Strategic alliance poised to help retailers in Japan achieve greater productivity and efficiency

TOKYO, Japan — June 22, 2021 — Zebra Technologies Corporation, an innovator at the front line of business with solutions and partners that deliver a performance edge, today announced it has signed a product development and supply agreement with Sharp Marketing Japan Corporation. Under this exclusive agreement, Sharp has selected Zebra Technologies to develop and supply an Android™-powered RZ-H271 handheld mobile computer for Sharp's use in the retail segment in Japan.

"Increasingly, our retail customers are demanding the next generation of enterprise mobile computers that can help enhance their operational efficiencies," said Masao Mikamo, Member of the Board, Senior Executive Managing Officer, Business Solutions Company, Sharp Marketing Japan Corporation. "Our existing model, Windows®-based RZ-H260 handheld mobile computer has long been favored by retailers for its design and functionality, and the product design is succeeded to 'RZ-H271'. But as technology evolves, we want to ensure that our customers continue to enjoy cutting-edge technology from us. Working with Zebra, a leader in Android-powered enterprise mobility solutions, has empowered us to provide our retail customers with a new world-class enterprise mobile computer that will take the productivity and efficiency of retailers in Japan to the next level."

This strategic alliance is poised to help enterprises that are planning for their Android migration, after the support for Windows legacy mobile operating systems (OS) had ended. While Windows-powered devices are currently still operable, they are exposed to the ambiguity of security maintenance. As the world's most widely used mobile OS, Android provides its users with a modern OS that supports varying unique enterprise requirements.

Sharp's customers will benefit from the significant investments Zebra has made in developing Mobility DNA over the last decade. Packed with experience from thousands of use cases across countless real-world customer deployments, Mobility DNA strengthens Android with powerful, market-leading features that meet enterprise customers' unique requirements. The software suite from Zebra provides front-line workers and the teams that support them with both security and the tools they need to overcome common obstacles that modern enterprise mobile device deployments face, such as connectivity and application issues, battery failures, access control and more. Zebra's Mobility DNA makes work easier for front-line workers with its simplicity, which in turn raises staff productivity, lowers turnover, and helps teams more meaningfully serve customers and impact business outcomes.

"It is an honor for Zebra to be working with Sharp," said Takanori Furukawa, Regional Director of Japan, Zebra Technologies Asia Pacific. "We are proud to lend our expertise and experience to supply Sharp with a user-friendly enterprise mobility solution that has security and privacy embedded at the outset. Zebra's Android-based mobile computers enable front-line workers across a variety of verticals to speed through tasks in an efficient and accurate manner, enabling them to stay ahead in today's fast-paced business environment."

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Sharp Marketing Japan Corporation has exclusively selected Zebra Technologies to help develop and supply a lightweight Android-powered RZ-H271 mobile computer that caters to retailers in Japan.

• The strategic alliance between Sharp and Zebra aims to support enterprises in their Android migration.

• The user-friendly Android-powered mobile computers are slated to enhance the efficiency and productivity of retailers and their front-line workers.

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