Voice Technology in the Distribution Center
by Marc Wulfraat, managing partner, KOM International

Today, conversing with computers has evolved beyond the world of science fiction and become refined enough for use in the often noisy, high-speed atmosphere of the distribution center As a result companies will increasingly employ voice technology in their arsenal of technologies to help them inch even closer to the holy grail of 100 percent shipping accuracy.

Speech technology requires that operators in plants and distribution centers wear wireless, voice-sensitive computers with headsets. The operators respond to computer generated speech commands by speaking into the headset to confirm that the command has been executed. The wireless computers are lightweight (approximately one pound), and are typically worn on waist belts.

These portable computers communicate back to a host system through a wireless radio frequency network based on the current 2.4 GHz communications standards. The host computer can be an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system or, more typically, a dedicated warehouse management system (WMS) that creates text-based work instructions issued through traditional paper-based pick lists or radio frequency handheld terminals.

The host computer creates work files throughout the day that are essentially text-based instructions. The data in these work files must be presented to the voice application software where they can then be converted into speech commands through text-to-speech conversion software or through a pre-recorded digitized text file.

 

Example: grocery distribution

Many of the early adopters of voice technology are retail and wholesale grocery companies. To date, about 150 companies have invested in speech technology for distribution centre operation. This represents a $20-to $30-million market that is growing at a rate of more than 50% per year

At a recent visit to a grocery distribution center using voice technology, I followed an order selector guided by speech instructions through a headset and mobile computing terminal. In this case, the technology was of the speaker-dependent type. The process is as follows:
The operator walks through the pick line with a battery powered, double pallet jack and concurrently selects two pallets of full-case groceries to be shipped to one of the firm's retail supermarkets.

As the operator walks down the aisle, the headset's speech instructions navigate him to the next pick location in the travel path.
The operator confirms that the right location by verbally communicating random check digits (e.g., 12 spoken as one-two or check one-two appearing on a label placed on the rack beam above the product's pick location.

If the check digits match the expected response, then the system instructs the operator on the quantity to pick. Otherwise a mismatch requires that the computer redirect the operator to the correct location. In some distribution operations, the system may also articulate the item number, description, unit of measure and UPC code.

 

Types of operations and functions most suited for speech technology

Firms investing in speech technology include the following industries and tasks:

• Retail and wholesale grocery;
  
• Foodservice;
  
• Food manufacturing;
  
• General merchandise, health and beauty care;
  
• Convenience stores;
  
• Apparel and garment;
  
• Automobile manufacturing
  
• Package sorting.

Speech technology is deployed in functional operations that include, but are not limited to:

• Full-case orderpicking;
  
• Split-case orderpicking;
  
• Flat garment orderpicking;
  
• Manufacturing quality assurance processes;
  
• Pallet receiving and breakdown operations;
  
• Putaway and replenishment lift truck operations;
  
• Cycle counting;
  
• Package sorting operations that require human intervention for non-labeled packages.

In distribution operations where outbound lot number or serial number tracking or other extraneous information must be captured, it is too time consuming to expect operators to verbally read and speak long character strings.

To accommodate this business requirement, a bar code scanner can be plugged into the operator's wireless computer to permit scanning bar coded lot or serial number information. The integration of speech and scanning technology in these distribution centers is an example of how the best of both worlds is achieved.

 

Alternatives to speech

The two most common alternatives to speech are radio frequency/bar code scanning and pick-to-light systems. Each of these alternatives results in high productivity and order accuracy in a paperless environment.

• Radio frequency and handheld bar code scanners are about half the cost of a speech recognition terminal; an important consideration for small-and-medium-sized distribution operations. Also, when companies mix products and units of measure in pick and reserve locations, it becomes crucial to scan the product being handled. This is when RF and bar coding makes sense.
  
• Pick-to-light systems are typically deployed in splitcase picking environments where products are picked from and stored in gravity flow racks. Operators are guided to pick their orders by lights that indicate the pick location and quantity. Operators push a button to signal the completion of the pick and the next location illuminates.
• Pick-to-light solutions are commonly used in distribution centers with pick-rate productivity ranges of 300 to 500 order lines per hour or more. Applications include high-volume health and beauty care distribution centers. Though always dangerous to generalize, pick-to-light is a less flexible solution because it is installed with fixed equipment in the distribution center, making it difficult to adapt to sudden changes in order profiles, new product lines or significant changes to the distribution operation.

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About the Author
Marc Wulfraat is managing partner at KOM International, and responsible for the company's supply chain technology and operation consulting practice. Mr. Wulfraat has provided consulting services to distribution companies throughout North America, South America and Europe. He has consulted on projects involving design, optimization and implementation of distribution facilities, logistics operations and supply chain technology solutions for Fortune 1000 companies.

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