The word's spreading quickly that voice recognition systems are a lot more than just toys for gear geeks. Wearable computers let DC workers do their jobs faster and better whether it's picking, putaway or cycle counting.
Peter Bradley is an award-winning career journalist with more than three decades of experience in both newspapers and national business magazines. His credentials include seven years as the transportation and supply chain editor at Purchasing Magazine and six years as the chief editor of Logistics Management.
Jerry Johnston had pretty much ruled out voice recognition technology as a non starter. As he considered his options for overhauling operations at the 340,000-square-foot Nature's Best DC complex in Brea, Calif., Johnston, vice president of operations for the natural foods wholesaler, was actually leaning toward scanning. Voice, he felt, was still too experimental. "We thought it was bleeding edge," Johnston says, "not cutting edge."
But that all changed when he and his team got a good look at Vocollect's Talkman system, which lets workers outfitted with a portable computer and headset relay info back and forth with a back-office system. "We realized that the technology had advanced quite a ways," he reports. It wasn't long before Johnston agreed to test the Vocollect system in the DC's case picking operation. The implementation was relatively painless, the technology performed well in testing and Johnston was sold.
Like Johnston, DC managers today are a lot more willing to give voice technology a hearing than they were just a few short years ago. Once met with skepticism—partly because it was considered untried and partly because of its cost—voice tech has been steadily proving its worth by raising picking productivity and accuracy, particularly in food and beverage industry DCs. Now, the more adventuresome users are extending its reach to replenishment, putaway and even returns processing.
Quick picks
Despite the widening array of choices, most voice tech buyers still start with picking. That's not surprising. Because it accounts for the largest slice of the DC labor budget, picking offers the biggest opportunity for returns. "[Picking] represents over 40 percent of the labor dollars in a typical warehousing operation," says Steve Gerrard, vice president of marketing for Voxware, another major provider of voice recognition technology. "Just about all our customers probably implement picking before anything else. It's the area where you're going to see the biggest payback in the shortest time."
In fact, the results are often so impressive that managers immediately start looking around for other applications. Replenishment, putaway, forklift operations and cycle counting are all obvious candidates, says Mike Miller, Vocollect's director of industry marketing and consulting. One Vocollect customer in the United Kingdom (that he was not at liberty to name) uses voice technology for all major activities from receiving through shipping, he says.
That's not to say that voice technology is suitable for every application. Though some facilities do use voice for receiving, Gerrard admits that receiving is usually a better fit for scanning because full pallets must be identified by long strings of numbers on a "license plate." But in areas like returns processing, voice has a definite edge. "With voice technology," he says, "the operator can be working hands free and can describe the item and its condition. It's an ideal mechanism for communicating information that sheds light on the reasons for a return rather than just capturing numeric data."
Gerrard believes that the benefits of voice technology are just beginning to be exploited. "The kinds of things you can do with voice go deeper than picking, replenishment and cycle counting," he argues. "It's a people-centric approach to optimizing the activities of workers."
Hitting the right notes
Of course, the more the word gets out, the higher the expectations. Who hasn't heard the reports of benefits like higher productivity, better profits, enhanced customer service or improved safety? Safety? Yes indeed, says Ken Finkel, strategic accounts group leader for RedPrairie, a WMS provider that works with both Vocollect and Voxware to implement voice technology. "With voice systems, people are not focusing on a screen or a piece of paper," he says. "That's not really something that people looked at during the initial valuation, but it's a benefit that's become readily apparent."
Still, as Miller of Vocollect points out, the benefits don't necessarily come where the users most expect them. "One hundred percent of our prospects come to us thinking that the benefits will be in picking productivity," he says."In fact, the benefits go beyond picking to inventory accuracy, reduced replenishment time and reduction in returns."
Indeed, Johnston reports that at Nature's Best, picking productivity actually declined when the voice system was first installed. Although the installation process—including integration with the company's warehouse management system (WMS)—was surprisingly smooth, Johnston says, "we did suffer a little bit of a performance drop initially." In fact, picking dropped below the expected levels for about three weeks, and although it eventually got back up to speed, it didn't improve over previous levels.
Yet Johnston seems unperturbed. "We did not see a gain," he says. "Others get a gain because they get rid of labels." But eliminating labels wasn't an option for an operation the size of Nature's Best's, which ships between 40,000 and 50,000 cases a day to 1,200 customers in 13 states out of a center with four miles of conveyor belts and two major sortation systems. "We're shipping to so many stores that we have to have a shipping label. The sortation system has to see a bar code. That necessitates using labels, so there are no appreciable productivity gains."
