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Author: Jennifer Maloney

  • Six Key Features of a Top-Tier WES-WCS

    Six Key Features of a Top-Tier WES-WCS

    Numina Group Blog

    Six Key Features of a Top-Tier WES-WCS

    Picture of Jennifer Maloney

    Jennifer Maloney

    September 6, 2023

    In the quest to improve order fulfillment throughput, voice-picking technology has become one of the hottest productivity tools on the warehouse floor. However, complex order fulfillment automation goes beyond just adding voice technology to the operations.

    It requires a software platform to manage order release balancing to optimize the entire pick, pack, and ship order fulfillment operation. This is the domain of a Top-Tier Warehouse Control and Execution System (WES-WCS). 

    A WES-WCS system is a software platform that bridges the ERP and the WMS systems to optimize order flow, supervision, and execution of material handling equipment and warehouse automation technologies.

    However, a top-tier WES-WCS platform offers more, including advanced order release logic to create and execute advanced picking strategies and automated packing and shipping to create a unified continuous order fulfillment process. It manages and balances order picking across each channel so e-commerce and retail orders can be simultaneously processed within the same DC.

    The WES-WCS platform complements your business software by acting as the command center to manage order movement and execute order-picking supervision. A top-tier WES-WCS system includes the functionality to control AGVs, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), and ASRS tote shuttles in goods-to-person automated storage and picking applications while guiding operators for more efficient pick, pack, and ship work tasks.

    Advanced WES-WCS System Capabilities to Look For

    Many WES-WCS systems are available today, but vary significantly in functionality and cost. Top-tier WES-WCS solutions, such as Numina Group’s RDS™ WES-WCS platform, deliver unparalleled functionality, flexibility, and scalability and take advantage of the latest advances in warehouse automation technologies. 

    If you are considering investing in a new WES-WCS solution, look for the advanced capabilities listed in the following paragraphs. 

    1. Order Release Optimization

    A top-tier WES-WCS solution should provide a powerful and flexible order release management module to increase picking productivity across the distribution operation.

    Numina’s RDS WES-WCS platform includes a sophisticated order release module that goes far beyond traditional wave, batch, or continuous order release methods by using intelligence automation (IA) software to optimize order fulfillment productivity.

    The RDS Order Release module uses algorithms to select orders based on several variables to more efficiently balance work modeled on historic picking performance and real-time metrics of the DCs zones picking performance.

    RDS considers picking tasks and travels in each zone to synchronize the batch wave picking completion time across the DC. Batch wave picking plans generated by the order release software provide many benefits, such as:

    • Elimination of Repetitive Steps: RDS enables batch picking along the most efficient pick to reduce excess walking and repetitive visits to the storage bin.
    • Significant Reduction in Labor Costs: Batch picking rates are 2X faster than discrete picking rates.
    • Higher Productivity: More orders are completed/hour at a lower labor cost/hour.

    2. Cartonization Logic 

    Relying on employees to manually choose shipping cartons during order packing is time-consuming, costly, error-prone, and often results in unexpected shipping charges.

    The RDS WES-WCS platform offers advanced cartonization logic that automatically selects the most efficient carton size to reduce unused carton space, reduce void fill costs, and ensure the order is packed to take advantage of the lowest possible shipping rates.

    Blog: Save Money with Advanced Cartonization Software

    RDS Cartonization uses a bin packing algorithm to ensure that order items fit into the selected carton size and more closely achieve 100% fill ratios when presented with SKUs and matching carton sizes. 

    RDS Cartonization software can be deployed before order release, at the start of the picking process, and after picking and packing are complete to verify the actual shipping carton dimensions and weight.

    3. High-Efficiency Picking with Victory Voice™ Technology

    A top-tier WES-WCS platform should also include superior voice technology capabilities to direct lean, paperless picking operations and warehouse work tasks to direct and validate pick, pack, and ship operations.

    RDS Victory Voice™ combines the convenience of voice-directed instruction, wireless headsets, and hands-free barcode scanners for fast, paperless order picking and task validation.

    Victory Voice can improve processes for many tasks, including:

    • Picking automation – batch, discrete cart picking, and pick to conveyor
    • Voice + hands-free 2D barcode scanning for SKU, aerial, and lot code capture.
    • Kitting for assembly and manufacturing.
    • Warehouse receiving, replenishment, and inspection.

