HIGHER LIFT WITH
HEAVIER LOADS
The NEW
Bendi Model
B55AC-HL
Provides a
Superior
Narrow Aisle
Solution
for Maximum
Utilization of
Cubic Storage
Space
;;Lift Heights
to 73” (12M)
;;Stacking Aisle
only 84”
( 2.13M)
;;Capacity of
5,500 lbs.
( 2,500 kg)
;; Maximum
Lift Height
Load Capacity
of 1 Ton
Patent Rights Reserved on
B55 Forklift
LANDOLL CORPORATION
MATERIAL HANDLING PRODUCTS
1900 North Street · Marysville, KS 66508
785-562-5381 · Fax 888-231-7863
mhpsales@landoll.com · 800-428-5655
WWW.LANDOLL.COM/MHP
Wisconsin, and West Virginia. The company employs 1,600
workers in those three DCs year-round to handle receiving,
packing, and shipping. During peak holiday season, those
ranks reach 2,400 employees.
What prompted the retailer to go down the voice road was
the technology’s reputation for boosting productivity and
accuracy. Because voice systems let workers receive picking
instructions through headsets, rather than looking at a screen,
they free up workers’ eyes and hands for picking tasks. Cabela’s
also felt the technology would help cut down on picking and
labeling errors. So when it found a system that offered all the
traditional benefits of voice plus hassle-free integration, it
decided it was time to act.
The solution Cabela’s found was the AccuSpeech Mobile
Voice Platform from Vangard Voice Systems Inc. Among other
advantages, the Vangard solution offers a simplified “
server-less” approach to installation. One of the key differences
between the Vangard solution and traditional voice systems is
the deployment of the “speech engine”—special software that
translates instructions from the WMS into spoken words.
With traditional setups, the speech engine resides on a server.
Under the Vangard approach, the speech engine is hosted on
the mobile computers used by warehouse workers.
In addition, the Vangard devices come with a built-in script
for interfacing with the WMS. On top of that, Vangard’s software includes customization tools that allow a user to configure the mobile computer to interact directly with the WMS.
“We are able to program the device so if we need to make a
change, it does not require IT group intervention,”
Thompson says.
PLANS FOR EXPANSION
After conducting a pilot, Cabela’s began rolling out the voice
system in the fall of 2010. It completed implementation at all
three DCs in the spring of 2011.
Since Cabela’s already had some terminals capable of handling voice, installation was often as simple as loading the
Vangard software onto existing units. Still, Cabela’s ended up
purchasing additional Motorola 4090 handhelds, which workers wear on their arms. (The Motorola devices can also scan bar
codes, as Cabela’s still uses scanning for order verification.)
Right now, the company is only using the Vangard system in
its picking operations, either to relay instructions to workers
regarding where to go and what items to pick or, in the case of
merchandise picked in bulk, providing directions for sorting
those items to match orders. In the future, Cabela’s plans to
expand the use of voice technology to such areas as receiving
and cycle counting.
And the results? Although he doesn’t have exact numbers,
Thompson reports that both productivity and accuracy have
jumped since the voice technology was deployed. But in his
eyes, one of the key selling points of the new system has been
the ease of integration and low costs. “Had we not had to buy
any [mobile computer] equipment, our only investment
would have been the software,” Thompson says. ;
