technologyreview VOICE
To further enhance accuracy, the
picker also reads off the last four
digits of the pallet or carton ID to
confirm the correct item has been
selected.
As a result of the move to voice,
picking accuracy has shot up to over
99 percent. That’s a hefty 15 percent
higher than it was back in the days
of the paper-based picking system.
QUICK AND EASY
In addition to the accuracy gains,
the company reports that the voice
system has streamlined the processing of “multipicks,” orders that call
for multiple cartons of the same
stock-keeping unit (SKU). Under
the scanner-based system, picking
25 cartons of, say, a particular spray
head model was not much different
from picking 25 assorted cartons
because the picker still had to scan
each carton individually to confirm
its selection.
With the voice system, the need
for repetitive processing is history.
When picking a series of cartons,
the worker simply confirms the
location, and then reads off the last
four digits of the ID for the first carton, followed by the corresponding
digits for the last carton. That signals to the software that all of the
cartons in between have also been
selected—there’s no longer any
need to enter data for each carton.
Managers estimate that this capability alone has cut the time needed to
pick a series of cartons from two
minutes to about 30 seconds.
As for the actual switchover from
scanners to voice, Ewing reports
that the voice system proved easy
for workers to learn. On top of that,
voice turned out to be particularly
well suited to the Phoenix facility,
whose workforce is about 90 per-
cent Latino. Non-native speakers of
English often find it easier to follow
voice commands than to try to read screen-
based data in English. Currently, all work-
ers at Ewing have chosen English for their
voice directions, but the system also offers
the option of Spanish prompts.
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THE GRASS IS GREENER …
So how has the voice system worked out?
Quite well, by all accounts. In addition to
the accuracy improvements, the company
has seen picking productivity jump 20 percent since moving from scanning to voice.
As for labor requirements, the facility has
realized a significant reduction in labor
needs since the days of the paper-based system. Back then, it required 12 people working 12 hours a day, six days a week, to serve
just 100 branches. Now, the company serves
200 branches weekly with the same number
of people working a standard eight-hour
shift, five days a week. Overtime has been
eliminated at the Phoenix facility, which
currently ships about 2,000 cartons a day.
Best of all, taken together, these advance-
ments have improved service and product
availability to Ewing’s customers.
“We looked at this implementation as
something that would help our employees
and also encourage our customers to want
to do business with us,” says Williams. “Our
main goal is service. And from a company
standpoint, this is absolutely helping the
customers. Everyone is smiling.” ;
