“A technology boost was needed to improve throughput, and ... reduce our dependence on temporary labor during peak seasons ... upgrading from paper to voice picking met our objectives and was the lowest cost means to improve throughput and accuracy.
Woodridge, IL (PRWEB) August 26, 2010
Numina Group announces that Demco, a Madison, Wisconsin based leader in the supply of library products and supplies recently went live with Numina Group's Pick Execution™, voice directed picking technology. By using Pick Execution's Smart Cart Voice directed picking technology, Demco has experienced an immediate increase in productivity and improved order picking accuracy. Major enhancements were also added to the distribution center's conveyor system by incorporating the latest in-line packing and sealing technology, resulting in an accelerated order fulfillment process.
Numina Group's Pick Execution™ is a speaker independent, natural voice picking technology based on topVox's™-topSpeech Lydia™, the world's leading multilingual speaker independent voice engine. The software contains a pre-developed application module called Smart Cart, a multimodal voice picking module designed to replace paper based and RF terminal picking with voice directed picking carts. The software module intelligently selects and assigns orders, and optimizes the order picker's walk path to reduce the walk path and improve order picking throughput.
Voice picking is performed wearing a headset using speaker independent, natural voice commands to direct order/item picking. Multimodal voice includes a wrist mounted hands free barcode scanner used in combination with voice commands to direct, confirm, and perform pick, pack, and item pick validation in a single step. Pick Execution™ is highly scalable and the Smart Cart Module can be easily and quickly deployed at Fortune 100 E-tailers, B to C or B to B operations or at small, growing DC operations with less than 10 order pickers.
Demco has been experiencing continuous order volume growth by adding new product lines and recent acquisitions. The recent growth placed added pressure on Demco's operation to get same day shipments picked, validated, packed, and shipped within FedEx's pick-up window, without compromising their corporate commitment to 99.98% accuracy. "We hit the physical limits of the facility's ability to fulfill same day orders," stated Doug Petrick Plant Manager at Demco. "A technology boost was needed to improve throughput, and at the same time reduce our dependence on temporary labor during peak seasons. We concluded that upgrading from paper to voice picking met our objectives and was the lowest cost means to improve throughput and accuracy," Petrick added.
Following a process improvement analysis, Demco recognized that voice picking would increase carton volume at the pack and ship area and cause a "bottleneck" if the pack area was not also enhanced. In order to improve order flow, and eliminate secondary touches, Demco had Numina Group provide improvements to the existing conveyor system to increase carton flow at the packing and shipping area.
A 24 volt DC energy saving conveyor system from Hilmot of Waukesha, WI was installed to link the existing conveyor, to an in-line auto taper/sealer manufactured by AB Sealer of Beaver Dam, WI, and a Mighty Pak, paper void fill automation system manufactured in Madison, WI. The new void fill station more than doubles the carton throughput speed of the past void filler, and saves hundreds of dollars a day in material costs by using recycled paper from a local Wisconsin plant in place of virgin paper or plastic void fill material. Demco is pleased with the labor and material cost reductions, as well as the positive environmental impact the technology provides by saving trees and reducing oil consumption. "Going to a greener void fill material and at the same time contributing to the local economy by buying technology and materials from Wisconsin and US based manufacturers and suppliers, reflects our corporate values" stated Mike Goethel VP of Operations at Demco.
"A key reason we chose the Numina Group was their software and distribution expertise, and the flexibility and ease of installation of their Pick Execution™ . We visited other clients using Numina Group's voice directed picking technology and found their solution to be highly adaptable with performance at or above the specified rates and the software easily integrated voice with our IBM I-Series WMS System. We are extremely pleased with the results of our investment, and plans are underway to add Numina Group's X-Press PAL print and apply labeling system to automate the application of the shipping, labeling, and manifesting operation." Goethel added.
About the Numina Group:
Since 1986, the Numina Group has been a leader in providing Warehouse Control for Pick, Pack, and Ship Automation to improve the order fulfillment process. The systems and products they supply combine high performance software and application expertise to eliminate "bottlenecks", reduce labor, and increase revenues: allowing companies to gain a competitive advantage in the markets they serve. Numina Group's open source Linux based software integrates the latest pick, pack, and ship technology with virtually any WMS or ERP System.
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