FoodLogistics.com |

GETTING VOCAL: A frozen storage worker uses voice integrated technology to aid in thepicking/selecting process.

MULTI-TASKING: Workers can combine cycle-counting with picking activities thanks to new technologies.

WEIGHING IN ON VOICE: Some systems prompt workers for case weights in order to ensure billing accuracy.

SOUND AND VISION: Voice solutions can substantially increase productivity.

What if your warehouse workers could complete every operation in your facility with just one device? That is the goal of the food industry after the successful results it achieved in utilizing voice technology in picking/selecting operations. Costs are now within reach and companies are looking toward integrating voice with other technologies for use in warehouse operations including put-away, loading and replenishment, receiving, and loading pallets onto trailers.

Integrating various technologies into one device offers powerful capabilities, totally enabling workers to use the most appropriate technology for the task at hand. "We have standard product out there now addressing many applications including replenishment, put-away, and bulk transfers," says Larry Sweeney, vice president of product management for Pittsburgh-based Vocollect Inc. As equipment ages, warehouse managers plan to replace those systems with voice technologies.

Multi-modal is the new frontier in to-day's highly engineered environments. "Customers want to be able to leverage the same device or terminal they're using in other parts of the warehouse for voice applications as well," says Jeff Slevin, COO, at Lucas Systems in Sewickley, PA.

Lucas Systems delivered its first voice solution on multi-modal terminals nearly three years ago and currently has several dozen customers under contract to do the same, ranging from single-site operations to multi-site rollouts including grocery chains and foodservice distributors. Jennifer is Lucas Systems' voice-based warehouse logistics solution, which uses recorded speech in order to sound like a real person.

Customers no longer have to buy one device that runs voice applications and another device that does RF scanning functions for other parts of the warehouse that may not lend themselves to a voice application, continues Slevin.