Benefits of Voice Recognition Systems

Voice in the warehouse has quickly become an industry best practice. Voice enables workers to do their jobs hands and eyes free, boosting productivity, eliminating mistakes, streamlining new employee training and making logistics more competitive.

ACCURACY IMPROVEMENTS - 99.9%

Improvements in order picking accuracy are dramatic, and accuracy of 99.9% (one error per thousand picks), and often much better, is usually achieved.

PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS - 10-20%
• Voice Recognition systems are "Hands Free" – no paper or bar code scanner to handle.
• "Eyes free" – no stopping to read picking instructions, pickers listen & speak while moving.
• Trips back to the assignment desk are eliminated.
• Voice direction “pushes” pickers harder – workers respond well to verbal instructions.
• Faster recording of catch weights – spoken rather than written or keyed.
• Fewer re-picks due to fewer empty picking slots because real time stock updating triggers replenishment instructions.

IMPROVEMENT IN EFFICIENCY
The Real Time Radio Communication Enables Real Time Stock Updating......

• Optimizing fork lift truck use by preventing re-picks or waiting time due to empty picking faces. • Building cycle counting in to the replenishment (letdown) task improves efficiency in stock checks. • Allows "Real-time" feedback for proactive management. • Voice is ideal for stock reconciliation and perpetual inventory applications. • Improved accuracy of stock records leads to improved service level and less time spent investigating stock discrepancies.

ADMINISTRATIVE PRODUCTIVITY
Administrative productivity is improved because the work of printing and distributing picking lists or labels is eliminated, as is the task of keying in picking confirmations, picking amendments and catch weights.

COST JUSTIFICATION
One of the main considerations of introducing a voice recognition system is its ability to offer a Return on Investment (ROI).

The following points summarize contributing factors which enable significant cost reductions:

• Removal of the cost of printing and distributing picking documents
• Removal of the cost of re-keying order amendments, picking confirmations and catch weights.
• Eliminating paper picking labels brings a significant cost saving in the cost of the paper alone.

The benefit of the improved accuracy associated with voice is that it can almost eliminate the costs associated with short picks and over picks:

Over Pick
• Reduced labor costs in handling return.
• Reduced Transport costs for returning items.
• Reduced costs for writing off returned stock outside shelf life.

Short Pick
• Cost of handling claim.
• Margin on lost sale.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Safety is improved as the hands and eyes free operation leads to fewer accidents. Eliminating paper also leads to less waste paper or label backing sheets, resulting in a cleaner, tidier and safer warehouse.

TRAINING
The training time for new pickers is reduced by the use of voice, as a voice directed task is easier to learn than interpreting a paper task. Training time can often be reduced by as much as half.