Business Case for Storage Enabled Voice

This paper explores how distribution operations can lead to voice a step further in its traditional role as order picking. Voice systems of the next generation are being implemented today as the basic technology to guide operations in many areas of the deposit.

The objectives of distribution today are still the same as 100 years ago, but the distribution facilities have changed significantly. The main catalyst for this change are the expectations of customers. Leaders of the distribution face a new reality that requires flexibility and adaptability. Economic pressures have reduced staffs and workers who remain need to work with tools that enable them to be more productive. There is an ongoing consolidation of distribution operations trend, as revealed in a 2011 study conducted by Peerless Media Research Group. This found that 33% of the nearly 600 survey respondents are consolidating and / or closing costs to reduce deposits.

Moreover, today’s supply chains are increasingly facing problems such as earthquakes and tsunamis, strikes and protests, competitive pressures and changes in competitor and also delays in port. Such problems can cause rapid changes in orders. Add to this the growing volumes of requests for small Internet sales, new industry regulations and government and increasing requirement of perfect orders and it’s easy to see why the continuous improvement of current processes and equipment is not enough.

Developing the benefits of voice

When the voice came to distribution, the first place where he worked was picking. Due to the high cost of hand labor, the voice can quickly provide significant improvements to the process. The investment in this solution can be recovered in months. Using voice, employees remain aware of surroundings, rather than stand looking at pieces of paper or canvas. Managers use the information in real time provides the voice as a means to have vision on productivity and task allocation for each operator. This is very important because what happens in one area of the building can affect another. The tabs order can not select the product that has not been replenished, packers can not prepare remittances and so on.

With a full view, managers can dynamically respond to problems, averting operators to where it is needed most. A professional can easily move to the new task simply by registering on the newly assigned application. With a common platform and an integrated software, workflows are optimized and coordinated. The voice also provides the process easier training of all key technologies, and all that the operators have to do is listen, respond and execute the task. Work guided by voice allows the optimization of the process that can reduce the time per task, the combination of tasks between workflows and task interleaving to eliminate downtime between actions. The layout of storage areas and selection may have to be reorganized to improve the flow of products and optimize space. For optimal efficiency, managers need to analyze each process within the building and be willing to promote reengineering in order to get the best gains of your personnel and equipment. Let’s see how the voice can be implemented effectively on common workflows distribution logistics.

Receipt

Products enter the distribution center (DC) through a variety of processes of receipt. Most such operations is the arrival of truckloads of various providers at different times of day. Workflows typically comprise receipt inspection, counting and other manual operations. With your hands free, the efficiency of operators is higher, an advantage of the use of voice in this process.

The system of voice prompts the worker to confirm the number of boxes on the pallet and can guide you to open the boxes and inspect certain products, place a sticker on each installation or perform other specific tasks. The voice can guide the worker to separate or group some pallets or boxes for additional audit, especially when dealing with young suppliers. In addition, some cases can be oriented docking operations.

The voice also provides the flexibility to gather other information about the product to help even more subsequent operations. The batch codes may have to be recorded for tracking purposes – something required in many parts of the world for food and pharmaceuticals. The voice can alert workers to measure temperatures and weights of products arriving or beds of refrigerated trucks. This information is recorded in WMS (Warehouse Management System or warehouse management system) to ensure that nothing has spoiled during transportation and for billing purposes. The information collected may also be used to evaluate individual performance of the workforce.

When converted to voice your dairy distribution business in Ireland, Glanbia has not stopped in the selection. What made ​​the company percorresse this path was the growing frustration with the manual processes used at the time. Glanbia installed voice systems in four locations. The voice system now performs a series of operations at two manufacturing facilities for milk and two distribution centers. One of the Distribution Centers distribute milk and cream, using bottles, while others deal with other food products packed in boxes. The central milk tank turns its inventory three times a day. So in reality, no storage products – deposit merely arranges for them to be selected for delivery by truck to smaller routes. The installation operates 24 hours a day, six days a week, turning 1.6 million liters of milk daily.

The process of receiving goods begins with the record of the driver in the voice system once it arrives. The voice system then instructs to read the number of delivery listed in your order documentation. When the driver begins to unload the truck in the area of ​​goods receipt, it reads in the voice is the number of the carrier trolley, which was posted at each trolley before shipment from the center of milk production. It associates each trolley to receive.

Storage

Once the information is collected in the receipt, the voice system receives instructions from the storage warehouse management system. Since the storage function normally requires a forklift, the distribution centers often employ voice terminals installed in the vehicle for the task. These terminals extract a small amount of battery power forklift, allowing extended use of the voice terminal with a single battery. Wireless technologies allow the operator to exit the vehicle without losing communication with the system. This eliminates the time required to handle a scanner and / or a screen display unit mounted on the vehicle. In addition to increasing productivity, accuracy is improved because the voice system does not allow the user to move to the next task until the goods have been put in place.

