DC Velocity - January 2009

Once the new system was up and running, the co-op saw an immediate reduction in picking errors. But it still wasn’t satisfied. Though the RF devices boosted accuracy, they didn’t provide the speed Do It Best was looking for. So it began casting around for other solutions.

In 2005, Do It Best began a voice pilot program at its Dixon, Ill., distribution center, using the Jennifer voice-directed warehouse solution from Lucas Systems. For the next two years, the co-op subjected the system to rigorous testing.

This time, Do It Best got the results it was seeking, says Etzler. “The RF did give us better accuracy, but it did not give us the productivity we wanted,” he notes. “But we found that voice could give us both accuracy and productivity.” Satisfied with the results, the co-op rolled the voice system out to the remaining seven facilities.

The sound of success

Today, somewhere between 35 and 80 workers at each of Do It Best’s eight DCs are using the voice system. Although the co-op is considering expanding the technology to other applications, it is currently only using voice to direct the picking of split-case items, or “eaches,” and full cases. (Instructions for full pallet picking are still delivered via

RF.) Split-case picks account for 65 to 70 percent of the total lines picked within the company’s distribution facilities. Member stores are able to order about 90 percent of the company’s 65,000 SKUs as individual items or less-than-case quantities.

At the Do It Best facilities, workers receive their picking instructions via microphone-equipped headsets connected to Motorola 9090 terminals worn as belt packs. These multimodal terminals, which also offer scanning capabilities and screen displays, were a big factor in the co-op’s choice of the Lucas system, Etzler reports. “Our workers are cross-functional. A person might select orders using the device with voice and then later in the day do auditing or another function using scanning and the screen display. Being able to do all of that in one terminal was a feature that we liked.”

The split-case picking process begins when the warehouse management system sends the Lucas voice system an order file, which it uses to build work assignments for picking. These assignments are organized either as single store picks or batch picks, depending on the quantity and the products to be selected. Workers select the split-case items, which are stored in flow racks or on shelving, into cus-

tomer-assigned totes riding on wheeled carts (with the exception of the Medina, Ohio, facility, where picks are made to totes transported by conveyor). On average, each facility picks and ships about 30,000 lines daily.

When an assignment is ready, the Jennifer software relays the location of the first pick to the worker. As soon as he or she reaches the location, the worker reads into the microphone a “check digit,” a series of two or three numbers attached to the rack, to confirm that he or she is in the right place. If the check digit is correct, the system provides instructions on the quantity to pick and which tote to put the items in. (Every cart holds four to six totes.) The worker then confirms the amount picked and deposits the items into the tote. If additional items are needed, the system next provides instructions for those picks, which are sequenced to reduce travel time and to optimize worker productivity.

Among other advantages, the software is programmed to convey instructions regarding picking quantities in terminology appropriate to that individual product—for instance, boxes of fittings, pounds of nails, or bags of grass seed. That capability can help eliminate confusion when it comes to picking bulk items. The software also boasts a “countdown” feature designed to eliminate picking quantity errors. Say, for instance, that a worker has to select 50 bolts from a bin. Rather

than counting out all 50 at once, he or she can reach in, grab a handful, and then tell the system how many he or she has picked—say, 11. The system then subtracts that number from the total and tells him to pick 39 more. This process is repeated until all 50 items have been gathered.

Once all of the eaches are picked, the totes are brought to a consolidation area. There, workers transfer them onto pallets for shipment.

Making the case

Voice is also used to direct the picking of full cases and odd-shaped items like shovels and rakes that aren’t easily conveyed on carts. Most of these are selected to pallets, though some full cases may be picked to the carts.

The full case orders are collected in much the same way as the split-case items, except that the worker attaches a shipping label to each case as he or she retrieves it. This allows the picking of more than one store order at a time onto a pallet.