your frontline workers will reflect on the previous decade and say, “Technology has helped make my job more impactful,” even though they are probably going to be doing a lot more than they are today.
That’s because, over the next decade, everyone here at Zebra will continue to collaborate with our customers and partners to push boundaries. Together, we will create new ways of working for organizations, frontline workers, and those they serve.
If you’d like to learn more about how we’ve been innovating over the past 10 years, how we’re continuing to innovate, and the impact it will have on you and your teams today and tomorrow, our Story Hub is a great place to start.
Jeff Schmitz
Jeff Schmitz became Chief People Officer in March 2023. He has more than 30 years of experience in technology, engineering and marketing, and he joined Zebra Technologies in 2016.
In his previous role as Chief Marketing Officer, Jeff launched Zebra’s award-winning PartnerConnect program and led the company’s first major brand refresh. In 2020, Jeff also took on the role of Chief Human Resources Officer. As CMO/CHRO, he focused on attracting, retaining and developing top talent and creating opportunities for growth and development within Zebra’s inclusive culture and diverse workforce, and he continues to focus on these areas today as Chief People Officer.
Prior to joining Zebra, Jeff served as General Manager and held other leadership roles at Spirent Communications, Visual Networks and Tellabs. He has a master’s degree in computer science from the Illinois Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Marquette University. In addition, he is the executive sponsor of Edge, Zebra’s Millennial and Gen Z Employee Resource Group.
Rob Armstrong
Robert (Rob) Armstrong became Chief Marketing Officer, Zebra Technologies in March 2023. Rob has over 20 years of experience in the B2B technology sector and joined Zebra in 2014.
Throughout his career, he has held various go-to-market leadership roles, most recently serving as Zebra’s Senior Vice President of Integrated Marketing & Channels. In this role, Rob oversaw go-to-market strategy and downstream marketing execution for the full Zebra portfolio, inclusive of customer segment, product, and digital marketing; channel and brand strategies; media relations; pricing; and analytics. During this time, he led a diverse, high-performing team of marketing and channel professionals to drive preference globally and evolve the perception of the Zebra brand in over 100 countries in collaboration with more than 10,000 partners in Zebra’s growing channel ecosystem.
Prior to joining Zebra, Rob held various global and regional roles across product development, business development, operations, and marketing at Motorola Solutions, including assignments in Asia Pacific and Europe. Rob has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and he currently serves as a board member for Bernie’s Book Bank and FIRST Illinois Robotics.