In fact, Johnston isn't at all disappointed by the technology's failure to boost productivity. "That wasn't the reason for installing it," he says. "We were looking for much better accuracy." As it turned out, Nature's Best saw improvements in accuracy right away. "We could see that we immediately had better accuracy at the picking point," Johnston says. He reports the improvements showed up particularly toward the end of work shifts, when fatigue set in and workers tended to make more errors.
The sound and the flurry
Buoyed by the accuracy improvements in picking, the wholesaler has decided to incorporate voice technology into its line loading operations as well. That application was being implemented when Johnston spoke to DC VELOCITY. If all works out as planned, he says, the voice system should correct problems with incomplete pallets. "There's a scramble at the docks to get shipments palletized correctly," he explains. "We were ending up with a lot of shortages and other mistakes that affected customers there."
Once the installation is completed, an application written by Vocollect that integrates RF scanners with its Talkman technology will allow workers to scan a case or tote, hear over the headset which pallet it goes to, then scan the pallet to confirm that the goods are in the correct place. The WMS will be automatically updated, providing managers with information on each pallet and whether it's complete.
Johnston's also been working with his crew to install voice technology in the DC's repack pick-to-tote function—he was about halfway there at press time. "There's a potentially huge productivity gain," he says. "If we can cut pick and pack time in half, we'll see a labor benefit on top of it." The labor savings he envisions would come about through the ability to batch pick—the accuracy inherent in a voice system, which has multiple checks built into it, will allow workers to pick to several totes at once without the risk of errors. "In a paper-based environment, it's difficult to batch pick,"Miller explains. "If a hundred totes are to go through a zone, it means a hundred trips.Now, you can use voice for batch picking. About 60 percent of the time spent in picking is travel time. You can reduce that [substantially]."
In the not too distant future, Johnston intends to make use of voice technology in the DC's putaway process. "Then we'll start thinking about the inventory control aspects of voice," he says. For instance, he believes that pickers, even in the midst of picking, can be instructed by the system to conduct counts on specific inventory when the WMS sees inventory levels drop below a set point—say five cases. That would be akin to cycle counting on the fly. "The worker can just give the count. If the count is off, the system could print a report and inventory control could go out to check."
And that may not be the end. Johnston says he's brainstorming with the company's IT department on other potential uses. "Basically, we're attaching a computer to everybody's hip," he says. "I'm pretty high on the technology."
Calling it in
Nature's Best's experience is hardly an isolated case. Randy Fletcher, vice president of logistics and supply chain management for Associated Grocers, a grocery distributor that operates out of a 544,000-squarefoot facility in Baton Rouge, La., has also reported big gains in accuracy— gains that have actually boosted gross profits for his operation.
Associated Grocers, which has about 260 customers in five states (Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas and Alabama), ships about 450 trailer loads of groceries and perishables a week via its private fleet to about 800 locations. The company installed the Vocollect voice system (a good fit with its OMI Triceps warehouse management system) about a year ago, starting, as most adopters do, with the picking process. Fletcher's first goal was to improve accuracy and eliminate mis-pulls among meats, his most expensive products. Starting with meat was a true test of the technology. "We wanted to put it to the toughest test," he says. "If it could perform there, it could perform anywhere."
In particular, he wanted more accurate catch weights. Catch weights must be captured on products such as meat or produce, where package weight varies. "We were manually taking catch weights," Fletcher says. "This allowed us to capture them via voice."
"The old way to record catch weight was on a blank label or tally sheet that was handed off after the selection was completed," explains Miller. "In a relatively cold environment, you not only lose productivity on the floor, but the entries often turn out to be chicken scratches that are illegible to a clerk."
Eliminating chicken scratches may not sound like an enormous technical advance, but for Associated Grocers it had major implications. "We actually increased our gross profit as a result," Fletcher says. "When you're taking weights by hand, errors can occur. Errors in your favor get reported, but those in the retailers' favor don't get reported. So we've had more accurate invoicing, and that was totally unexpected. The voice system gives good, accurate weights, which result in good, accurate invoices."
The meat application was only the first test.After 30 days, Fletcher extended the use of voice into frozen foods, then dairy, produce and finally grocery picking.
Now, Fletcher's considering how the voice technology might work with other DC functions. "We're looking at cycle counting," he says. "There are pros and cons, and the inventory folks are looking at them. They're comfortable with handhelds and scans, and they're not totally convinced that voice is the best application for that function."
He's also looking at putaway, replenishment and forklift operations, but he isn't sure that he'll expand voice into those areas, either. "Keying things in is pretty efficient at this point," he says. "We've got a technology in place that is relatively accurate. If you layer voice on top of that, what do you gain?"
But where he has implemented voice, he's pleased with the results. In addition to the gains in profitability in meats, he's found other indirect benefits from using voice technology. For instance, Fletcher reports that the company has experienced sharply reduced credits, since what's shipped tallies well with what's on the invoice. "That led to a huge reduction in clerical time for the accounting staff," he reports.