    Victory Voice requires zero voice training and does not capture or record the operator’s voice biometrics. It’s easy and intuitive, so operators are productive in as little as 15 minutes. Its speed and performance are superior to Alexa, Google, and Siri due to the combination of its finite state logic and voice recognition.

    4. Robotic Order Picking 

    Today’s advanced WES-WCS platforms must be capable of incorporating autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) into the order fulfillment workflow. RDS WES-WCS includes capabilities to create optimized picking workflows that synchronize work between AMRs and employees.

    RDS planning capabilities create the optimal picking path that capitalizes on the combination of AMRs working with employees, simultaneously directing the AMRs and employees’ movements to the closest pick zones, eliminating walking and manual cart pushing to increase productivity.

    • RDS WES-WCS keeps the AMRs operating at 90% utilization rates and reduces the number of AMRs needed by directing the automated order start, pick-up, and drop-off at pack stations.
    • RDS simultaneously supports manual pushcarts and the AMR Batchbot batch picking solution.
    • RDS Voice technology, integrated with AMRs and workers’ movements, combines pick-by-voice with hands-free barcode scan validation to yield single-touch 99.9% accurate picking and 2X productivity gain.

    5. Automated Put Walls

    Advanced WES-WCS platforms should also include automated put walls management. RDS WES-WCS includes modules for pick-to-light and put-to-light systems ideal for high-volume fulfillment operations to increase the volume of orders being picked per hour without increasing labor costs.

    The RDS Put-to-Light Order Consolidation solution cost-effectively streamlines batch order zone picking throughout the DC and automates the sorting of the SKUs to individual orders.

    RDS Put-to-Light seamlessly directs workers’ picking activities via intelligent indicator displays that can be mounted onto virtually any shelving or rack storage system.

    Video Demonstration: https://numinagroup.com/pick-to-light/

    6. Automating Packing and Shipping  

    Warehouse managers have long known that pack-and-ship operations represent one of the warehouse’s most labor-intensive and costly areas, yet they have struggled to automate this area without investing in costly, customized technology.

    RDS WES-WCS has solved this challenge Pakt™, its all-in-one post-pick, end-of-line pack-and-ship solution that automates and eliminates manual packing and manifesting tasks such as tote-based picking, order packing, keystrokes, hand weighing, & hand applying shipping labels and packing slip documentation.

    As a component of the RDS WES-WCS platform, Pakt enables companies to extend their productivity gains by automating picking operations into pack-and-ship operations.

    Note: Pakt yields a 5X pack & ship productivity gains and a 70% reduction in labor costs.

    Top-Tier WES-WCS Delivers the Perfect Order Fulfillment Practice

    When a WES-WCS platform with these capabilities is deployed, an organization can achieve smooth, continuous order fulfillment throughput that is not bogged down by bottlenecks in the distribution operation.

    The components of a top-tier WES-WCS, as described above, make it possible for operations to achieve the four principles of perfect order fulfillment practices: 

    • Complete order-fill accuracy
    • On-time delivery
    • Damage free
    • Correct documentation

    Omni-channel and e-commerce DCs with a mix of high-volume case pick and low-count SKU orders reap higher profitability and customer satisfaction with technologies that provide all four components of perfect order practices.

    Video: Warehouse Automation Design for Perfect Order Practices

    Supply chain and operation management executives are well served to investigate the benefits of the accumulative productivity gains by investing in a top-tier WES-SCS to automate the entire pick, pack, and ship process.

    A top-tier WES-WCS platform that offers advanced order release planning, cartonization, advanced voice technology, AMRs, put walls, and pack-and-ship automation productivity will yield much higher productivity and labor savings than a voice-only solution and result in an ROI in 12 to 18 months at many DC operations.

    Summary 

    While there are many ways to automate a warehouse environment, it can be challenging to determine the best combination of software and warehouse automation equipment for your operations.  

    The Numina Group can help you navigate the complexities of choosing the right technologies. Contact us today to learn more about our warehouse automation design, integration and implementation services. 

