The hardware you need is mostly the hardware you already own.
Retail software has a reputation for forcing expensive, proprietary handheld terminals on you. Stokk runs in the browser on cheap, off-the-shelf hardware instead. For everyday floor work we recommend a rugged handheld with a built-in scanner, or a tablet if you want a bigger screen. The bonus: it also runs on any phone, so when you need extra hands for an annual count or a sudden burst of demand, every spare phone becomes a station without buying a thing.
Flood the floor for the annual count, no hardware to buy.
For day-to-day rolling counts, a handheld with a built-in scanner is the smoother tool. But the annual count or a busy spell is exactly when phones earn their keep: everyone already carries one, so you can put a dozen extra counters on the floor for a day and scale straight back down. Pair a cheap Bluetooth scanner for speed; the camera works but is slower, so skip it for real volume.
- A handheld for routine counts; spare phones for the surge
- Pair a cheap Bluetooth scanner for fast, accurate scanning
- Several staff count the same session at once
Pick the screen size, not a price tag.
Picking, put-away, receiving, transfers and labels all run on the same browser app. For a serious operation a dedicated handheld or tablet is the everyday default; phones are there for the busy week, not every day.
Rugged & small
Zebra TC20, cheap, with a built-in scanner
Our default for scanning-heavy work. One-handed, survives gloves and the odd drop, and the scanner is built in, so there's nothing to pair.
Big screen
iPad mini, or any ~8 inch tablet
Roomy for dense pick lists, put-away and receiving. Easy to read across a busy warehouse. Pair a cheap Bluetooth scanner for scanning.
Phones, for the surge
Any iOS or Android phone
Not the everyday default, but a superpower for the annual count, a demand spike or temp staff: everyone already has one, so you scale up for the busy week and back down with zero extra hardware.
A simple shopping list.
None of it is proprietary. Buy it anywhere, scale by adding a device, not a contract.
| Job | We recommend | Also works |
|---|---|---|
| Counting | A Zebra TC20 (built-in scanner) for routine counts | Any phone + a cheap scanner, great for the annual surge |
| Picking, put-away, receiving, transfers | A Zebra TC20 (cheap, built-in scanner) or an iPad mini (big screen) | Any iOS or Android phone or tablet, with a scanner paired |
| Scanning | A built-in scanner (TC20) or a cheap HID Bluetooth scanner, e.g. an E800 | The phone camera, but it's slower |
| Labels & delivery notes | Almost any printer you already have | PrintNode supports nearly all printers, thermal or office |
Device names are examples, not requirements. Stokk is browser-based and device-agnostic, so anything running a current iOS or Android browser works, and any HID-mode Bluetooth scanner pairs.
See it run on a cheap device, or the phone in your pocket.
Book a demo and we'll show you the floor app on a handheld, and how any phone joins in for a busy count. No proprietary hardware to buy first.