Further, it cut losses from returns, which could be substantial, since half of all returned products—and 75 to 80 percent of returned produce—cannot be sold as a result of poor temperature controls during the return process.
Once the system was implemented, mis-pulls dropped by 65 percent—which added up to what Fletcher calls "significant dollars.""The gain in customer satisfaction is substantial," he says. "We don't have many problems with loads anymore—we get occasional calls about shift and damage, but never about accuracy."
As the Trump Administration threatens new steps in a growing trade war, U.S. manufacturers and retailers are calling for a ceasefire, saying the crossfire caused by the new tax hikes on American businesses will raise prices for consumers and possibly trigger rising inflation.
Tariffs are taxes charged by a country on its own businesses that import goods from other nations. Until they can invest in long-term alternatives like building new factories or finding new trading partners, companies must either take those additional tax duties out of their profit margins or pass them on to consumers as higher prices.
The Trump Administration on Thursday announced it may impose “reciprocal tariffs” on any country that currently holds tariffs on the import of U.S. goods. That step followed earlier threats to apply tariffs on the import of steel and aluminum beginning March 12, another plan to charge tariffs on the import of materials from Canada and Mexico—now postponed until early March—and new round of tariffs on imports from China including a 10% blanket increase and the elimination of the “de minimis” exception for individual items under a value of $800 each.
Various industry groups say that while the Administration may have legitimate goals in ramping up a trade war—such as lowering foreign tariff and non-tariff trade barriers—applying a strategy of hiking tariffs on imports coming into America would inflict economic harm on U.S. businesses and consumers.
“This tariff-heavy approach continues to gamble with our economic prosperity and is based on incomplete thinking about the vital role ethical and fairly traded imports play in the prosperity,” Steve Lamar, president and CEO of The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) said in a release. “Putting America first means ensuring predictability for American businesses that create U.S. jobs; affordable options for American consumers who power our economy; opportunities for farmers who feed our families; and support for tens of millions of U.S. workers whose trade dependent jobs make our factories, our stores, our warehouses, and our offices function. Sweeping new tariffs — a possible outcome of this exercise — instead puts America last, raising costs for American manufacturers for critical inputs and materials, closing key markets for American farmers, and raising prices for hardworking American families.”
A similar message came from the National Retail Federation (NRF), whose executive vice president of government relations, David French, said: “While we support the president’s efforts to reduce trade barriers and imbalances, this scale of undertaking is massive and will be extremely disruptive to our supply chains. It will likely result in higher prices for hardworking American families and will erode household spending power. We encourage the president to seek coordination and collaboration with our trading partners and bring stability to our supply chains and family budgets.”
The logistics tech firm Körber Supply Chain Software has a common position. "The imposition of new tariffs, or the suspension of tariffs, introduces substantial challenges for businesses dependent on international supply chains. Industries such as automotive and electronics, which rely heavily on cross-border trade with Mexico and Canada, are particularly vulnerable,” Steve Blough, Chief Strategist at Körber Supply Chain Software, said in an emailed statement. “Supply chains that are doing low-value ecommerce deliveries will have their business model thrown into complete disarray. The increased costs due to tariffs, or the increased costs in processing time due to suspensions, may lead to higher consumer prices and processing times.”
And further opposition to the strategy came from the California-based IT consulting firm Bristlecone. “Tariffs or the potential for tariffs increase uncertainty throughout the supply chain, potentially stalling deals, impacting the sourcing of raw materials, and prompting higher prices for consumers,” Jen Chew, Bristlecone’s VP of Solutions & Consulting, said in a statement. “Tariffs and other protectionist economic policies reflect an overarching trend away from global sourcing and toward local sourcing and production. However, despite the perceived benefits of local operations, some resources and capabilities may simply not be available locally, prompting manufacturers to continue operations overseas, even if it means paying steep tariffs.”
The Google-backed humanoid robot maker Apptronik on Thursday announced it had raised $350 million in venture funding to fuel the deployment of its “Apollo” model and to scale up operations, accelerate innovation, and hire more staff.
That innovation push will be specifically aimed at expanding Apollo’s capabilities, enabling it to address a wide range of applications in industries like logistics and manufacturing, as well as eldercare and healthcare.
Texas-based Apptronik is also scaling up manufacturing of Apollo units to fulfill growing orders across priority verticals—including automotive, electronics manufacturing, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), beverage bottling and fulfillment, and consumer packaged goods.
The “series A” venture round was co-led by B Capital and Capital Factory, with participation from Google. It follows $28 million in previous funding. Apprtronik was founded in 2016 at the University of Texas at Austin’s Human Centered Robotics Lab.