    Contact us

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  • Pack & Ship Automation – Moving From Customization to Configuration

    Pack & Ship Automation – Moving From Customization to Configuration

    Numina Group Blog

    Pack & Ship Automation – Moving From Customization to Configuration

    Picture of Jennifer Maloney

    Jennifer Maloney

    February 13, 2023

    In our last blog, we reproached traditional integrators for making the design, implementation, and support process for automated pack-and-ship solutions needlessly complex and cost prohibitive.

    We have formed this opinion because of the lessons learned from deploying 200+ pack-and-ship solutions over the years. Our frustration stemmed from the lack of innovation and productization in a category that so desperately needs it.

    Fundamentally, we understand that an operation can only achieve its business and financial goals when there is a symbiosis between each of the three outbound fulfillment processes (picking, packing, & shipping).

    With that principle in mind, we have recognized an imbalance between the number of picking automation options vs packing & shipping automation options available in the marketplace.

    It is an easy exercise to list out the several types of picking automation solutions.

    To name a few, an operation could choose from: RF, pick-to-light, voice, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), pick modules, goods-to-person (G2P) robotics, shuttle systems, horizontal/vertical carousels, batch picking to automated unit sortation, cubed AS/RS etc.

    Within each of these categories, you have countless vendors who have approached the design of their solutions with slight variations that cater to certain requirements.

    When choosing both a picking methodology + a vendor, you are presented with seemingly unlimited combinations of picking automation solutions.

    But when it comes to pack & ship, how many different automated solutions can you name? 

    Better yet, how many different automated pack + ship solutions can you name that would be applicable for the size and structure of your fulfillment operation? Taking that one step further, how many affordable solutions can you name that satisfy your design criteria?

    To start better answering these questions, automation vendors need to move away from customization and towards configuration. Our launch of Pakt™ is in response to the disproportionate number of productized solutions for picking vs packing & shipping, as well as the overwhelming bottleneck that exists in operations when orders are dropped at packout. 

    Why does productization matter for pack-and-ship solutions? 
    • Rapid Deployment
      • As a function of productizing a pack/ship solution for warehouse operations, we will continuously decrease the time and cost it takes to deploy Pakt. In today’s market conditions, time-to-value is as critical as any other decision criteria.
    • Automatic Updates
      • No longer is it acceptable to have static solution design that only solves the business problems of today. To continually meet changing operational requirements, our pack + ship software can be cloud-based while hitting the real-time expectations that are involved in warehouse control software.
    • Economies of Scale
      • Through productization, we unlock reusability in hardware, software and analytics and will continue to find economies of scale in the cost to service our customers. The reduction that we see in the cost of goods allows for this type of technology to be available to the masses.
    • Automation as a Service
      • It is critical that we align our pricing and commercial terms to our customers’ different financial circumstances. By offering both an OPEX and a CAPEX model, we can remove one more barrier to entry to this type of automation.
    • Standardization
      • Customizations will no longer be specific to any one customer’s solution, the development we do to drive performance & capabilities for one customer will be available to all customers. This allows us to drive year over year continuous improvement to our entire client base from both a software, analytics, and reliability perspective.
    • Contemporary Integration
      • By having standard, pre-built APIs we decrease the time to integrate into existing host systems (ERP/WMS/TMS) and can re-use integrations across environments.

    We recognize the tradeoff between configuration and customization. But seeing the advantages that standardization brings to our clients and the industry at large, it is clearly the direction that we need to go as warehouse automation providers. 

    Using these topics as our guiding light, we will synthesize the complexity of pack and ship automation into one consumable, dependable, high-performing technology product called Pakt.

    Watch Video
    Ready to learn more? Contact the Numina Group today. 
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    Why does productization matter for pack and ship solutions?

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  • Automate an Existing DC or Open a New Satellite Warehouse?

    Automate an Existing DC or Open a New Satellite Warehouse?

    Automate an Existing DC or Open a New Satellite Warehouse?

    Jennifer Maloney
    October 20, 2021

    Recently, the Numina Group was engaged in a warehouse design engineering study for a growing e-commerce company. The client was struggling to meet their growing SKU volume and faster fulfillment requirements in a same day window to meet customers’ expectations.

    During a project review meeting, the client asked our warehouse design team to consider whether opening a new, identical minimally automated warehouse operation in a more central location, in addition to the current West Coast operation, was a better investment than automating the current facility.

    He then specifically asked, “What would you do if you owned the business?”

