Warehouse workers depend on mobile devices to retrieve information from, and feed data into the Oracle WMS system. Voice-enabling mobile devices can improve the workers’ productivity by at least 30%, measured in volume of product processed per hour. This is so because voice technology allows the workers to execute their mechanical tasks, like picking products or moving between locations, while simultaneously maintaining access to the WMS system, without stopping for manipulating the mobile device.
The Evolution of Voice Technology in the Warehouse
Voice technology in the warehouse has been around for more than twenty years. In the early days, legacy voice technology vendors required a separate software platform, parallel to the main Warehouse Management System (WMS), where picking workflows were executed in conjunction with dedicated voice-only devices. The resulting transactions were stored in a database that had to be synchronized with the backend systems at the end of each day. The morning after, and constantly throughout the day, waves of new orders needed to be transferred to the voice server to keep the voice-pickers busy. However effective, this architecture was far from efficient. Database synchronization errors were frequent. Once implemented, the workflow logic was rarely updated to keep up with the changes in the warehouse operations. Maintenance and repair costs of dedicated devices were expensive. Surprisingly, many voice-picking solutions in the market today still rely on this old architecture, and still suffer from the same pain points. What was unbearably inefficient before, today becomes utterly unacceptable, considering the overhaul that modern Android devices can bring to voice-guided operations.
Enter the Android Era
Smartphones apps reminisce how the characters in the cult movie “The Matrix” used to call the Operator to have new capabilities downloaded to their personas when inside the Matrix. – “Tank, I need to operate my mobile device hands-free” (… downloading app) – “ok, Neo, let’s go”. That’s exactly what we can expect from modern Android devices in regards of operating the Oracle WMS with voice. There’s an app for that. An app that enhances what is already running, in this case, a voice app that enhances the SSH client that connects the mobile device to the Cloud application. Contrary to legacy voice-picking solutions, modern voice technology leaves all the heavy-lifting workflow logic up to the already powerful Oracle WMS application. Because there is no need to duplicate the picking workflow in a separate voice-only server, the modern approach is simply referred to as “voice-enabling” the existing WMS. In a nutshell, this means that the SSH client in the mobile device is able to read out loud the information displayed on the screen, sometimes automatically, as soon as the screen is refreshed, other times upon human request. Conversely, the voice is recognized as a data-entry method just as the scanner and keypad are. This approach allows the workers to maintain access to the Oracle WMS application directly, without ever holding the mobile device in their hands. Let’s explore some of the benefits.
Hands-free, eyes to the front, improved operation
The first and probably most important benefit of voice-enabling the Oracle WMS application is the significant increase in orders processed. The workers gain significant productivity time by eliminating the standing time consumed when pressing keys to navigate menus and enter data. Similarly, as workers move around the floor from location to location, they can ask for information on the screen, and even navigate to different menu options, for example, to lookup data of interest, such as available stock in any given location or the status of an LPN. The mobile device will read this information out loud while the worker is on the go.
Consistent, up to date processes
From the WMS perspective, voice-enabled devices and barcode-only devices are interchangeable and undistinguishable between them. Voice-enabled devices never lose their ability to scan barcodes and run as they always ran before. Therefore, voice-enabling Oracle WMS will not require you to set up different processes based on what device the pickers use. For example, the same person who plans the waves for pickers with barcode-only devices will continue to do so for voice-enabled devices. Also, as the operations evolve, the logic and processes will only need to be updated in one place, the Oracle WMS application. Mobile devices will need to be updated in a simpler way than that of maintaining duplicate logic on two separate platforms.
Voice-enabling everything
Voice-enabling the Oracle WMS application can be applied to any process, not just picking. It is as though a virtual assistant lived inside the mobile device, tasked with driving the device on behalf of the worker, providing context-sensitive help when solicited, and submitting to the Cloud application whatever data and commands the worker dictates. For example, one voice command could spell out the instructions on what to do when there is no more room in the carton. Another voice command could perform the steps on behalf of the user, that is, virtually pressing the necessary keys to close the carton. The learning curve for new users to any process can be greatly reduced.
Short development cycles
Voice-enabling the Oracle WMS application is all about manipulating the text on the mobile device’s screen. By detecting relevant information through a method called screen-scrapping, the user can listen to any piece of data available on the screen. Coding these functions for one end-to-end process takes about 5 weeks, often much less time, because screens are very similar across different Customers’ environments, as such, the code from one Customer’s environment can be reused in the next Customer’s environment.
No synchronization errors
Knowing what we know so far, it’s hard to understand why anyone would ever want to set up a parallel platform that is vulnerable to database synchronization failures.
No infrastructure to maintain
Maintenance costs are limited to keeping the SSH client software and the voice-engine software licenses up to date. Of course, mobile devices also require maintenance and eventual repairs, but those costs are usually considered upfront when purchasing the devices. Besides, the wear is minimal because the device is inside a holster or a pouch most of the time.
Conclusion
Voice-enabling mobile devices that connect to an Oracle WMS application is the easiest and fastest way to increase the warehouse workers’ productivity, measured in volume of products processed per hour.
About the Author
Alejandro Calero is General Manager for MOBLIS in Mexico. MOBLIS can help you quickly expand your WMS practice with voice technology for mobile devices and smart terminal emulation software.