Enabling a Future-Ready Supply Chain
Complex global markets are stricken with challenges; from labor shortages to increased costs for transportation and raw materials, supply-chain-wide disruptions require flexible solutions that can drive productivity at an affordable cost. One technology that meets the need and is widely deployed at many of the world’s largest distribution centers is voice-directed workflows.
Voice-directed solutions offer hands-free, eyes-up technology, allowing workers to navigate safely and more efficiently in various settings. By enabling more focused and simplified workflows, voice technologies make multitasking easier, improving organizational productivity and worker satisfaction.
This eBook examines the many ways in which voice-directed technology can help future- ready your operations. From the warehouse floor, all the way to the retail stockroom, voice solutions are ready to streamline processes and enhance worker productivity.
How do Voice-Directed Solutions Work? What Are The Benefits?
Voice-directed workers wear specially designed headsets with noise- canceling microphones that are driven by your WMS or ERP system. The system simply tells the worker where to go, which bin and items to locate, and tells them how many items to pick or put-away or load. Verbal responses confirm the worker is at the correct location, selecting the correct item, in the correct quantity. This is all accomplished while keeping their hands free and their eyes focused on the task at hand. Eliminating the need for paper checklists or using handheld computers and learning sometimes complex keyboard sequences yields an immediate throughput boost – typically more than 20% based on years of successful deployments. Additionally, training times are greatly reduced.; a big benefit if you’re hiring or bringing in temp or seasonal workers.
These systems are flexible and easy to use – they can be used voice-only or supplemented with barcode scanners and RFID readers. They learn the user’s style of speaking and can handle multiple languages. Many workflows are supported today by voice: receiving, refilling, cycle counts, sortation, put away, picking, packing, cross-dock, loading, etc.
And year after year voice-driven systems deliver fantastic results! Faster throughput, higher accuracy, quicker training times. And workers love it, as often demonstrated by user surveys, and by reduced staff turnover at most locations after voice technology is introduced.
An SAP-Certified Solution
Our voice solution also boasts the ability to integrate directly with SAP warehouse management and data storage systems. The Almasons Platform offers the only SAP-certified voice system on the market. This ensures that no matter which SAP platform or generation you’ve deployed, your voice implementation has been stability and security tested by SAP and retested before any SAP upgrades or patches are released. You can rest easy that your mission-critical systems are backed by world-class expertise and continual testing.
Hands-Free, Eyes-Up Technology:
Upto 99% Improve Accuracy Rate, More than 30% Increased Overall Productivity
Improving Operational Efficiency with Voice
Across the supply chain, voice-directed solutions are revolutionizing workflows and helping business maintain a competitive edge. By implementing cost-effective solutions that integrate seamlessly into your existing processes, you can overcome supply chain obstacles and boost your bottom line. Here are five ways voice solutions can help improve efficiency in your operations:
1 Increased Productivity
Voice-directed workflows encourages continual listening and responding, allowing for better worker focus throughout a shift, ability to multitask and increase outputs.
2 Improved Pick Accuracy
Errors in warehouse picking processes can cost anywhere between $10 to $250 each. Voice-directed picking improves accuracy and enables workers to focus on the tasks at hand, with fewer distractions.
3 Safer, more Simplified Worker Experience
Hands-free technology reduces distractions and increases awareness of the surrounding
environment, including forklift traffic, reducing legal liabilities, and lowering insurance costs over time.
4 Reduce Training Time
Honeywell voice solutions, integrated by Lowry are designed to serve a more diverse workforce including temporary employees and non-native speakers, reducing training time, and costs, and increasing worker satisfaction.
5 Improved Inventory Management
Real-time visibility and frequent cycle counting through voice picking optimize inventory levels, greatly reducing inventory holding costs, and staffing costs associated with inventory counts.
What Does it Take to Deploy?
Finding the right voice system and setting things up is easy when you call in a technology expert like Lowry Solutions. We bring decades of industry expertise and best-in-class, proven solutions that drive your workflow improvements. Lowry works with industry leading technology partners, such as Honeywell’s Voice team and Almasons to provide a complete solution.
Honeywell is widely regarded as the leader in voice directed technology, after 30+ years in the business. Their technologies are unmatched in performance and have been deployed around the world in many of the largest and most sophisticated warehouses. Almasons are the developers of The Almasons Platform (TAP). TAP was developed by SAP experts for a more repeatable and easily configurable gateway to backend systems. This allows the introduction of new technologies like voice-directed servers, as well as robotics servers and automated conveyance controllers without requiring backend system modifications or upgrades.
The complete solution is installed, set-up, and typically operational in 8-12 weeks, all without backend system modifications or upgrades required.
About Lowry Solutions
Lowry Solutions is a global systems integrator for Enterprise Mobility Services, Internet of Things (IoT) Solutions and Managed Print Services. Our team of specialized consultants has decades of experience designing and implementing solutions that increase the visibility and traceability of all assets while reducing the labor traditionally needed to manage your supply chain. Thousands of clients trust Lowry’s customer success and support teams to be there to provide support that exceeds end-user expectations after solution deployment.
About Honeywell
Honeywell’s leading-edge technologies are transforming industries with smarter and faster ways to achieve business goals and objectives. Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions (SPS) provides products, software and connected solutions that improve productivity, workplace safety and asset performance for our customers around the globe. We deliver on this promise through industry-leading mobile devices, software, cloud technology and automation solutions, the broadest range of personal protective equipment and gas detection technology, and custom engineered sensors, switches and controls.
About Almasons
Almasons is an innovator in the SAP supply chain space and has developed several SAP-certified products to simplify SAP’s warehouse management implementations. We offer voice-picking platforms, and configurable extensions to SAP WMS, SAP EWM, SAP IM. We also provide connectors to many other WMS and ERP systems, as well as Transportation Management Systems (TMS) and CRM systems. Capabilities extend beyond WMS to include Yard Management, Electronic Signature Capture, Labor Management and Analytics (such as heatmaps), all without requiring extensive and costly WMS system upgrades or modifications.
Driving Real Results with Voice Technologies
Throughout the supply chain, voice solutions are helping businesses improve efficiencies, reduce errors, and counteract market disruptions through meaningful, SAP-certified workflow improvements. By working with a partner like Lowry Solutions, you can access industry knowledge and experience to deliver cost-effective solutions that best fit your organizational needs and help maximize productivity.
