Smart Warehouse - when voice is enhancing workflows

A smart warehouse signifies the future of warehouse management, utilizing advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), automated storage and retrieval systems, and autonomous mobile robots.

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Voice First. Seamless Operations.

By automating tasks, streamlining operations, and providing essential data, a smart warehouse system transforms conventional warehousing practices to ensure seamless inventory management. Smart warehouse is not only about automation, it’s more about making things smarter, by giving employees the power to be more efficient.

As smart warehouses evolve, integrating innovative solutions becomes crucial for enhancing operational efficiency and accuracy. Among these advancements, voice technologies have emerged as a powerful tool in the logistics sector. By enabling hands-free operations and real-time communication, voice technologies streamline workflows, improve worker productivity, and reduce errors. In the following sections, we will explore how voice is revolutionizing logistics and contributing to the overall effectiveness of smart warehouse systems.

Voice-directed Warehouse

A voice-directed warehousing technology uses advanced speech recognition to guide workers through the picking and transporting process. Workers receive voice instructions through headsets, enabling them to pick items efficiently and accurately without relying on handheld devices. Voice picking solutions involve the use of voice commands to guide warehouse operators through their tasks, such as picking, sorting, and inventory management. This technology integrates both hardware and software to enhance efficiency and accuracy in warehouse operations.

Voice-directed warehousing offers several benefits to the supply chain, helping businesses optimize their processes and reduce costs. By utilizing real-time data, these systems provide accurate and immediate instructions to workers, ensuring that missions are completed correctly and promptly. This not only enhances the overall efficiency of the warehouse but also improves customer satisfaction by ensuring orders are fulfilled accurately and on time.

A warehouse man drives a forklift truck into the facility and works with goods and shipments.

Discover our use cases

The importance of Voice Control in the Logistics Industry:

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Order Picking

Scenario: In a large orders fulfillment center, workers are responsible for picking items from shelves to fulfill customer orders.
Implementation: Workers use voice-directed picking systems to receive verbal instructions through a headset, guiding them to the exact location of products and specifying the quantity to pick.

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Receiving and put-away

Scenario: A distribution center receives large shipments that need to be sorted and stored efficiently.
Implementation: Voice commands guide workers to appropriate storage locations and instruct them on where to place objects.

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Inventory management

Scenario: A warehouse conducts regular cycle counts to maintain accurate inventory records.
Implementation: Workers use voice-directed systems to receive instructions on which items to count and provide verbal confirmations of quantities.

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Shipping & loading

Scenario: In a logistics center, workers need to load things onto trucks for delivery.
Implementation: Voice-directed systems provide instructions on the sequence and location of items to be loaded onto trucks.

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Cross-docking

Scenario: In a cross-docking operation, items are unloaded from incoming trucks and directly loaded onto outbound trucks with minimal storage time.
Implementation: Voice-directed systems guide workers through the unloading and loading process, ensuring items are moved efficiently from one truck to another.

Download our White Paper to discover how Voice Technologies are transforming warehouse operations.

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Warehouse Perspectives, Modern Logistics, Dusk

Voice technologies for logistics industry

Voice Control for Warehouse

Also known as voice recognition, and Automatic Speech Recognition – ASR.

Workers can interact directly with the warehouse’s system and focus on the task at hand since they don’t have to look at a screen or paper. Users can ask the system where the next product is, indicate when an action is done and finally give the final approval when an order is completed.

Voice Biometrics for Warehouse

Usually, equipment is shared between workers, and in order to have a personalized experience, voice biometrics allow the identification of users. That way the machine knows exactly what orders to give to specific users.

Voice Synthesis for Warehouse

Users can get vocal feedback from the equipment, allowing all actions to be eyes-free and removing screen and paper.

Audio Enhancement for Warehouse

Noise pollution such as machine hum, overlapping conversations and environmental noise can interfere with voice clarity and quality. Using the Audio Enhancement solution reduces noise and improves the quality of sound entering the machine.

Vivoka is the fitted solution for the warehouse because our technologies are embedded, offline. The on-device capabilities ensure uninterrupted service, even in challenging environments.

+35%

K

increased productivity

+25%

K

Up to 25% more accurate

-50%

K

Up to 50% less training time

Based on our customers’ figures*

Examples of Equipment

How can Voice be Implemented?

By integrating one of these devices or a combination of them, warehouses can create a seamless, efficient, and accurate voice-directed environment. This integration not only enhances productivity but also reduces the training time for new employees, as voice-directed systems are intuitive and easy to use.

Wristbands

Wristbands, often equipped with RFID or barcode scanning capabilities, play a crucial role in voice-directed warehousing. These wristbands can track the location of workers within the warehouse, ensuring that they are at the correct picking spots. By integrating with voice picking systems, wristbands help confirm the identity and location of items being picked, improving accuracy and efficiency. This hands-free approach allows workers to move more freely and quickly while following voice instructions without needing to interact with a handheld device.

Smart Glasses

Smart glasses provide a heads-up display (HUD) that complements voice control by showing visual prompts and confirmations. They can overlay picking information directly in the worker’s field of vision, reducing the need to look away from the task at hand. This multimodal approach combines voice instructions with visual feedback, enhancing exactitude and speed in picking and packing tasks. Smart glasses are particularly useful in complex picking environments where visual confirmation of items can prevent errors.

