DC Velocity - August 2014

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voice utilizing smart devices. “We can voice-enable the operations that the customer is already doing to increase productivity and improve the customer experience,” he says.

That kind of flexibility may be
voice’s biggest selling point when it
comes to the omnichannel environ-
ment. Whether in the distribution
center or a store, it is a technology
that can handle just about any pro-
cess assigned to it.

“It all comes down to flexibility,” notes Vocollect’s Kubera. “When you look at the dynamics of omnichannel distribution, flexibility is really going to make the difference going forward.” ;

online and pick up at the store. Stores can also be used to process returns. On top of that, online orders that might typically be filled in a DC can be assigned to a retail store to pick and pack. For example, some grocery chains are picking Internet orders directly from store shelves for local delivery or customer pickup. Voice vendors are now developing applications that will allow their technologies to be used at the store level.

In addition to order fulfillment, voice can be applied to store replenishment tasks and used for taking inventory. All of these are labor-intensive activities that are performed by store personnel that are often paid better than warehouse workers. As a result, having efficient systems in the retail outlets is essential to the bottom line.

“Doing distribution from stores is offered as a service, but it is hard to make a profit at it,” says Steve Hoffman, technology and fulfillment specialist at systems integrator Dematic. Hoffman explains that even though in-store distribution is a loss-leader, retailers believe they have to offer it to customers. “The more you can do in the store with less labor, the better, even if it is not profitable,” he adds.

Using voice also makes store employ-
ees look less like warehouse workers.
Instead of holding a scanner or pick list,
workers using some voice systems appear
as if they are merely wearing a phone
earpiece. “When picking in the store,
you don’t want to upset the experience
of the other customers,” notes Hoffman.
“Voice’s ability to be hands-free and eyes-
free means that workers won’t be running
into the customers.”
Another advantage of voice is the soft-
ware’s ability to run on a variety of differ-
ent hardware devices, including in some
cases, smartphones and tablets. “We are
building layers that make the fulfillment
devices agnostic. It gives the customer the
choice to use multiple devices operating
on the same system,” says McKnight of
Intelligrated’s Knighted.

“This is a new way that companies are applying voice,” adds Vangard’s Bova. He says that just about any task done in the warehouse or store can be directed by