Food Logistics Looks at Reducing Picking Error through Jennifer Voice Picking

Aug. 10, 2011 - PRLog -- Lucas Systems, Inc., (www.lucasware.com) the leading provider of voice-directed warehouse applications for open, mobile computers.  In the current issue of Food Logistics, the Pate Dawson Company, is profiled. The firm selected a voice picking solution to improve accuracy – they went from about one picker error per 1000 cases to less than one error per 15,000 cases. Productivity gains were gravy and some of those benefits were realized a year or more after voice was implemented due to managers using the insight of the voice system’s management console to understand how and what to re-slot.

Jeff Slevin, COO of Lucas Systems shared, “The insight the voice system gave them was important… if we re-slot items in the order that makes it best for selectors, we won't have them skipping slots, and productivity goes up.” The company performed a re-slotting exercise and indeed boosted productivity, while maintaining quality; thanks to the voice picking technology.

Slotting optimization is a field unto itself, and so-called Tier One WMS systems provide algorithms for slotting. Pate Dawson did not have a warehouse management system, so they used the insight provided by the voice system.

“It's not just about the quality of the food product picked,” asserts Slevin, makers of Jennifer VoicePlus. “The product traceability initiatives in grocery and food service will require that distributors track the lot number of items when shipped from a distribution center.” In addition, while some customers will accept a product within thirty days of expiration, others might only accept within sixty days of expiration date. Because of this critically important variability, capturing date information when picking is also important. Systems that use an RF bar code scanner require employees to enter date information using a keypad, which is far more prone to error. Similarly, with a paper-based system, a food distribution center employee writes the data on a log sheet, which must then be key entered, introducing two places for data error and compromising the quality.

The advantage of voice systems is that they combine the advantages of voice and RF in a single, seamless process. Slevin insists, “In a voice system food distribution companies capture the lot and date code. An employee with a headset and mobile multi-modal computer simply goes to the location, say picking item, and the solution, such as Jennifer, says enter date or lot code. The person reads in date or scans a lot barcode, capturing the information at the point of pick.”.“

Lucas Systems, Inc.
www.lucasware.com
John H. Schriefer
PR@lucasware.com
724-940-7000