Voice and WMS Special technology report
Papas, it essential to be able to develop solutions that work for the customer.”
Gerrard considers that, from the highest level, all Voice solutions look pretty much the same – workers receive instructions through a headset and they give verbal responses as work progresses. “Under the covers, however, there are big differences that impact ease of use, operational flexibility, and long term cost,” he said. “Smart buyers will probe for these differences to ensure getting a solution that fits their needs both today and tomorrow. Many Voice solutions are fat client
“
communication is the basis for reliable, error- free performance in processes like goods movement. With the addition of our industry standard wireless interfaces
(Bluetooth/GPRS/802.11 a/b/g/n) and the DLoG Voice kit DLoG ruggedised computers provide audio and visual support in a single solution – that enables organisations to deliver and maximise the benefits of both Voice- directed solutions and WMS.”
Partnership approach What are some of the main functionality differentiators among the Voice-directed system and WMS vendor community? In Stanhope’s view, all Voice-directed systems should be able to deliver the same level of functionality. However, he adds that it is down to the quality and experience of the Voice provider to deliver functionality that precisely meets the customer needs; including meeting timescales, service level and budget i.e. to deliver on promises. “This needs to be consistently true throughout the partnership, not just at the initial agreement stage, ” he said. “At VoiteQ we always take a partnership approach with our customers, to develop specifically solutions for them, be it Voice picking on a conveyor at Littlehampton Book Services or creating a direct interface to new in-house WMS functionality at Mamas &
www.logisticsit.com
applications built on proprietary scripting languages and thus entail a closed architecture. Other solutions are based on open standards and promise wider flexibility for the future.”
interfaces, and visual tools to configure them such as Voxware’s VoxConnect, Voice-WMS integration can be accomplished more quickly, and Voice ROI can be achieved which can then pay for the next WMS upgrade – a much better way to go.”
It is always important for our customers that the actual business logic of the Voice application is still located in their WMS/ERP. This has the distinct advantage that adjustments or changes in the business logic are performed directly by the customer, and the Voice system adopts these changes.” – Andreas Finken, topVOX.
Finken considers that while WMS providers model the logistics work flows of a logistics facility in their systems, the pick by Voice application provides ergonomic and efficient
implementation of the commissioning processes as a subsystem. “For Voice providers, what is important is that the customer is supported in the efficient management of
employees and that he
is able to optimise the quality of the order picking,” he said. “In this way we ensure that our customers increase their business success.”
Gerrard reminds us that, traditionally, Voice solutions were bespoke applications. “While companies got a solution crafted for their specific requirements, the downside is a high cost (more programming) every time the solution needs to be modified,” he said. “Today we see configurable software products in the Voice market – and this is the wave of the future. Configurable products enable the Voice solution to be tailored to the company’s unique needs, and the cost to modify such a product is far less than with traditional Voice solutions.”
Gerrard adds that WMS integration capability is becoming a key differentiator for Voice vendors. “At Voxware we now call Voice technology ‘the smart man’s WMS upgrade’,” he said. “In the past, Voice solutions had to be so tightly integrated with the WMS that a ‘deadly embrace’ was created. Often, a specific release of the WMS had to be installed in order for Voice to work – a hugely expensive undertaking for customers who were not on the required release level. Today, with loosely-coupled message-based
For Clark, Voice-only systems can sometimes be very role-specific, which, he says, can take away the flexibility and efficiency delivered by an RF operator controlled in real time. “For example, a Voice operator with specific hardware (no barcode scanner) would be far slower if directed to receive at Goods In, than an operator with a barcode scanner,” he commented. “Voice-specific devices often have no screen, which can limit their usefulness outside of picking and make user training slower, which must be taken into account in smaller, more nimble operations.”
Minimal errors
In terms of the differentiators among the larger vendors of Voice systems,
July 2011
Andreas Finken, director
MANUFACTURING &LOGISTICS
IT 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56