Information Management: Voice-directed picking supports productivity and compliance

Beverage distributor American Eagle Distributing is aware that even the distribution of just 1,000 SKUs can be very complex. In addition to the absence of a location scheme within the warehouse and more than 20% annual SKU growth, the company faced complicated sales and delivery laws, multiple market channels and rigid licensing and accounting rules. After deploying configurable software and wearable computers for voice-directed picking, the company has boosted productivity and accuracy.

The new paperless solution directs picking, checking, labeling and loading to ensure minimal touches while minimizing staging to free up valuable floor space. The operator starts the process by requesting an assignment. Information is provided about the route, SKU count or customer name. When the operator says “ready,” the system provides the first product description in the pick sequence. The product description is used because items typically are stocked in free-standing pallet positions.

At the first pick position, the UPC bar code on the item is scanned. The operator verbally confirms pick quantity. When the pallet is complete, the system prompts the operator for a total case count on the pallet, assuring correct item counts before printing a manifest label. As a final step, the label on the pallet is scanned to confirm it is loaded on the appropriate route truck.

The new software manages, directs and monitors the entire system and can be configured for tablet computers and mobile devices. The system also allows supervisors to make operational adjustments in real time. Operational statistics are available regarding overall system pick rate, pick rate by operators, percent of workload complete, route complete, etc. These reports can be shared through a Web app or exported to an Excel worksheet.

American Eagle reports that order picking errors have decreased by more than 70% while labor productivity increased by 23%.

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