The advantage of using the voice for this function is that the driver has eyes free throughout the process. Can you drive while listening to instructions on the location. When it arrives, the driver reads the checksum location and stores the load. In some self-directed projects, motorists themselves determine storage locations, often choosing the closest available will. In such cases, the driver is advised to read the location number and check digit to tell the system about the range you have selected. In both cases, the check digit prevents loss of pallets, avoiding a problem of huge cost especially with perishable, seasonal or rapidly depreciating stock.

Replenishment

The replenishment process begins with the voice system directing the driver of the truck to storage where pallets are needed. In optimized designs, WMS designate the nearest available driver Shelf deposit. Once in place, it reads the checksum to confirm that the product is collecting the correct location. The system will then direct it to collect a pallet or the necessary amount of boxes. The driver confirms the selection and while pulling the product, the voice system tells you the destination of the cargo. Then the driver takes the place, reads the check digit -span and deposits.

The facilities authorized voice for the tasks of storage and refueling provide excellent results. An operation may have increased productivity of staff by 20% in these tasks in relation to the use of paper; while volumes and accuracy also increase. There is a reduction of up to 65% or more at the time of training in the use of the voice for these functions compared to other methods, and the facilities can significantly save on capital expenditure to deploy voice over other technologies terminals.

Headquartered in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, Sysco Guest Supply is the largest provider of full-service amenities and accessories for bedrooms programs for the hospitality industry, serving virtually every major hotels worldwide. The company uses voice activation in 10 distribution centers. The Sysco Guest Supply is owned by Sysco Corporation, the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products.

Jim Makowski, director of distribution, says that ” for a midsize company, each of our regional distribution centers selects and dispatches an extraordinary amount of stock. Therefore, generates a significant amount of replenishment. We needed a mechanism that would allow us to prioritize these accruals. We develop and design a process called ‘ demand for item ‘. Through our WMS and voice system, aggregate quantities per item to be selected and sent that day, so we can thus set the priority of this type of refueling. Additionally, proactively superabastecemos our local selection (if necessary) to meet the demand of the day. This way we ensure that we are selecting all of the ground level of the deposit, while realizing only a single refueling. “

By using the voice for refueling, Sysco Guest Supply realized a gain of mean efficiency of 80%. Another strong supporter of voice technology in refueling is Ed Krupka, CIO of Burris Logistics, the ninth largest outsourcing of logistics services in the world. ” We see two major benefits of using voice for refueling. First, the method provides the distribution management and individual operator access to the system in real time to make replenishment orders and get updated on the status of provisions requested time information. Secondly, it allows a reassessment in real time or re-prioritization of real-time task in the tank. This also significantly reduces the waiting time of the charger, “says Krupka.

Another important advantage in the use of voice for the storage and replenishment is an opportunity to promote the intercalation of tasks. Interim means that once a task is completed, the system can guide the operator to perform a different task within that same general area type. This eliminates dead transactions, in which the driver returns to the starting point with their empty trucks. As soon as the driver puts his load, the voice system can easily transmit an order to supply a needed position next store. He pulls this load and leads to the desired location before returning to receive and collect another load for storage. Similarly, you can also pick up full pallets needed to apply while making refilling and then carry these loads directly to the expedition.

Put-to -Store

Many retailers and other vendors to distribute their own premises or ship goods regularly to the stores customers can use voice to guide the activities of put- to-store. In a way, this activity can be considered almost a combination of selection and replenishment batch. This application of the use of voice can be a very quick way to meet the requests of the store, it provides consistency to the process and high accuracy. For Distribution Centers with a WMS allows a volumetric analysis, the put- to-store based voice simplifies the process of building pallets with the right dimensions for the truck.

Tiendas Comercial Mexicana, SA de CV is the third largest supermarket chain in Mexico, with 200 stores in over 50 cities. The company operates four distribution centers, the largest for dry and perishable products, and two regional facilities. In his case put- to-store system sends selectors for each stop and the voice system specifies the amount to be placed. Operators dictate the variable weight of each box shipped. When the pallet is full, follow the same process of vacuum packaging and shipping. If possible, carry the following product directly into the truck. When the workflow of put- to-store was enabled by voice, worker productivity increased by more than 50%. Carlos Ramos, Director of Corporate Logistics Tiendas Comercial Mexicana says that ” the ability to merge tasks by voice helps us to put more people in the receipt or put- to-store during periods of high volume applications that normally occur in our peak season, before the summer. This flexibility helped us avoid bottlenecks and reach a level of productivity that has allowed us to manage seasonal peaks only with overtime. “

Output and Load

Once the selection of an application has been completed, the operator is guided by the voice system to lead the pack, carton or pallet for shipment. Sometimes a treadmill takes care of transport. The voice system may advise the employee about where to put the product to the organization before it is loaded onto trucks out. You can also direct the loading of products on pallets in a given stacking order to ensure its integrity and strength during transit.