    It’s a valid question. This decision to open an additional warehouse before optimizing the current DC operations has been popping up more and more. Many fulfillment operations consider this question due to the need for speed of delivery. Locating satellite distribution centers closer to their customers reduces shipping times and costs.

    Factors to Consider

    There are some general principles to be considered before making such a complex decision. Any business operating in today’s highly competitive e-commerce world, warehouse space must first be focused on efficiency and speed to gain an edge over their competition. Customer satisfaction is paramount, which means faster, and more accurate order fulfillment is essential in every operation.

    Profitability per order is also essential, so getting more orders picked, packed, and shipped at a lower labor cost per operator is required in every distribution center. In short, fulfillment operations must get more orders out the door faster, at a lower cost.

    • Where would my new satellite facility go? Opening a new satellite warehouse from a west coast operation would most logically be located somewhere in the eastern part of the Midwest to get faster delivery to 65% of the US population.
    • How soon could I open? A move of this nature takes deep analysis and business goals evaluation, typically requiring 12 to 24-months of planning, selecting, sizing, locating, determining and executing the process.
    • How will I manage both sites simultaneously? The new distribution center may be a solid long-term strategy that could well be justified by increased customer service by reducing shipment times and freight cost. However, dozens of key issues need to be considered, including distributing order management between the two warehouses, and the cost of duplicating inventory at multiple sites.
    • Who will work there? Reliable and skilled labor – warehouse managers, quality control, inventory planners and fork truck operators are a costly commodity in 2021. These costs are sticky and will remain high for the foreseeable future. The ability to attract, recruit, train and retain new management and warehouse workers in central USA such as Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania is difficult and expensive!
    • Will this cut costs? The effort of planning and opening a second replicated DC while keeping the same inefficient order fulfillment operation at the current warehouse, does nothing to lower the cost to fulfill an order. This is especially true in the current 7-8% yearly rising labor cost environment in the warehouse logistics industry. Learn More About Numina’s Warehouse Design Services.
     

    Don’t Replicate a DC if it Lacks Industry-Leading Performance

    Any business that is reliant on e-commerce or B2B order fulfillment can’t survive if it does not have higher productivity than its competitors.

    As you review your fulfillment strategy, keep the following tips in mind:

    • Set a Goal to Reduce Labor by 40%. In today’s scarce quality and high-cost labor market, it’s more important than ever to have operations that do more work with less labor. Any investment in warehouse automation must reduce current labor costs by over 40% while enforcing better practices in pack and ship to lower parcel shipping costs.
    • Set an Efficiency Goal. The best approach is to set an efficiency level matching the top 10% of e-commerce fulfillment operations. Set a fulfillment performance goal to be as close as possible to Amazon’s order fulfillment costs and speed.
    • Optimize Warehouse Space. Use space more efficiently to store goods and perform order fulfillment in less space.
    • Use Data to Make Informed Decisions. Measure, track, and display order activity visibility of hourly and daily throughput. Know your labor, material, and shipping costs to fulfill each type of order.
    • Define and Track Measurable Savings Metrics. The savings generated by the investment need to be high enough to generate yearly positive cash flow savings so that the investment pays for the cost of the automation.

    Finally, the answer to our client’s question, “what would I do if I owned the business?” Numina Group approaches every job with this thought in mind. We are an independent systems integrator, which allows us to evaluate which warehouse automation is the best choice for the application requirements and business goals of each customer’s business needs.

    Blog: The Crucial Role of a Systems Integrator in Warehouse Automation

    Our projects are guided by a key principle – to Define, Design, and Implement a solution consisting of the right process improvements and warehouse automation technologies we would buy if we were the principles in the business!”

    It is the foundation of how we operate – being transparent and independent by choosing the best suited material handling equipment vendor for the customer’s requirements and designing the solution so clients receive positive cash flow in the first operating year from their warehouse automation investment.

    Result – A 250% Performance Improvement in Picking

    Past warehouse picking automation project KPIs are from 160 to 350+ lines/operator hour picking rates based on voice picking with manual batch push carts, pick to light, or goods-to-person (G2P) technologies. 

    For this customer, it was determined a G2P system best suited the customer’s need for storing and picking the top 55,000 to 60,000 SKUs. It provided for dense product storage and 300+ lines/ hour operator pick rate, a 250% performance improvement compared to the current RF terminal-based picking used at the DC.

