Supplier Enablement

There are hundreds of metrics that you could use to manage your supply chain, but what are the right ones for your company?  When deciding what metrics to use, it is important that you take a step back and look at your corporate strategy and corresponding corporate metrics.  To select metrics for your WMS solutions or supplier enablement in a vacuum would be a common mistake.  While it is quite likely the metrics you select will be valid, it is also likely they won’t help the company advance its corporate strategy.

The need for company specific metrics is apparent after looking at two different retailers.   As we all know Wal-Mart has invested heavily to develop a world class supply chain.  They attempt to optimize every facet of the supply chain in attempt to bring the lowest price to the consumer.  They have been pioneers in supply chain innovation as evidenced by their previous RFID project and now their product sustainability initiative.  The majority of Wal-Mart’s supply chain metrics should measure cost reduction/cost containment.  Successful results in these metrics reinforce Wal-Mart’s corporate goal of providing the lowest competitive pricing to their customers. 

In sharp contrast to this is Zara, a European fashion retailer.  Zara strives to have their fingers on the pulse of what trends/fashion are selling well in a given locale and then design, manufacture, and deliver to the stores in time to take advantage of the current market trends.  For Zara’s supply chain, speed and time-to-market are paramount.  In many instances they might be willing to go with a higher cost option if it means they can capitalize on a current market trend.  The supply chain best practices that Zara uses are likely to be very different than Wal-Mart’s and the corresponding metrics should be different as well.

When deploying new metrics, significant time and investment are potentially needed to capture the data, develop effective dashboards, and communicate metric goals to the team.  Hopefully the above illustrates the importance of taking time to analyze your corporate strategy and validating that your supply chain metrics and incentives positively reinforce the company goals.

HighJump Software just had another customer go live with HighJump Warehouse Advantage and the Embedded Voice module. This customer is a third party logistics provider who plans to use the improved productivity and accuracy of their voice-enabled WMS Warehouse Management System to help them gain additional clients. Yesterday we released a video success story on Fox Racing who also utilizes embedded voice technology in their operations. See the Fox Racing video. The benefits of voice technology in the warehouse seem well understood by most distribution professionals I speak with. Most are quick to point out improved productivity (takes less time to accomplish tasks), safety (workers are hands and eyes free), and accuracy (complex check digit validations). Yet I often hear several misconceptions about voice technology that prevent adoption. Below is a listing of five common misconceptions I frequently hear about voice technology.

1.       I require proprietary hardware solutions for voice.

At one time this was true. However, voice technology providers like HighJump Software’s partner Vocollect, have worked with the leading rugged mobile computer manufactures to provide a solution that runs on a traditional device used in the warehouse. It is now possible to utilize the same device to accomplish both voice processes and traditional RF scanning processes.

2.       It does not work in the language spoken by warehouse staff.

With HighJump Software’s voice solution, warehouse workers can speak to the device in any language they choose. The recognition technology will respond to spoken commands in any language. Additionally, HighJump Software’s WMS Warehouse Management System is fully internationalized so warehouse employees can be prompted in any of the languages supported in the system.

3.       I don’t need a WMS if I have a voice picking system.

Voice enablement is a standard feature in a best of breed WMS Warehouse Management system. The voice technology allows multiple processes such as picking, cycle counting, and put-away to be automated with voice-based interaction with users. A voice system does not optimize all functions within a warehouse and assign warehouse work in the most optimal way. In addition, a best of breed WMS expands beyond the four walls of the distribution center to integrate with suppliers (supplier enablement/supplier integration) and customers. These extended features are not found in voice enablement technology.

4.       Voice picking systems simply voice-enable RF prompts.

Most distribution professionals focus too much on the voice technology and not enough on the process differences between traditional RF prompting and voice prompting. Interacting with a text based interface can be completely different than interacting with a voice system. Workflows often need to be optimized for a voice environment. This often means reducing the number of commands spoken and shortening operator response. There is also a different approach to validation because bar code scanning is often minimized in voice environments. 

5.       My distribution center is too small for voice.

Voice technology is not just for the “big boys” any more. Simplified WMS integrations make voice implementation straight forward for the end customer. The emergence of multi-modal hardware solutions also mean that distribution centers with smaller teams can have team members easily move between voice enabled processes and non-voice processes. Voice technology represents a strong ROI for any distribution professional who wishes to improve productivity, accuracy and the safety of warehouse employees. 

Crescent, a leading outsourcing partner for consumer packaged goods companies, will implement several HighJump solutions to support its logistics and contract packaging operations. Crescent will utilize HighJump solutions for:

• Warehouse management
• Manufacturing execution
• Slotting
• Billing management
• Supplier enablement