Due to coronavirus, retailers of all types — big box, specialty, hard goods, grocery, and restaurants — have instantly confronted the new COVID-induced operating mode: frontline workers are engaged in entirely new, and urgent, delivery and customer service workflows.  With needs well beyond traditional Store Operations communication, these new work modes require real-time location management, dispatch, and synchronization of distributed work teams inside and outside the store walls, across distribution networks, geographies, and the enterprise.

Digital and ecommerce initiatives to grow customer demand, combined with newly deployed drive-up and delivery fulfillment, have also abruptly reshaped the retail landscape.  The winners in this shift are those able to rapidly and flexibly spin up communications for teams of workers, including instantly joining gig workers, to reduce friction, and keep customer service high.

Similarly, operations managers need an operational control view of their frontline workforce, now including mobile on-the-road workers in delivery and fulfillment. Dynamic, on-demand, delivery workflows result in chaos unless you can see across teams, by worker, by location, task, and status, and communicate in real-time with voice and multimedia.

Lastly, keeping frontline workers safe and compliant is not optional; safety protocol completion and confirmation will be critical to retain customer confidence and staff, both. Easy voice-tag and standard operating procedure (SOP) voice workflows are an essential part of Dispatch/Delivery Operations success.

Things have changed for retailers — period! — and will not return to how they were before. Retail tooling is no longer just inside-the-store systems. Don’t be limited by wifi-based and desktop in-store systems – Orion works where you work, on any mobile client, anywhere, and on any browser from any work location. Orion is delivering each of these critical solutions today with our off-the-shelf frontline workforce platform.  Orion: transforming the future of work.

Transdev is using Orion’s Communication, Dispatch, and Automation Platform to keep Paratransit Services moving for its Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority service across 58 cities and towns during the COVID-19 Response

SAN FRANCISCO – April 21, 2020 – Orion Labs, the leading communication and automation platform for frontline workers, today announced that Transdev will be implementing Orion to deliver their critical transport services as part of the response to the COVID-19 public health crisis in service to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) contract, one of the largest public transit agencies in the United States.

Request more information about Orion solutions for Transportation

Transdev is the operating partner for MBTA’s door-to-door paratransit service, The RIDE, an essential transportation “safety net” for seniors and the disabled to access essential services. Orion’s platform enables dispatchers to communicate with and manage hundreds of buses and vehicles while their dispatch teams are able to work from home. Transdev is using multiple Orion services including the Orion Dispatch Console, location services, and Orion’s advanced automation and workflow tools. Transdev is also automating their regulatory compliance by utilizing Orion message recording, archiving, and retrieval features.

“Greater Boston Area residents depend on The RIDE to access essential services,” said Jim Nihan, Manager of Paratransit Operations at MBTA. “Transdev chose Orion’s dispatch and cloud communication platform to ensure reliable public transportation and to protect the health of our customers and our contractor’s employees.”

“The MBTA RIDE service requires a modern, voice-first communication platform for their essential work,” said Gregory Taylor, CEO of Orion. “Orion’s real-time voice communication, context, and automation enables Transdev and MBTA to support a greatly increased level of service with improved efficiency and flexibility. Orion’s solution solves an urgent need for companies like Transdev when serving workers on the frontline. We are honored to be part of this important work to keep dispatchers, drivers, and customers safe and connected to critical services.”

About Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, more commonly known as the T, is one of the oldest public transit systems in the United States. It’s also the largest transit system in Massachusetts. As a division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the MBTA provides subway, bus, Commuter Rail, ferry, and paratransit service to eastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. To learn more, visit mbta.com.