    50% Less Labor in Manifesting and Labeling

    Coupling the G2P solution with an automated pack and ship conveyor system that incorporated in-line pack, void-fill taping and an automated manifesting and print and apply label applicator would reduce 50% of the manual packing, manifesting and labeling labor to more than double hourly order shipment throughput.

    For this specific customer, we knew within 30 days into the warehouse design study there was a lot of opportunity to improve current operations by removing manual decision making and reducing manual touches in the pack and ship operation.

    Picking, packing, and shipping process improvements combined with the right blend of automation are proven to drive a compelling ROI when purchasing or leasing an automation solution.

    22-30 Month Payback in Automating Existing DC

    The customer’s investment in warehouse automation for their current DC was projected at a payback of 30 months based on labor savings only. When accounting for the additional tangible benefits the warehouse automation provided, such as 25% more warehouse storage space, increased throughput, higher accuracy, lower parcel freight costs, i.e. more orders going out the door faster, at a lower cost, the ROI can be as fast as 22-24 months.

    While every warehouse environment is different, it was clear for this client would benefit more by first automating their current DC. Engaging in an effective warehouse automation design process before investing in a new satellite warehouse allowed them to make an educated determination of the best investment to achieve their business goals.

    Warehouse Technologies to Consider

    Finally, warehouse investments must be focused on reducing labor costs, lowering shipping costs and increasing daily throughput, the benefit of warehouse automation pays for itself by generating enough monthly operating savings and customer service improvements, so the investment in automation is basically free!

    Blog: Order Picking Automation Options to Resolve Warehouse Labor Challenges

    That’s why the material handling and logistics industry is so interested in the use of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). The labor shortage and the rising costs associated with hiring and retaining warehouse workers are making AMRs a more attractive solution for many distribution and fulfillment centers.

    Numina Group designs automated warehouse systems that scale to your business requirements. RDS™ WES-WCS warehouse execution software solutions integrate goods-to-people automation, and AMRs or AGVs based on your business needs. 

    Our order fulfillment automation solutions can start with pick-by-voice and batch order push carts, pick-by-light, and pick-to-conveyor and add AMR tuggers or G2P picking systems to streamline the order picking processes as your business grows. 

    Our RDS voice-directed picking, when combined with AMR Batchbot Carts to automate order movement in a zone based picking system achieves pick rates of 250+ lines per operator, double the typical performance of manual batch order push carts.

    About Numina Group

    As a warehouse automation company with more than 35 years of experience, Numina offers the in-depth application know-how and software expertise necessary to ensure that your automation investment is successful.

    We collaborate with clients to define and develop order fulfillment process improvements. As an independent system integrator, we help you evaluate, select, and implement the optimum blend of automation technologies for your operation.

    With this approach, we’ve helped numerous companies reduce their dependency on an unpredictable labor market, quickly adapt or scale to meet changes in demand, and increase throughput and profitability across their entire distribution operation.

    The Numina Group is here to help. Call (630) 343-2600 or fill out a contact form to arrange a complimentary site consultation.

    Contact us

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  • Voice Picking System Benefits

    Voice Picking System Benefits

    Why a Voice Picking System is the Choice for your Automated Warehouse Fulfillment Operation

    Jennifer Maloney
    July 23, 2021

    One of the most effective ways to streamline warehouse labor requirements – by as much as 50% – is to add a voice-directed picking system to your picking operations.

    Order picking can be the most labor-intensive and labor-costly activity in omni-channel e-commerce order fulfillment operations, especially piece-picking operations.

    Orders that require specific packaging, colors, accessories, promotional items, documents, or gift wrapping can benefit the most from a warehouse voice picking system because it provides verbal instructions via headset to guide operators on picking, packing, and shipping tasks.

    “Hands down, voice picking technology has proven to be the most efficient technology for cost effective and high accuracy picking” said Dan Hanrahan, president of the Numina Group.

    Built-in Order Accuracy and Picking Speed

    Warehouse voice picking systems offer a fast and effective replacement for manual, paper-driven order fulfillment processes. Rather than managing picking tasks on paper pick tickets, workers instead rely on a headset and mobile device that provides ongoing voice commands to guide them to pick order items and validate their work in a step-by-step manner.

