Comparison to other methods

When considering a voice solution comparisons are usually made to a number of other methods. Alternative methods include traditional paper or label picking, RF terminal picking and pick to light. The sections below describe how the methods differ and outlines the benefits of voice in each case.

eSmart Voice vs. Paper/Label Picking

With a traditional Paper/Label picking method paper lists of orders to be picked are printed out throughout the day and disseminated to the picking team. The pickers work through the paper list sequentially and deliver the picked products to the dispatch area then either manually enter the pick completion data at an operator terminal or pass the paperwork to a colleague who will carry out the manual data entry.

With a competent picking team high picking speeds are possible with paper picking, however there are number of drawbacks to the method which negatively impact productivity and pick accuracy:

• Data entry errors during pick confirmation are common.
• Time wasted moving back and forth to assignment desk to reconcile discrepancies
• Labour and materials costs to handle paper/labels
• Time wasted travelling to assignment point
• Time wasted sorting paper pick notes or labels
• Not hands & Eyes free
• Difficult to batch or wave pick
• No ability to real time update inventory
• No real-time picker visibility and task accountability

Why voice is better than Paper picking:

• Productivity of up to 20%+ higher
• Accuracy up to 85% better
• Training times reduced by at least 50%

eSmart Voice vs. RF Terminal Picking

With an RF based pick method operators are provided with an RF handheld terminal which is connected wirelessly back to the hosts system. Picking instructions are sent via the wireless network to the terminal and displayed on the device screen. The picker reads the location from the device screen, travels to the location, scans the pick location, reads the pick quantity instruction from device screen, puts down terminal to handle pick goods, performs pick task, pick up terminal and confirms the pick data back to host by entering key presses on the terminal.

Pick accuracy can be high with RF picking as pickers can be directed to confirm the warehouse location by scanning the rack label although the method is prone to quantity errors when the RF terminal is put down between reading the instruction, handling materials and retrieving the terminal to enter confirmation data. Other drawbacks of this method include:

• Average of two weeks training, often requiring experienced mentor
• Operator can be distracted by the scan, pick, data entry cycle
• Safety issues as operators need to be heads down to read display/enter data
• Not ergonomic
• Battery management issues
• Many points of failure – need to have back up equipment

Why voice is better than RF picking:

• Productivity of up to 25%+ higher
• Accuracy up to 50% better
• Training times reduced by at least 50% - 65%

eSmart Voice vs. Pick to Light

The Pick-to-Light picking method uses high visibility displays and mechanical switches fitted to each warehouse location. The switches/displays are connected back to a host ERP or WMS which decides the optimum picking order around the racking and directs the picker to specific bay locations. Switches are illuminated to indicate which bay is to be picked from. The display next to the illuminated switch displays the quantity to be picked. The operator then picks the required quantity and presses the illuminated to switch. This extinguishes the light, reports the pick complete to the hosts system and prompts the host to illuminate the next pick location. Pick to light can achieve impressive productivity levels and is fast for operators to learn.

Downsides to Pick-to-light are:

• Very expensive
• The system is inflexible once installed*
• Cost of adding warehouse SKUs is high*
• Cannot efficiently manage multiple pickers in one zone
• Batch/wave picking is difficult*
• Limited hands/eyes free
• Cost is based on SKUs rather than operator numbers*
• Thousands of failure points due to every location having a mechanical switch and light

* Source from Gartner

Why voice is better than Pick-to-light picking:

• Accuracy up to 50% better
• Massively lower cost per SKU
• Much more flexible – zero cost to accommodate new products and warehouse locations
• Voice hardware meantime between failure (MTBF) greater than 5 years