DC Velocity - August 2015

www.dcvelocity.com AUGUST 2015 DC VELOCITY 41 solution can “help take average performers and help them to excel.” Blinderman explains that the system measures time stamps of various activities, such as travel to a pick location and time spent actually picking, and determines if the worker is meeting performance expectations. Along the way, the software can provide voice reminders to the worker to help him or her stay on track.

SOUND OF THE FUTURE

As for what’s next, given the growing number of mobile platforms now in use, it’s probably no surprise that voice companies are looking to make their systems as device-agnostic as possible. For instance, Jeff Slevin, COO of Lucas Systems, says that his company is now delivering its Jennifer applications on smartphones running the Android operating system in addition to traditional warehouse devices running Windows Mobile. “We are working to provide the greatest flexibility possible on the mobile device side,” Slevin says.

With some solutions, workers using different oper-
ating platforms can run the same systems side by side,
which makes upgrades easy and allows users in different
parts of the DC to use the best device for the job (for
instance, workers in a freezer could use a freezer-rated
Windows device while their counterparts in ambient
areas could use an Android unit). Awana, for example,
has chosen to run the latest upgrade of its Lucas Jennifer
solution on Motorola Luge Android smartphones. The
smartphones, which use Bluetooth to connect to the
workers’ headsets, are used in a protective case that can
fit in a pocket or be attached to a belt.

Intelligrated’s voice system runs on a server and is not dependent on the software residing internally on the individual device. A worker with a smartphone can actually dial the server on his phone to log into the system. Doug Brown, Intelligrated’s head of product strategy for voice solutions, says this means that voice can be used anywhere, as the systems can be deployed independently of an IT infrastructure or Wi-Fi network.

One of the places vendors expect to see voice deployed in the future is the retail store. Nearly all of the major voice vendors have pilot programs under way to use voice for tracking store inventory, replenishing store shelves, and filling orders in an omnichannel retail environment. The same ability to track, monitor performance, and boost productivity and accuracy that voice has traditionally provided to the warehouse can now be available anywhere—anywhere a smartphone can be used, that is.