    99.9% Order Accuracy

    A robust voice picking system such as Numina Group’s RDS™ Victory Voice™ Suite can readily increase order accuracy to 99.9%, specifically by requiring workers to validate their activities before they advance to other orders. 

    For example, RDS Victory Voice can be configured to prevent operators from picking the wrong item or quantity, or closing out an order until it is fully picked before picking is completed and they can move on to the next order.

    Blog: The Basics of Warehouse Automation

    Equally important, voice-directed picking is fast. When compared to the time required for warehouse workers to manually read paper pick tickets, key in data and validate their work, voice picking technology is often 50% faster or more.

    Built for flexibility

    The best warehouse voice picking systems are also highly flexible. As one example, they can be configured to automatically change picking instructions for the same SKU pick according to each customer’s and retailer or e-commerce company’s specific shipment rules.

    Pick by voice outperforms paper, RF terminals, message displays, and many times pick-to-light, especially when accounting for the benefit of its increased accuracy.

    RDS Voice-Directed Picking is Speaker-Independent

    Quite different than first-generation voice systems, speaker-independent voice algorithms have continued to advance and now automatically recognize voice responses regardless of an individual’s accent.

    The latest speaker-independent voice engines have close to 100% recognition rates across multiple languages, even while operating in noisy industrial operations, and require zero employee voice training to operate.

    As a result of these advances, the voice picking problems related to voice recognition inaccuracies problematic in old-gen speaker-dependent voice technology are no longer an issue.

    Zero Voice Picking Training – a Key Advantage

    A key advantage of speaker-independent voice is it requires zero operator voice training for workers to become proficient in picking operations. The time it takes to get an employee up to speed with speaker-independent voice is much faster than manual paper picking, RF, or speaker-dependent voice which can take several hours of training.

    Speaker-independent voice permits more flexibility in cross-training of workers and interleaving work tasks, leading to better labor utilization for picking, replenishment, and other work tasks. 

    Additionally, the technology captures and time-stamps all orders and labor usage for performance reporting.

    Pickers are productive in 15 minutes, so even temporary workers can be quickly and easily deployed during peak periods.

    Multi-Modal Voice Directed Technology Supports all Warehousing Activities

    The latest generation of voice picking systems have expanded beyond voice-only picking solutions and now offer multi-modal voice technology, which combines a very lean voice command set with integrated wearable mobile computers and barcode scanners for single-touch pick and pack verification.

    Order picking performed with scan validation, vision, and speech is a three-step verification process. Multi-verification voice consistently achieves a 99.9% accuracy rate – far higher than voice-only technology.

    Blog: Combine Voice Picking and Zone Routing Conveyor Picking to Increase Productivity

    For example, a voice directed warehousing solution can be configured to direct the worker to the location in the most efficient pick path, and direct the operator to perform SKU barcode scanning using a back-of-hand or ring-mounted barcode scanner.

    Integrated barcode scanning validation, especially the use of the latest 2-D hands free scanners, significantly increases picking efficiency and productivity well and beyond traditional speaker-dependent voice picking technologies.

    It directs and validates each step using a combination of voice commands/responses and hands-free two-dimensional (2D) barcode scanning. 2-D scanning is omni-directional scanning to speed-up by 5% the location, SKU, lot and serial ID barcode capture, and validation steps.

    Hands and Eyes Free for Employee Safety

    Keeping the warehouse operator’s hands free and their eyes forward makes an operation safer while allowing operators to hear, see, and verify SKU, quantity, lot, and serial number capture in a fast, accurate, single touch operation.

    Labor Tracking

    Labor tracking provides supervisors the ability to analyze individual worker productivity.

    The process requires no special training. It is remarkably easy to use, learn, and highly accurate, allowing single-touch pick-and-pack validation at near 100% accuracy rates that eliminate the need for secondary order inspection.

    Speaker-independent voice integrates work instructions and verification into each step, for all pick types including pallet, mixed-case, or split-case piece picking. The ability to interleave picking, cycle counting, and replenishment across different order types is readily supported. 

    Voice picking enables workforce management to direct and move employees between work zones and work activities.

    Labor tracking provides supervisors the ability to analyze individual worker productivity.