No use to select the requests accurately and store them in the wrong truck or leave them behind in relation to the designated shipping. The problem left behind pallet is common in systems with more complex loading docks such as those with two different loading places for refrigerated and room temperature. The voice can also help in this area, directing the loading of vehicles output, and a check digit in the dock port verifies that the load is placed on the correct vehicle.

Cycle Count

In addition to managing key functional areas of the deposit, such as receiving, storing, sorting and forwarding, voice can also enhance other activities in the warehouse. Voice can be useful in tracking inventory, also known as cycle count. This process is accelerated, easier and more accurate with the use of voice. In some systems, the cycle count can be interleaved with the task of sorting or refueling. The voice system can guide the operator to report the amount of product left in the box after a selection, or the same stock count can be requested when he replenishes the go. With the voice, the system can immediately request a recount if the level does not agree.

Sony of Canada Ltd. performs the cycle count with voice daily. The location and the items are scanned and counted as ” blind counts.” If the count does not agree with the system asks the operator to check again. If the second check does not agree with the system, a third audit is generated automatically. The latter are carried only by supervisory staff or administration. According to the Business Process Manager at Sony of Canada, Rick Courtin, “the use of voice to our cycle count is a much more focused way and need to perform the task.”

The Fox activates and deactivates its activity cycle count strictly based on the volume of requests, as calculated by your WMS. So instead of telling every 90 days as established previously, Fox Racing is less than 10% of the counts in the normal scheduled cycle analysis in this period, because most places have already been told by operators who performed this task, among other processes that were already underway.

Other functions of the deposit

Similar to the cycle count is the function of the audit. This work is usually done by supervisors or leaders to check the numbers and analyzed items were correct and the counts were accurate. Many customers voice could eliminate periodic audits of stock because of the accuracy of the count cycle – essentially changing periodic inventory to the perpetual.

Similarly, the voice can capture random weights. This is used in the distribution of goods to record the weight of a product when selected. Meats, for example, are packaged in the form of cuts that do not have a uniform size or weight. Once customers are charged by weight, capturing such information as the item is selected is essential for billing. The voice system asks the worker to weigh an item. This information is transferred to the system of warehouse management, transportation management system and other business and administrative software.

Value-added functions can also be controlled by voice. The clothes can be placed on hangers, light manufacturing can be performed – almost any activity can be instructed by voice and made ​​more efficient through the process. These guidelines may be particularly important for Distribution Centers that perform various clients for different value-added logistics services, for example, a wholesaler of clothing sector may have some customers want items in brackets and some who want exactly the same SKUs folded.

Another area that can use voice technology is the packing station, where orders are packed and shipped. This is particularly useful for retailers and mail order forms that require customization of items, as well as those companies which carry out a large volume of business over the internet. Robby Dhesi, Fox Racing, says ” soon launch an application for the packing station to the voice in our distribution centers. We believe this will help us eliminate about 50% of the time unnecessary travel, which will help us to meet our demands for seasonal orders with our existing workforce. The voice allows the highest level of accuracy and detail required to e-commerce, catalog sales and mail order operations to maintain a customer service of the highest quality. The superior accuracy also reduces the cost of returns. “

Which path will you follow?

What is better: start with the voice in multiple workflows or move the selection to other workflows? The short answer is: it depends. Whichever option you choose, says Krupka, of Burris Logistics, ” you have to be prepared for a pro – founded process reengineering. The voice will make you rethink and Redesign your workflows – this system provides a real-time window into your operation like no other technology. We’re not yet at the point of power merging jobs because we’re still in the middle of this reengineering effort, but so that our processes are renewed, we will expand the voice for other flows. “

As the work enabled by voice began with the selection process, many companies have realized the benefits of voice in this flow of operation are ready to go further. When the voice is used in refueling and selection, these two streams of operation can remain synchronized. When the voice is also used in storage, refueling and storage can be merged, saving labor costs and labor. The use of voice in the cycle count is also a natural extension of the use of this system in check. The use of voice loading can also synchronize personnel loading with the selectors to ensure balanced workflows.

More companies are choosing to enable Voice entire facility with the initial design. Since all processes of the workflow are being redesigned or redesigned, these processes develop around the voice provides a platform for increased productivity and accuracy throughout the operation and also establishes a distribution center where workflows are synchronized with another. In addition, workers need only learn a new system or technology.

Enabling your deposit Voice

The technology of voice in the Distribution Center offers transformational change needed to address key business challenges today, and control operating costs while it improves customer service and allows growth. The voice creates huge gains in accuracy, ensures high levels of productivity, reduces the total training time and promotes safety, all at an attractive return on investment, which usually occurs in less than one year.

Source: Revista Mundo Logística

Comments are closed.