48 DC VELOCITY FEBRUARY 2016 www.dcvelocity.com
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veys directions via headsets, leaves workers’ hands free for
picking tasks. As Bernier puts it, “We have big boxes, and
the workers need their hands.”
Under the new system, workers pick in teams, with
one associate wearing the voice headset and
pushing a cart with labels and other supplies,
while the other team member drives a fork-
lift with an order pallet to hold the selected
items. (The company’s furniture is packaged
unassembled and flat-packed, which makes it
easier—and more economical—to ship.) The
team approach makes work faster and easier,
and avoids injuries.
Orders are grouped into batches for picking
based on shipping mode. The voice system
provides workers with directions on where to
go for the pick and how many of each item to
select for the batch. To confirm that they’ve
selected the right product, associates read the
location’s check digit back into the system.
They then place shipping labels on the cartons
and deposit them onto the pallet.
The ease of using voice to direct work also helps new and
temporary employees adapt quickly. “It is very, very simple,
and it is easy to train them on,” says Bernier. “You don’t
have to be computer-literate. You just have to listen. It is
one step at a time.”
Veteran staffers have embraced the change as well,
according to Marc Tremblay, the company’s logistics direc-
tor. “They feel like they went from the Stone
Age to modern technology,” he says.
In addition to using the voice system to
direct picking operations, South Shore uses
it for receiving, putaway, stock transfers
(replenishment), and inventory management.
BIG BOOST IN PRODUCTIVITY
Bernier reports that his company’s transition
to voice was quite easy, as the system integrat-
ed directly into South Shore’s SAP warehouse
management system. “That was transparent.
We did not want any middleware,” he says.
“We just wanted to avoid those problems and
have something that was embedded directly
into SAP.”
Since the voice system was implemented,
South Shore has seen a nearly 20-percent
jump in productivity. That led to a solid return on invest-
ment (ROI) for the technology. “We looked for an ROI of
one year, but it was well below that,” says Bernier.
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