    Numina Group and Zebra for Best-in-Class Software and Hardware

    RDS Voice Picking and Pick-to-Light solutions work seamlessly together on the Zebra Android mobile computers. Operators are equipped with Zebra’s latest wearable ring scanners and headsets to enable real-time voice and display messages to direct operator work activities. By integrating voice technology with hands-free scanning, the picking process becomes 30% faster and more accurate.

    Learn More About Zebra Mobility Solutions Offered by Numina Group. 

    High-Speed Performance, Extended Battery Life

    Numina Group’s RDS Mobility voice picking software uses a small client message architecture that resides on the small light weight voice-enabled PDA that can operate for 14 hours or more between battery charges.

    Complimentary Demonstration

    Contact the Numina Group today for a no-cost demonstration of our RDS Victory Voice Suite. See how easy voice-directed order picking can be.

    Contact us

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  • How the Right Warehouse Automation Decisions Can Solve Your Labor Woes

    How the Right Warehouse Automation Decisions Can Solve Your Labor Woes

    How the Right Warehouse Automation Decisions Can Solve Your Labor Woes

    Jennifer Maloney
    June 14, 2021

    As the economy roars back to life, manufacturing, distribution, and warehousing operations face long-term challenges in attracting and retaining qualified workers

    The temporary labor pool, which many companies rely on during peak periods, is also shrinking. With a near-record number of job openings in this sector, companies are not able to hire the labor they require, resulting in the “strongest wage growth we’ve seen in half a century,” said Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics chief economist.

    Higher wages will eventually put pressure on profit margins. Labor costs add up quickly. Higher wages, combined with the costs of continuous recruiting, incentives, and training all cut into profitability.

    “Labor costs are sticky, according to Jonathon Golub, chief equity strategist at Credit Suisse. Unlike temporary increases in raw materials or goods impacted by bottlenecks in the supply chain, labor costs remain on a company’s balance sheet.”

    Invest in Warehouse Automation Rather than Spending More on Labor

    Instead of chasing the elusive labor market, many distribution operations are choosing to invest in material handling automation technologies. It’s a wise approach – warehouse automation systems can double or triple warehouse productivity.

    However, to adapt and win in the changing labor market, distribution operations must first have a warehouse design plan that outlines leaner, less labor-intensive order fulfillment processes.

    Learn More About Numina’s Warehouse Design Services

    Traditional material handling automation technologies such as conveyor systems, voice picking systems, pick to light, and automated parcel manifesting using print and apply labeling are proven to increase productivity and accuracy and reduce reliance on temporary workers to meet peak demand season.

    Combining traditional warehouse technologies with pallet and tote-based automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), along with warehouse robots such as Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) that can act as collaborative robots working alongside warehouse employees, eliminates non-valued tasks such as walking and cart pushing.

    The Powerful ROI of AMRs and Other Warehouse Robots

     

    Studies show that AMRs can eliminate up to 40% of non-productive daily work across the entire order fulfillment operation. 

    Today’s collaborative robots are flexible, easy-to-deploy, and can automatically pick up and move dozens of orders at a time, creating a highly effective work environment that operates with 30% to 40% fewer workers. 

    The entire spectrum of DC work becomes less strenuous and demanding, making it easier to attract, train and retain associates.

    numina_northshore_08-scaled

    Warehouse robots, when applied correctly, can reduce the cost of traditional material handling automation. This requires using the right blend of technologies integrated into a united warehouse automation solution to streamline and eliminate non-valued labor. 

    Implementing AMR collaborative robots and pick and pack automation technologies such as pick by voice, AMRs, and pack automation is a proven strategy to increase productivity while reducing labor costs by 40 to 50% or more in manufacturing and distribution operations.

    Why Voice Picking Technology is a Go-To:

    Voice picking technology yields a 12 to 18-month return on investment (ROI).

    Pick by voice is quick to deploy and immediately increases picking productivity. 

    It is well suited for omni-channel picking, e-com, B2B fulfillment, and orders that require capture of lot code, serial numbers, and sell-by data.

    Today’s voice technology is speaker-independent and easy to learn, which virtually eliminates operator voice training. 

    New and temporary workers become instantly productive. 

    Voice-directed pick, pack, and ship order fulfillment outperforms manual processes like paper-based picking or RF terminal-based picking with 25% to 30% gains in productivity and accuracy rates of 99.9%+ with no secondary inspection.

