WMS
technologyreview
Voice made
easy
Outdoor retailer Cabela’s wanted
the advantages of voice technology
but not the costs and hassles of a
large-scale implementation. Could
it find a system that filled the bill?
WHEN CABELA’S INC. WENT TO UPGRADE ITS DC OPERATIONS LAST YEAR,
choosing the technology was the easy part. After looking at its options for revving up
order fulfillment, the outdoor goods retailer quickly homed in on voice. A far bigger
concern was the deployment—that is, finding a system that could be implemented
without a lot of hassle and expense.
Most of the retailer’s concerns had to do with systems integration—that is, the
amount of work involved in integrating the voice technology with the warehouse
management system (WMS) that coordinates operations at the retailer’s DCs.
Company managers were well aware that oftentimes, special code has to be written
to allow the two systems to exchange data, making integration a time-consuming and costly process.
Their preliminary inquiries only
confirmed their fears. Many of the
voice systems Cabela’s reviewed
would indeed have required programming to allow the voice system and the retailer’s Manhattan
WMS to talk to each other, says
Kevin Thompson, the company’s senior system manager for distribution.
But then the company heard about a
system that sounded like it might fill the
bill—a voice solution that offered low-cost setup
and easy integration to the retailer’s WMS.
EASIER LISTENING
Based in Sidney, Neb., Cabela’s Inc. sells
hunting, fishing, camping, and outdoor
merchandise, reporting revenues of $2.6
billion last year. To serve its network of 30-
plus stores in 23 states, Cabela’s operates three
main distribution centers, located in Nebraska,