Headsets

Headsets equipped with noise-canceling microphones are a core component of voice picking systems. They enable clear communication between the worker and the warehouse management system (WMS). Workers receive voice instructions through the earpiece and can provide verbal confirmations or corrections. This hands-free communication streamlines workflows, reduces errors, and allows workers to focus on manual tasks without the distraction of handheld devices.

Tablets

Tablets serve as versatile tools in a voice-directed warehouse. They can run voice picking applications and display supplementary information such as maps, item details, and order summaries. Tablets can also act as the central hub for integrating other devices like wristbands and smart glasses, providing a cohesive interface for managing tasks. Their portability and larger screens make them ideal for tasks that require detailed visual information in addition to voice instructions.

Approximately 22% of warehouses in the world currently use voice-directed technology, many logistics centers are still giving workers pen and paper. Companies tend to start a digital & technological transition, before allocating big expenses for robots and full automations and having to lay employees off; they can totally give technology to workers. Embracing technology with people is better than replacing the latter with the first. Making a warehouse efficient is challenging and voice tech allows companies to do that, productivity can be increased by at least 35%.

AI and machine learning continue to significantly improve voice recognition systems by enhancing accuracy and contextual understanding. These technologies enable systems to better interpret and respond to voice commands, even in noisy environments.

Voice can also enhance other workflows, such as the order fulfillment through robotic systems and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). Voice control is being increasingly integrated with robotic systems and AGVs to enhance their flexibility and performance. This allows warehouse workers to use voice commands to control and interact with robots, streamlining operations. This integration improves the coordination between human workers and robots, leading to more efficient material handling and reduced labor costs.

Portrait of a happy storage worker talking on a headset

Companies that have chosen our solution

Our customers' feedbacks regarding our solutions

Be part of our happy customers

“Vivoka’s technologies have been integrated into our solutions dedicated to Human Factors in industry, guaranteeing performance and data confidentiality.”

Guillaume Jégou

Head of the Human Factors Technology Laboratory

"Vivoka’s solutions can run offline, on-device, to operate anywhere, anytime and with a broad language support capability which is for our products a distinct competitive advantage."

Paul Travers

Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

"We partnered with Vivoka on several innovative projects on embedded Linux system, and delivered, in a very short time, multi-lingual natural voice interactions fully running “at the edge” to our customers."

Cédric Vincent

VP of Technology

NEW! Discover our latest version of our Voice Development Kit!

Vivoka’s solutions come in one and only software: Voice Development Kit. Our VDK is sheltering many solutions to integrate voice in each step of your workflow. Our Studio is the interface our customers use to develop their projects.

Before, our customers were downloading a unique SDK that was only C++ or Java. Now, they get an EXEcutable allowing seamless integration with any programming language, eliminating the need for specific SDKs.

You can use your desired programming languages with our REST API.

Increased Flexibility

This update provides developers with the freedom to choose the best tools and languages for their projects without worrying about compatibility issues. The VDK Service acts as a universal REST interface, making VDK’s robust features more accessible than ever before.

Runs on Embedded Devices, Remains Offline

Despite being a web server binary, the VDK Service is designed to run efficiently on embedded devices. It remains completely offline, ensuring that your voice interaction capabilities are secure and do not depend on an internet connection.

Simplified Integration

By utilizing the VDK Service, we've significantly reduced the complexity of integrating voice interaction capabilities. It not only saves development time but also minimizes potential errors and compatibility concerns.

Integrating voice technologies in smart warehouses revolutionizes logistics by enhancing efficiency and accuracy across the supply chain and warehouse management. Devices like wristbands, smart glasses, earpieces, and tablets enable hands-free operations, allowing workers to interact with systems in real-time, reducing errors and training times. These solutions optimize processes from picking to shipping, automate tasks, and provide crucial data for better management. This smart, technology-driven approach leads to significant productivity gains, with efficiency increasing by over 35% and accuracy by up to 25%. As AI and machine learning improve voice recognition, these advancements promise a more integrated and efficient future for warehousing operations.

Learn more about Voice control in Logistics

The integration of voice technologies in smart warehouses represents a transformative leap in logistics, enhancing operational proficiency and accuracy across the supply chain and warehouse management. Devices like wristbands, smart glasses, earpieces, and tablets facilitate a seamless, hands-free working environment. These tools enable workers to receive real-time voice instructions, confirm actions, and interact with warehouse management systems without the need for manual input. This not only streamlines workflows but also significantly reduces errors and training times.

Voice solutions optimize various warehouse processes, from picking and inventory management to shipping and order fulfillment. By automating tasks and providing crucial data, these technologies enhance the management of warehousing operations, making them more efficient and accurate. This integration fosters a smart, technology-driven approach to inventory management and supply chain optimization, ensuring that warehouses can operate at peak efficiency.

The adoption of automated solutions in warehousing processes leads to notable productivity gains, with increases of over 35% in efficiency and up to 25% more accurate operations. This technological transition empowers employees rather than replacing them, fostering a more effective and collaborative work environment. As AI and machine learning continue to enhance voice recognition capabilities, the potential for these technologies to further revolutionize warehousing operations is immense.

Ultimately, the integration of voice in smart warehouses paves the way for a more integrated, efficient, and human-centric approach to modern logistics. These advanced solutions ensure that both technology and human labor work in harmony to achieve optimal results, transforming the landscape of inventory management and warehouse automation for the better.

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