Relay Launches Fleet Shield Program to End the Era of Disposable Frontline Tech, Operational Disruption and Budget Surprises

New Research Reveals Nearly Half (48%) of Industrial Workers Say Legacy Communication Hardware Is Hurting Frontline Safety and Productivity, Stalling Digital Transformation

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Relay, the company that turns talk into action for frontline teams, today announced the launch of its groundbreaking Fleet Shield Program, signaling an end to the industry's accepted—and broken—model of expensive hardware, inevitable failures, and costly downtime. In a direct challenge to legacy devices like traditional radios, which remain disconnected from the cloud and hold back critical safety and operational improvements, Relay's Fleet Shield program eliminates the unpredictable and costly hardware replacement cycle that has plagued frontline industries for years. By pairing its cloud-connected devices with Fleet Shield, Relay provides the strong, connected foundation required to finally unlock the digital transformation of frontline work. The program is made possible by Relay's commitment to superior industrial hardware and software design, creating a device that is not only rugged and intuitive, but also intelligent and reliable from the ground up.

Fleet Shield attacks the frontline's biggest frustrations head-on. For any operational failure—including a prematurely worn-out battery, the industry's #1 reported failure—Relay provides a full device replacement at no cost, shipped next-day before customers even send the old one back. Better yet, Relay proactively monitors device health to preemptively replace units before they can cause a slowdown, effectively turning downtime upside down. Looking ahead, the program also eliminates the long-term costs of wear and tear. At the conclusion of their initial term, customers renewing their service plan can replace every device in their fleet with new, same-generation models for only $75 each. And unlike legacy manufacturers who treat accidental damage as another sales opportunity, Relay acts as a partner, not a predator. Lost or broken devices are replaced for a simple 50% discount, ending the cycle of being punished and taken advantage of for the realities of a tough job.

"For too long, the industry has accepted a broken model: buy an expensive, single-purpose device, watch it fail, and then pay again while you wait weeks for it to come back from a repair depot. That cycle of operational disruption and budget surprises ends now," said Jim Mulcahy, President of Relay. "You cannot build the intelligent, data-driven frontline of the future on a foundation of unreliable hardware. Fleet Shield provides a dependable hardware backbone, elevated by our always-on, cloud-based platform. Fleet Shield isn't just a business model innovation; it's an operational one, powered by a sophisticated logistics network and proactive AI-enabled fleet health monitoring that allows us to be proactive. If a device fails for any covered reason, we ship a replacement next day. This is a shift from transactional hardware sales to a partnership model that provides operational certainty."

The launch of Fleet Shield is grounded in new survey findings from Relay. The report surveyed both managers and frontline workers in industrial sectors, highlighting a growing crisis where outdated communication devices are costing companies significant time, money, and workforce stability. The report underscores the need for modern communication technology, revealing how frequent device failures, communication dead zones, and lack of real-time visibility are slowing teams down, hurting productivity, and putting worker safety at risk. While AI and automation are rapidly advancing in white-collar roles, many frontline teams are still using radios and tablets – tools that can't keep up with the speed, scale, and safety demands of modern operations.

Key survey findings include:

• Device failures are a daily disruption: More than a third of frontline teams (36.8%) report communication devices fail every single day, slowing response times, disrupting operations, and putting safety at risk.
• Battery and breakage lead the list of issues: Nearly half of workers cite battery problems (48.4%) and physical damage from drops or breakage (46.8%) as the most common causes of device failure—both of which are now directly addressed by the Fleet Shield program's comprehensive coverage.
• Outdated tech stalls progress: 48.2% have had to delay or cancel operational improvement projects—such as new safety initiatives or workflow trials—because their communication technology was too unreliable or outdated to support them.
• Retention suffers without upgrades: 45.2% say outdated technology contributes to turnover among frontline workers. The Fleet Shield program addresses this with its Fleet Shield Upgrade Guarantee, which gives customers the right to upgrade their entire fleet to the newest models at 50% off MSRP, ensuring teams always have access to modern tools.
• Proactive maintenance reduces stress: More than 70% (71.8%) say a service that proactively maintains and replaces devices would lower workplace stress, with over a third (36.8%) saying it would significantly reduce stress.

"Frontline workers are the engine of our economy, but they are operating with a digital gap. Industrial companies are racing toward AI and automation, but they're still handing out disconnected radios that are a technological dead end," said Chris Chuang, CEO of Relay. "This data is a wake-up call: legacy communication tools are a hidden tax on productivity and a drain on morale. We solve this by first ensuring the hardware foundation is unbreakable with Fleet Shield. This new standard of operational certainty is what unlocks the power of our software and provides a clear path to an AI-enabled future, something impossible with yesterday's technology."

These findings prove that the traditional approach of purchasing expensive, disconnected hardware with limited warranties and separate, ongoing costs for battery replacements is fundamentally broken. The Fleet Shield Program is designed to eliminate these pain points—no more gambling on the reliability of aging hardware, no more surprise budget requests for replacements, and no more operational downtime waiting for repairs. It transforms hardware from an operational headache and volatile capital expenditure into a predictable, managed service, freeing up resources for critical upgrades instead of costly maintenance.

To learn more about Fleet Shield and Relay's end-to-end platform, visit www.relaypro.com.

About Relay
Relay is the intelligent platform that transforms frontline communication into operational excellence. Our cloud-based software, coupled with rugged, connected hardware, provides teams with actionable data and AI-powered tools to optimize safety, productivity, and operational performance. By transforming frontline work from disconnected tasks to intelligent, data-rich workflows, Relay is empowering industries to reach new levels of efficiency, safety, and success. For more information, visit www.relaypro.com.

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SOURCE Relay Inc.