Advantages of Voice Picking System in a Warehouse

What is Voice Picking?

Warehouse voice picking systems, shortened to simply “voice picking,” are paperless, hands-free technologies that lead order fulfillment workers to specific places within a warehouse and then tell them which goods to choose to complete client orders. Voice picking technology presents information from supply chain systems to warehouse employees using normal everyday language. This increasingly prevalent warehouse automation technology frees pickers’ hands and eyes from other duties like reading or pressing buttons, allowing them to concentrate on determining the right goods. Hence, when compared to manual procedures and other technologies, this specific system prevails as it brings considerable higher advantages in productivity, accuracy, and efficiency.

How does Voice Picking work?

Voice-picking systems are often connected to an on-site or cloud-based WMS or ERP solution. Each picker must wear a headset with an industrial microphone and carry a mobile device with the voice picking program installed. More sophisticated systems may include a device that combines voice recognition and barcode scanning, and technologies like smart glasses. Warehouses must have fast, dependable internet connections in order to successfully implement cloud variations of the technology.

1. Each operator is provided with a voice-picking device, which is often a headset and microphone, a mobile device, or a voice-dedicated terminal.
2. When requests are received from the host system (for instance, your current warehouse management system (WMS) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) software), they are logged, scheduled, and afterwards released for processing.
3. When your voice-picking system instructs and vocally leads an operator to a specific warehouse location, the operator must therefore input check numbers upon arrival to ensure he or she is already in the right aisle, section, and bin.
4. The voice-picking system will validate the position and then offer the pick quantity to your operator. That number is vocally confirmed by the operator.
5. When the picking is finished, the system will direct your operator towards the next pick site.
6. All exchanges between both the operator and the voice application are recorded, allowing supervisors to follow the status of orders as they have been completed.

Who is Voice Picking for?

Voice picking may be utilized in warehouses of all sizes, but it is especially well-suited for big warehouses with a high number of diverse goods, each with its own stock-keeping unit (SKU) and scannable barcode. It is less expensive than other systems, such as Pick to Light (PTL), which employs different colored LED lights, as well as a sequence of letters and numbers, to lead employees to the right picking spots. Voice picking can also be employed in places other than warehouses, such as production lines and retail outlets. A speech picking operator at a retail store, for example, may receive spoken instructions through a headset and pick components of a retail order, confirming each item as they locate it. When the final item for that order is picked, the system will provide the picker with information on how to complete the operation, such as dropping off the finished order at a shipping location. Voice picking can also aid pickers who need to move big things, such as at a tire warehouse, where workers must frequently use both arms. Some solutions are especially useful for employees in cold and deep freeze settings, when gloves make it impossible to use keyboards for data entry.

What are the Advantages of using a Voice Picking System?

Shorter training time

Traditional picking might take days (or even weeks) to master. Voice picking, on the other hand, employs straightforward, everyday language, so your warehouse operators won’t have to learn data entry, how to read intricate paperwork, or how to apply labels. All that is required is a voice template, which can be generated in much less than an hour. After just a few voice-picking practice sessions, the warehouse floor will be ready for the operators to hit.

Boost Accuracy

The picking line is where the bulk of warehouse mistakes occur. Whenever an error happens where an order is incorrectly selected, client happiness suffers significantly. Multimodal picking can assist warehouses in achieving improved accuracy with a substantial number of orders completed improperly. Warehouse operators can expect to see an increase in picking accuracy of up to 85 percent.

Increased Productivity

Due to the fact that voice-picking systems are both hands-free and eye-free, your warehouse workers will just have to focus on the task at hand (literally). This simplifies operations—no more managing instructions, leafing through paperwork, or grasping equipment—and allows for hands-on selection. Voice-selecting solutions remove physical barriers and potentially enhance productivity by up to 35%.

Faster picking time

Traditional order picking takes time since personnel must cross-check each product in the order and then manually record when it is chosen. These antiquated, paper-based methods hinder order fulfillment, which can have a negative influence on consumer satisfaction. When most businesses use voice picking, their total operational efficiency increases by 20 to 30 percent.

Better inventory accuracy

Better picking accuracy leads to higher inventory levels. A high level of organization, paired with the precision of voice-picking technology, can assist a corporation in more effectively managing inventory.

Improved communication

At times, employees may have trouble interacting vocally with others. However, with the help of voice picking, it will incorporate verbal data from many end-users, making it easier for workers to exchange this type of information with each other and management.

Safer warehousing

Workers’ eyes are up and focused ahead on their task and surroundings while they speak. They are very aware of their surroundings, including the lift trucks and any potential threats. They are no longer attached to a piece of paper or a screen, and their hands are no longer occupied with clipboards or scanning devices, allowing their eyes to focus on the work at hand.

Happier employees

Employees that are happy are more motivated and productive. When your warehouse processes are simplified, you reduce typical hassles, promote better performance, and encourage a happier staff.

Happier customers

As previously said, higher accuracy and speed of voice selection typically improve customer service levels, which leads to happier and more satisfied customers.