BY BEN AMES, SENIOR EDITOR
VOICE
Technology
BRICK-AND-MORTAR STORES ARE FEELING
the heat from online retailers that combine a
seemingly limitless array of inventory with fast,
free shipping. Under that pressure, a number
of retail chains, among them industry stalwarts
like Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Sears, and Kmart, have
shuttered dozens of locations nationwide.
But traditional retailers are hardly giving up the
fight. In response to the threat, they’re rethinking
how they use their stores. In particular, they’re
words, to leverage those stores for the swift fulfillment of
online orders. (Because retail outlets may be located closer
to the customer than DCs are, store fulfillment can mean
shorter order-to-delivery times.)
As fulfillment activity migrates to stores, it’s probably no
surprise that the tools used in the DC to support fulfillment
are making their way over as well. Take voice technology,
for example. Long popular in the warehouse and DC for
directing tasks like order selection, voice systems have a
solid record of boosting productivity and accuracy. That’s
largely because they enable workers to receive instructions
via headsets, rather than looking at a screen, which frees
up their eyes and hands to select items or perform other
warehouse tasks.
So, many retailers have asked, Why not translate that
time-tested method to the brick-and-mortar shop, where
store associates could leverage the technology to stock
shelves, look up prices, and assist customers? Visit a Staples
office supply store, a Best Buy consumer electronics outlet,
or a Kroger’s grocery store, and you might see employees
walking the floor with headsets.
VOICE HITS THE RETAIL FLOOR
Those headsets will likely become more commonplace as
stores get increasingly involved in order fulfillment. Voice
can be a useful tool for stores that are starting to adopt
some of the functions of warehouses, said Scott Powell,
product management leader at Honeywell Voice Solutions,
which markets voice-directed picking systems through its
Vocollect brand.
“As the retail industry continues to be impacted by
e-commerce, we’re seeing stores become DCs to some
degree,” Powell said. For instance, many retailers have
begun to merge their storefront and online operations by
offering “click-and-mortar” services like buy online/deliver
from store (click and deliver), buy online/pick up in store
(click and collect), and curbside delivery.
Once confined largely to the DC,
voice technology has begun
migrating to retail stores and
backrooms. And yes, it’s all a result
of the e-commerce revolution.
Voice echoes outside the
warehouse