About Transdev

Based near Chicago, Transdev is the largest private-sector operator of multiple modes of transit in North America, including bus, rail, streetcar, paratransit, and shuttle services. Transdev is committed to being the trusted partner of cities and transit authorities through quality execution and innovations in mobility. Its parent company, Transdev Group, is a leading global operator and integrator of mobility solutions in 17 countries and provides passengers every day the freedom to connect to what they care about in their cities. www.transdevna.com

About Orion

Orion Labs Inc. is the enterprise voice-first platform to connect frontline workers. Our customers transform their workforce productivity and safety with instant communication, AI Workflows, advanced location services, and software integrations. Orion was recently named an IDC Innovator and won a 2019 Edison Award for Materials Science & Engineering. Orion is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by leading investors. For more information, visit www.orionlabs.io.

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Media contact:

Vanessa Naylon
Orion Labs, Inc.
415-800-5467
press@orionlabs.io

Designed for Dynamic Operating Environments, Cloud-Enabled Dispatch Console Enables Feature-Rich Team Communication, Real-Time Location Tracking and Message Record/Playback

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30, 2019 — Orion Labs Inc., provider of the award-winning Orion voice services platform for real-time workforce collaboration, today announced the industry’s first Web-based push-to-talk (PTT) Orion Dispatch Console. This online dispatch interface enables enterprise administrators, dispatch teams, and desk workers to instantly connect with their mobile workforce without the requirement of installing software or other limitations of traditional desktop tools.

With this unique Web-based offering, Orion equips geographically disparate teams across organizations within transportation and field service industries with flexible and reliable voice dispatch capabilities from any Web browser with no software to install, ever. This expands upon the cloud-based platform offerings already provided via the Orion Command Center and Orion’s mobile apps, bringing enterprise operational control together with critical role-based administration configurable for all levels of the workforce.

“Orion Dispatch Console enables a whole new set of workers to participate in real-time communication,” said Orion CEO and co-founder, Jesse Robbins. “Enterprises running large field service teams or transportation fleets welcome the flexibility and ease of a Web-based solution for dispatching their frontline workforce. We continue to empower work teams by breaking down the limits and barriers of traditional team communication offerings.”

Flexibility, Reliability, and Ease of Deployment for Enterprise

To operate effectively, dispatchers need to speak directly to their team, monitor staff locations, and assign tasks rapidly. Dispatchers can now, on a single screen, talk to their team members via PTT, send messages to a single person or the entire group, review and replay recent messages, as well as see a map showing all team members’ locations.

Meanwhile, mobile workers communicate using the device that best fits their role — whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, wearables like the smart voice badge Orion Onyx, or even a legacy two-way radio.

Administrators onboarding new staff or expanding dispatch services to more teams can simply log in to the Orion Command Center from any online browser for a cloud-enabled dispatch console experience to immediately provision accounts and get teams working efficiently.

Key Benefits of Orion Dispatch Console:

• Dispatch effectively in dynamic operating environments: Assign tasks and redirect workers in response to emerging needs and replay messages so nothing is missed.
• Set up instantly from the cloud: Log in, activate staff accounts and start talking immediately without upgrading computers or activating license keys.
• Connect mobile workforce to desk workers: Monitor mobile workers’ communication and location to ensure operations proceed smoothly, without leaving your desk.

Orion Dispatch Console will be commercially available starting Oct. 7, 2019.

Orion is offering a discount to prospective customers who schedule a product demonstration by Oct. 11. To set up a demo, contact the Orion Solutions Team at hello@orionlabs.io.

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About Orion Labs, Inc.

Orion is the leader in voice-activated business communication and automation for the mobile, frontline workforce. Our customers are global enterprises transforming their productivity, compliance, and worker safety with Orion’s unique combination of real-time communications, context, and automation. With a focus on hospitality, transportation, logistics, and field services, we provide cloud-based enterprise services including alert workflows, indoor positioning, geofencing, language translation, Health, Safety, & Environment (HSE) compliance checklists, and more. Orion is based in San Francisco, CA and is backed by leading investors including Avalon Ventures, Argentum Capital, and Allen & Company LLC.

Media Contact

Allison DeLeo

Racepoint Global for Orion Labs, Inc.

415-694-6700

press@orionlabs.io