November 13, 2007
GHQ: Voice Activated
By Kim Ann Zimmermann
Through a special arrangement, what follows is an excerpt of a current article from Grocery Headquarters magazine, presented here for discussion.
For the past decade or more, grocery warehouse workers have been hearing voices in their heads. Not a cry for psychiatric help, these voices are directing them where to head next to pick the items needed to complete shipments to the stores.
While most of the work in speech recognition has been in the area of picking, primarily for dry goods, many grocers and third-party warehouse operators are looking to expand the technology’s use to other areas of the DC, such as restocking and putaways.
As voice-directed systems help guide pickers from order to order more efficiently, operators also talk back, using their voices instead of keyboards to let the system know that they picked up that pallet of tomatoes. Once transactions are recognized and the system is updated, workers are directed to their next assignments. They also promise greater efficiencies over bar code scanning as well as the paper-based systems.
One of the factors driving increased interest in the use of voice recognition technology is its availability on standard hardware devices such as PDAs and handheld computers. Previously, supermarkets and warehouse operators looking to implement voice recognition had to invest in costly specialized hardware.
“This is an opportunity to buy less expensive terminals that are less expensive to run and can do more,” said Larry Sweeney, vice president and product manager at Vocollect, a provider of voice recognition technology. “If I’m a grocery company and I own 1,000 dedicated terminals, the maintenance cost goes from $600 to $200 for an industry-standard device.”
The move of voice toward standardized equipment also enables the devices to be used for other applications on the shop floor and even in the stores.
“Everything is going mobile, so operators can use one unique terminal to carry out different tasks alternating between voice and traditional bar code reading, what we refer to as multi-modal applications,” says Bruce Bowen, vice president of sales for Aldata Solution, a supply chain technology provider.
Productivity will be further enhanced when RFID becomes more common. For instance, when an out-of-stock product is received at the store and passes through an RFID reader, a team could be alerted by voice and directed to expedite it to the retail shelf. The team member may also use a wearable RFID reader to locate and verify the correct product. A similar system marrying voice and RFID could be used for discontinued, recalled or expired items, as well as time-sensitive promotional items.
As the technologies advance and become less expensive, grocers may consider using the systems in trucks, in the back room and even on the store floor.
“Say the voice system was working in concert with RFID,” said Mr. Sweeney. “The driver could roll the pallets past an RFID scanner as he unloaded the truck, and he would be immediately alerted by voice if he took the wrong order into the store. The store staff could get an immediate voice alert if there was an out-of-stock situation if the shelves were equipped with RFID readers. The night crew could be directed by voice as they stock the shelves at night. There is huge potential going forward.”
Discussion Questions: How do you think the rollout of speech recognition technology will transform the warehouse and supply chain? What processes do you think they could particularly benefit?
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Voice Activation will continue to gain ground in the warehouse. Picking was the first real application, due to reduced pick time (not having to label cases or cross off pick lists). Two hand picks are faster then one hand, most of the time.
In theory, voice activation also reduces pick errors. The weak side is that the picker must be able to understand English or the voice must be in another language. The picker must also be able to read English for both slot number and item picked, otherwise there are pick errors. Without RFID, a hash case count should be included in the shipping process.
Expanding to Put Away and Replenishment is a natural. Productivity increases as associates are always working with direction as to the next task. This is far more efficient than most warehouse supervisors achieve. With all technology costs going down and products getting smaller, voice activation will the primary approach for all warehouses.
Speech recognition technology is a terrific tool. It can reinforce training, which is critical for high staff turnover retailers. For supply chain folks, it would be especially useful if it’s multilingual, since many distribution center workers are foreign born.
I firmly believe that implementing voice picking is a bad decision. It might work for consumer direct, although I’ve never thought about that a lot, but it is the completely wrong thing for grocery warehouses.
Probably the most important steps in assuring a successful merchandising program occur between the store receiving dock and the store shelves. By removing any communication with the night crew who is handling the cases being received at the store, the retailer has failed to get their message down to the people who can do anything about it.
Instead of eliminating picking labels, retailers should be analyzing their content and improving the guidance they provide the in-store stock handlers. Priority items that are satisfying an out of stock must be high lighted, cases for next week’s sales program should be identified. The shelf aisle and section for that item, in that store, should be identified on the label. The end display where sale merchandise is to be displayed should be indicated. New items should be highlighted, and maybe a temporary shelf tag included.
I just visited a store that uses the top shelves to hold excess shelf inventory. The night crew is using magic markers to write the retailers order number on the partial cases. Wouldn’t it be nicer if there was a label?
Getting merchandise out of the warehouse doesn’t remove it from the self distributing retailer’s balance sheet. Maybe wholesalers or third party warehouse operators want to get rid of picking labels, but retailers should not.
This is a no-brainer vs. RFID. It is the way to go–period. It not only reduces mispicks–it dramatically reduces them. It improves efficiency and productivity. It reduces shorts or out of stocks by speeding up fill of empty slots through faster reporting. The bilingual issue is solved by training the voice to the individual. It’s a must have in any distribution environment. No question.
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Voice Activation will continue to gain ground in the warehouse. Picking was the first real application, due to reduced pick time (not having to label cases or cross off pick lists). Two hand picks are faster then one hand, most of the time.
In theory, voice activation also reduces pick errors. The weak side is that the picker must be able to understand English or the voice must be in another language. The picker must also be able to read English for both slot number and item picked, otherwise there are pick errors. Without RFID, a hash case count should be included in the shipping process.
Expanding to Put Away and Replenishment is a natural. Productivity increases as associates are always working with direction as to the next task. This is far more efficient than most warehouse supervisors achieve. With all technology costs going down and products getting smaller, voice activation will the primary approach for all warehouses.
Speech recognition technology is a terrific tool. It can reinforce training, which is critical for high staff turnover retailers. For supply chain folks, it would be especially useful if it’s multilingual, since many distribution center workers are foreign born.
I firmly believe that implementing voice picking is a bad decision. It might work for consumer direct, although I’ve never thought about that a lot, but it is the completely wrong thing for grocery warehouses.
Probably the most important steps in assuring a successful merchandising program occur between the store receiving dock and the store shelves. By removing any communication with the night crew who is handling the cases being received at the store, the retailer has failed to get their message down to the people who can do anything about it.
Instead of eliminating picking labels, retailers should be analyzing their content and improving the guidance they provide the in-store stock handlers. Priority items that are satisfying an out of stock must be high lighted, cases for next week’s sales program should be identified. The shelf aisle and section for that item, in that store, should be identified on the label. The end display where sale merchandise is to be displayed should be indicated. New items should be highlighted, and maybe a temporary shelf tag included.
I just visited a store that uses the top shelves to hold excess shelf inventory. The night crew is using magic markers to write the retailers order number on the partial cases. Wouldn’t it be nicer if there was a label?
Getting merchandise out of the warehouse doesn’t remove it from the self distributing retailer’s balance sheet. Maybe wholesalers or third party warehouse operators want to get rid of picking labels, but retailers should not.
This is a no-brainer vs. RFID. It is the way to go–period. It not only reduces mispicks–it dramatically reduces them. It improves efficiency and productivity. It reduces shorts or out of stocks by speeding up fill of empty slots through faster reporting. The bilingual issue is solved by training the voice to the individual. It’s a must have in any distribution environment. No question.