SAP Business One’s comprehensive and efficient warehouse management system (WMS) coordinates all warehouse functions in one place and streamlines day-to-day operations.

To further boost the functionality of this system, Consultare has recently partnered with Honeywell, a Fortune 100 technology leader, to integrate a new voice picking solution into the SAP WMS. This solution provides inventory personnel with a safer and more accurate hands-free workflow.

Teamwork Yields a Great Solution

Because Honeywell has relied on SAP for its world-class ERP for years, the two companies have enjoyed a long-standing partnership. In May 2019, SAP leadership recommended and introduced Consultare, an SAP Gold Channel Partner with a Recognized Expertise award for SAP Business One, to Honeywell regarding its voice picking system.

Due to the depth of their knowledge of distribution systems, Consultare has been selected by Honeywell to distribute, implement, and support this solution and its hardware in North and Latin America. Consultare is the first partner worldwide in the SAP Business One ecosystem to sign with Honeywell.

How Warehouse Voice Picking Works

In order to fulfill orders on time, workers must be fast and accurate. This work becomes more challenging in a busy, complex warehouse with multiple picking locations. A voice-directed system enables warehouse staff to focus on the picking process hands-free and without having to refer to paperwork or a hand held scanner.

Voice picking uses speech recognition and speech synthesis to help warehouse personnel to communicate with the warehouse management system during the picking process. Warehouse workers wear a headset and a microphone to receive instructions from the system and to confirm their picking actions back to the system verbally.

A warehouse employee will usually read back the last 2 or 3 digits of the item picked so the system can check to ensure that it is the correct item. If it is not the correct item, the worker cannot proceed until it is found and validated by the system. Then the WMS gives the worker the next instruction based on the system’s algorithm.

How Voice Picking Can Benefit Your Business

The SAP integrated voice picking solution provides extraordinary advantages over traditional picking solutions in a warehouse. Here are the key ways that a voice-directed system can increase your ROI and improve your warehouse’s performance:

• Accuracy. Implementing a voice picking solution can reduce picking errors up to 25% and increase fulfillment accuracy over 99.9%.
• Productivity. Freeing staff of having to use a scanner or check paper pick lists can increase productivity up to 35%.
• Safety. Because workers are working hands-free and heads-up, voice-directed systems decrease warehouse-related accidents by 20%.
• Scalability. During holidays and other peak times, a voice picking system is flexible enough to handle additional workers and workflows.
• Reduced turnover. With a tool to make their work more productive, warehouse operators will experience more job satisfaction and stay on the job longer.
• Reduced training time. A voice picking solution enables rapid adoption of automation in which it takes less time to onboard new workers.
• Management visibility. By supplying the right real-time information about warehouse workflow, your company’s managers can make faster decisions.
• Multilingual capabilities. Extend your global reach with a voice picking system that offers support for multiple languages. Workers can select the language of their preference for any shift.
• Digitalization of your enterprise. The integration of a voice picking solution into your ERP can help you not only reduce paperwork but also continue to grow the automation of your company’s workflows and make them more efficient.

Voice Picking Is Used in Enterprises of All Sizes

Several large companies use voice-directed systems in their warehouses including Amazon, Walmart, and Colgate-Palmolive. But a voice picking solution also works for distribution verticals, warehouse management, and in any organization where physical goods need to be moved.

Consultare is honored to partner with Honeywell in offering a powerful SAP-integrated voice picking solution for small and medium-sized businesses. If you’d like to learn more details about how this solution can work for your company, contact us today.