“With Apptronik, we see a world in which humanoid robots play a vital role in addressing societal challenges—from assisting with disaster relief and elder care to supporting space exploration and medical advancements. Industry leaders like Mercedes-Benz and GXO Logistics are already seeing the real-world impact of Apptronik's technology,” said Howard Morgan, chair and general partner of B Capital.
Warehouse automation orders declined by 3% in 2024, according to a February report from market research firm Interact Analysis. The company said the decline was due to economic, political, and market-specific challenges, including persistently high interest rates in many regions and the residual effects of an oversupply of warehouses built during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The research also found that increasing competition from Chinese vendors is expected to drive down prices and slow revenue growth over the report’s forecast period to 2030.
Global macro-economic factors such as high interest rates, political uncertainty around elections, and the Chinese real estate crisis have “significantly impacted sales cycles, slowing the pace of orders,” according to the report.
Despite the decline, analysts said growth is expected to pick up from 2025, which they said they anticipate will mark a year of slow recovery for the sector. Pre-pandemic growth levels are expected to return in 2026, with long-term expansion projected at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% between 2024 and 2030.
The analysis also found two market segments that are bucking the trend: durable manufacturing and food & beverage industries continued to spend on automation during the downturn. Warehouse automation revenues in food & beverage, in particular, were bolstered by cold-chain automation, as well as by large-scale projects from consumer-packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers. The sectors registered the highest growth in warehouse automation revenues between 2022 and 2024, with increases of 11% (durable manufacturing) and 10% (food & beverage), according to the research.
The Swedish supply chain software company Kodiak Hub is expanding into the U.S. market, backed by a $6 million venture capital boost for its supplier relationship management (SRM) platform.
The Stockholm-based company says its move could help U.S. companies build resilient, sustainable supply chains amid growing pressure from regulatory changes, emerging tariffs, and increasing demands for supply chain transparency.
According to the company, its platform gives procurement teams a 360-degree view of supplier risk, resiliency, and performance, helping them to make smarter decisions faster. Kodiak Hub says its artificial intelligence (AI) based tech has helped users to reduce supplier onboarding times by 80%, improve supplier engagement by 90%, achieve 7-10% cost savings on total spend, and save approximately 10 hours per week by automating certain SRM tasks.
The Swedish venture capital firm Oxx had a similar message when it announced in November that it would back Kodiak Hub with new funding. Oxx says that Kodiak Hub is a better tool for chief procurement officers (CPOs) and strategic sourcing managers than existing software platforms like Excel sheets, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, or Procure-to-Pay suites.
“As demand for transparency and fair-trade practices grows, organizations must strengthen their supply chains to protect their reputation, profitability, and long-term trust,” Malin Schmidt, founder & CEO of Kodiak Hub, said in a release. “By embedding AI-driven insights directly into procurement workflows, our platform helps procurement teams anticipate these risks and unlock major opportunities for growth.”
Here's our monthly roundup of some of the charitable works and donations by companies in the material handling and logistics space.
For the sixth consecutive year, dedicated contract carriage and freight management services provider Transervice Logistics Inc. collected books, CDs, DVDs, and magazines for Book Fairies, a nonprofit book donation organization in the New York Tri-State area. Transervice employees broke their own in-house record last year by donating 13 boxes of print and video assets to children in under-resourced communities on Long Island and the five boroughs of New York City.
Logistics real estate investment and development firm Dermody Properties has recognized eight community organizations in markets where it operates with its 2024 Annual Thanksgiving Capstone awards. The organizations, which included food banks and disaster relief agencies, received a combined $85,000 in awards ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
Prime Inc. truck driver Dee Sova has donated $5,000 to Harmony House, an organization that provides shelter and support services to domestic violence survivors in Springfield, Missouri. The donation follows Sova's selection as the 2024 recipient of the Trucking Cares Foundation's John Lex Premier Achievement Award, which was accompanied by a $5,000 check to be given in her name to a charity of her choice.
Employees of dedicated contract carrier Lily Transportation donated dog food and supplies to a local animal shelter at a holiday event held at the company's Fort Worth, Texas, location. The event, which benefited City of Saginaw (Texas) Animal Services, was coordinated by "Lily Paws," a dedicated committee within Lily Transportation that focuses on improving the lives of shelter dogs nationwide.
Freight transportation conglomerate Averitt has continued its support of military service members by participating in the "10,000 for the Troops" card collection program organized by radio station New Country 96.3 KSCS in Dallas/Fort Worth. In 2024, Averitt associates collected and shipped more than 18,000 holiday cards to troops overseas. Contributions included cards from 17 different Averitt facilities, primarily in Texas, along with 4,000 cards from the company's corporate office in Cookeville, Tennessee.