Feature Logistics Time to voice your demands
Voice-directed technologies continue to evolve to address intensifying customer demand for speed and accuracy. Darrel Williams, regional director, Vocollect, takes a deeper look into this technology
moving staff and planning labour. In a recent independent survey by
Redshift Research, commissioned by Vocollect, 80 per cent of those using voice-directed technology had seen a reduction in picking errors combined with increased productivity. In fact, further evidence has shown
that these businesses can work in excess of 20 per cent faster than those with paper lists, with accuracy rates of up to 99.98 per cent. Voice-directed warehouse technol-
ogy supercharges logistics operations, enabling them to meet customer demand. It is this type of technology that is enabling industry pioneers such as Next to guarantee next-day delivery for orders placed up to 10 pm. However, retail and business spend-
order fulfilment, but this has put extreme pressure on their warehouses and logistics partners to respond. For the most part they have done this admirably, but they now have to main- tain their high standards and the rest of the industry needs to up its game and compete. Of course, keeping customers happy
H
is the ultimate driver of any organisa- tion, whether selling to consumers or other businesses. But, surprisingly, this one universal truth sometimes gets ignored when it comes to invest- ing in IT infrastructure, with buyers enticed by expensive, feature-packed systems which, in reality, will bring limited return on investment. Operational efficiencies are impor-
tant, but sometimes it pays to start with the customer – or your customer’s cus- tomer – and work backwards. At the moment what do consumers or business buyers really want? As these industry leaders are proving, the answer must be instant availability and almost immedi- ate delivery of the right product. This places the spotlight firmly on
picking and distribution tasks where there’s a need for faster and more error-free product selection and real- time visibility of inventory levels. These factors have been front of mind
S8
as the logistics industry become a victim of its own suc- cess? Retail leaders have raised the bar by promising ultra-fast
in the development of new voice- directed warehouse solutions. Voice-directed pickers wear head-
sets, leaving eyes and hands free. They are fed instructions, which are auto- matically sequenced into the most effi- cient order, – one simple command at a time – from the warehouse manage- ment system (WMS). The picker con- firms each step / instruction in real time, ‘as it happens’ by reading back check digits or other elements of an item code which eliminates errors and the need to spend time understanding and differentiating between stock items to ensure that the right products have been selected. As instructions are given on an as-needed basis, pickers can concentrate entirely on each action without distraction or delay. This step-by-step mentoring means
that staff become multi-skilled and can be easily re-assigned to other tasks without the need for training. This provides the real flexibility and scalability needed by high-volume, multi-channel retailers who typically experience fluctuating demand and changing order profiles. Initial training time with Voice is
usually measured in minutes, with most users reporting full efficiency in days, rather than weeks or months with other technologies. Additionally shift managers get a real-time view of progress through current workloads so that they can easily manage resources,
ing continues to be depressed, forcing down prices and profit margins, so for many businesses now is just not the right time to make significant new investments. But most businesses will always find a way to invest when they can expect a fast return – and voice- directed technologies have been shown to offer ROI in less than 12 months. There is also the option of using
Darrel Williams, regional director, Vocollect
legacy devices so that there is no need to invest in completely new systems or equipment. In fact it is now fairly straightforward to integrate voice tech- nology into any existing WMS or ERP system with no expensive retrofit or time-consuming changes to enterprise IT structure. Of course, new systems offer more
functionality. But logistics operations need to weigh up business needs with current market requirements and investigate what can be achieved with their IT on a case-by-case basis. One of the common misconceptions
about voice-directed solutions is that they detract, in some way, from job sat- isfaction. In fact the Redshift Research study showed otherwise; 90 per cent of those using the technology were sat- isfied in their work. So, on the one hand voice technology can help improve productivity and accuracy, on the other it helps retain good and experienced employees. They say that necessity is the mother
Vocollect T: 01628 552900
vocollect.co.uk Enter 350
of invention and voice-directed tech- nologies have certainly evolved because of a pressing need to address rising customer expectations in increas- ingly competitive, but also fickle mar- kets. But their track record already shows, they could be the key to enabling the industry to continue to raise standards and respond to demand.
SEPTEMBER 2013 Materials Handling & Logistics
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