technologyreview VOICE
Replenishment orders ship to stores as full truckloads,
with the average load containing anywhere from 900 to
2,000 picks, depending on product size.
GOING DIRECT
Direct-to-customer orders are also filled via the voice system at the Coppell DC. But in this case, items are picked to
wheeled carts that hold six to eight order container trays,
designated A through H.
To begin the process, the worker uses the Motorola device
to scan a cart ID number. The voice system responds with
an order number and asks the worker to scan one of the
container trays to associate it with the order and its position on the cart. Additional orders are assigned to the cart
via the same process.
Workers then pick items in small batches from racks
according to directions from the voice system. When the
picks are completed, the system provides instructions for
allocating the items to containers—for instance, place three
items into container A, four into container D, two into F,
and so on. Workers read off check digits as they deposit
items into the containers to confirm the quantities.
Once all items for the cart are selected, the voice system
instructs the worker to take the cart to a packing station,
where items are transferred to shipping cartons. The average direct-to-customer order contains 1. 3 cartons. The
facility processes about 1,200 direct-to-customer orders a
day—a number that swells to about 3,000 orders a day during peak holiday times.
PERFECT PICKS
Since going to the voice system last year, the facility has
posted solid gains. To begin with, it has seen a 10-percent
increase in overall picking productivity, with a jump of 15
percent in some applications. Accuracy now sits at over
99.9 percent.
Worker safety has improved as well. For one thing, there’s
less bending involved, since employees no longer have to set
down a scanner in order to make a pick. And since instructions are transmitted through the headsets, workers no longer
need to glance down at the devices for assignments, so their
eyes are always focused on their work and their surroundings.
Parra notes that during the transition, the company took
great pains to ensure workers were comfortable with the
new technology. In addition to familiarizing associates with
the dialogue and commands needed to interact with the
voice system, the retailer spent time making certain workers understood how to change batteries, plug in headsets
properly, reboot the system, and so on.
“Although our employees thought voice was very cool, it
was still different for them, and we wanted to make sure
they were comfortable with it,” says Parra. “Voice is really
simple to operate, and we stressed that if you have a problem, just take a breath and repeat the command. The voice
system can easily walk you through the situation.” ;
