RF VOICE RECOGNITION PICKING IN GROCERY AND FOODSERVICE OPERATIONS

RF Picking yields significant benefits in the areas of pick accuracy and let-down timings. RF Picking with screen and keyboard units, however, can slow pickers down. Pickers using screen and keyboard units, whether wrist-mounted or hand-carried, need to look at the display and scan or hit a key to confirm a pick, instead of applying a label or making a tick mark on a paper pick list. This can slow them down from 5%-20% in terms of number of picks per hour when compared with label picking (pickers usually apply the label in the same motion that they pull the case). Often this loss in picker productivity is made up for with better let-down timings and higher pick accuracy levels.

Voice Picking is another "Hands Free" picking technology that is becoming more popular. Thousands of Voice units are in use at Wal-Mart and Kroger grocery operations. Voice Picking is emerging as the technology of choice for hands free case picking in grocery and foodservice operations. Voice Picking allows the picker a two-way dialog via RF with a central data server for pick assignment dispatch and pick confirmation. Pickers do not have to interact with a computer screen, keyboard, or scanner. They can "walk and talk" at the same time. Industry studies show picker productivity actually increases 10% - 25%, while also providing pick slot replenishment timing and pick accuracy levels associated with wearable or hand held RF units. Scanner, printers, and other peripheral devices can also be attached to these Voice RF units for Catchweight capture, and real-time pallet and case label printing. Voice units can also be used in freezers and refrigerators without the display or laser scanner problems associated with regular or wrist worn RF units.

Voice RF Picking works in a similar manner to wrist or hand held RF picking. A picking assignment is sent to the picker's Voice unit via RF. The picker then has the option of previewing the entire assignment (in order to build a base for the pallet(s)), or start picking. The Voice unit tells the picker the first locations to go to and what to pick. On arrival, the picker speaks the location's Checkdigit (alternatively the pallet tag number, SKU number, etc.) to confirm they are in the correct location. The Voice unit tells the picker how much of what product to get. The picker either confirms a correct pick, or tells the system he is shorting the pick with a quantity. Pick shorts can then immediately be dispatched to RF Chasing or let-down tasks. The picker is then sent to the next routed location. Picker's interaction with the RF computer system occurs as they are walking and pulling product. They do not have to stop to look at a screen, scan, or press a key.

Super Store Industries, Inc.
Motek's Priya Windows / SQL Server based WMS has been in production at Super Store Industries, Inc., a large West Coast 3rd party grocery and wholesale food distribution center that supports the Raleys and Savemart grocery chains for over two years. The 850,000 ft2 facility runs 7x24 with 160 concurrent users including 130 RF users. The facility is composed of 600,000 ft2 of racked dry grocery, 100,000 ft2 of racked refrigerated and 50,000 ft2 of racked freezer. The facility picks over 1 million cases per week plus Each picks, averaging 220,000 picks per day on 170,000 order lines per day with 15,000 SKUs in a 7x24 environment. RF support includes 10 handheld, 50 forklift and 95 Voice Picking RF units. Priya's Fixed Routing module supports over 300 routes per day with 1-2 stops per route.

Priya RF Voice Picking Benefits at SSI:

• Pick error rate reduced from 1 in 300 to 1 in 3,000.
• 40% Picker productivity improvement.
• Real-time pick slot inventory balances resulting in accurate let-down timings.
• Elimination of picking paperwork and clerical support.
• $200,000 annual savings in paper and label costs.
• Complete hands and eyes free operation.

Priya RF Voice Picking vs. Wrist Mounted RF Picking:

• 40% Picker productivity improvement vs. 10%-20% picker slowdown with wrist units.
• Complete hands and eyes free operation.
• Can run with a central data server or can put data server at each warehouse site.
• Does not need UNIX RF controller or data server. Can use $2,000 PC at each site to act as RF controller.
• Cost for Voice units same as wrist units+scanners.
• Voice units weigh 1 lbs. and are belt worn. Wrist units weigh approximately 1 lb. and can become tiring at full arm extension.
Ring scanner triggering can lead to repetitive motion injuries in a fast picking situation.

Priya RF Voice Picking vs. Pick-to-light:

• Same productivity and accuracy as Pick-to-light at a much lower cost ($5,000 per picker vs. $40 per pick location).
• Better operational flexibility. Picking Wave can be changed/added to post release. Racking can be easily moved/modified/added to.
• Does not require an additional computer system and software.
• Does not require extensive hardware maintenance for each pick location.

About Motek®
Motek provides an advanced, Windows-based, user-configurable warehouse management system that helps mid-to-large sized companies in the retail, wholesale, and third-party distribution markets save money and improve customer satisfaction by streamlining their warehouse operations. Since 1991, Motek's Priya warehouse software and technology has been leading the market in innovation, implementation time and ease-of-use. Privately owned, Motek has garnered numerous industry awards for innovation, entrepreneurship, and technical excellence, and consistently ranks as one of Southern California's fastest growing companies. Information on Motek is available at www.motek.com