    Pick-by-voice enforces uniform work output with the most efficient and accurate order picking process. Barcode scanning validation eliminates the need for workers to read check digits.

    Employee performance can be captured by RDS’s labor management module, which measures and reports worker productivity and provides additional tools to analyze order fulfillment operation costs.

    An order fulfillment operation is a three-component process that requires balanced order flow and the right technologies to eliminate labor and bottlenecks in the operation.

    Faster picking requires automated pack and ship technologies, including in-line pack area automation lines that combine:

    – Scan-weigh-audit

    – Pack sheet print and insert

    – Void fill and auto carton taping/sealers

    – Automated print and apply labeling

    – Shipment manifesting

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    Automation in packing can increase daily shipment capacity, eliminate overtime, and cut labor costs by 50%.

    Numina Group has developed RDS™ WES-WCS warehouse execution and control software to manage the integration of multiple technologies, providing unparalleled flexibility and scalability. 

    RDS integrates with all existing and homegrown WMS/ERP systems to control tasks, execute business rules, and provide real-time control of material handling automation.

    Warehouse Automation is a Justifiable Investment

    If you operate a 3PL, e-commerce, omni-channel fulfillment center or manufacturing distribution operation, investment in automation is now more justifiable, with a faster ROI than ever before. To compete in the on-demand market and to remain profitable, a warehouse operation needs to be less dependent on manual processes.

    Numina Group can show you how to make this happen. As a warehouse automation company with 35 years of experience, we offer the in-depth application know-how and software expertise necessary to ensure that your automation investment is successful.

    We collaborate with clients to define and develop order fulfillment process improvements. As an independent system integrator, we help you evaluate, select, and implement the optimum blend of automation technologies for your operation.

    Learn More About Numina’s Systems Integration Services

    With this approach, we’ve helped numerous companies reduce their dependency on an unpredictable labor market, quickly adapt or scale to meet changes in demand, and increase throughput and profitability across their entire distribution operation.

    The Numina Group is here to help.  Call (630) 343-2600 or Fill out a Contact Form to arrange a complimentary site consultation.

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  • Synchronize people and AMRs

    Synchronize people and AMRs

    Synchronize people and AMRs

    Jennifer Maloney
    March 4, 2021

    Unite People and Robots Across Your Entire Pick, Pack and Ship Operations 

    Double or Triple Order Fulfillment Productivity with Numina’s “Direct Me” Solution

    The Numina Group is the first to market with “Direct Me,” an innovative warehouse software application that fully synchronizes people and autonomous mobile robots (AMR)s for more efficient picking, packing and shipping. 

    This warehouse AMR strategy differs from previous AMR application approaches and promises a much faster ROI.

    Numina Group created the solution by extending the capabilities of its RDS Pick-by-Voice Suite to move operators and AMRs as a united pick-and-pack order fulfillment process. This process breakthrough is a giant step forward for the material handling industry – putting AMRs within reach of small to mid-size operations.

    The new solution has enabled one Numina client to triple productivity across its entire distribution operation.

    “Direct Me” Fulfillment

    Numina Group’s “Direct Me” approach unites people and robot work tasks across the entire pick, pack, and ship order fulfillment operation.

    A while back, Bob Trebilcock, editor of Modern Materials Handling, coined the following definitions of AMRs by their use in warehouse automation into three categories:

    “Follow Me” Approach: The robot, an automated cart, acts like a tugger pulling other carts behind It follows the picker who controls the robot movement with an RFID tag or other locator device.

    “Swarm Me” Approach: The robot, integrated with the warehouse software, waits for nearby pickers to interact with

    “Holy Grail” Approach: The robot includes piece-picking capabilities and travels autonomously to a pick location and performs the picking. 

    The Holy Grail approach does not involve humans but has proven to be problematic when considering all the processes associated with picking such as slotting, replenishment, open cases and trash removal. 

    Synchroizing People with Robots with Numina’s “Direct Me” Fulfillment Solution

    Numina’s “Direct Me” approach manages both the AMRs and the pickers’ movements and picking duties as a single application. This is a major innovation in warehouse execution software solutions. 

    It seamlessly integrates order release, order and batch cart cubing and real-time pick-by-voice, with the movement of pickers and AMRs from order start, pick-up, and zone transport of large capacity 28 order batch pick carts throughout the warehouse’s multiple pick zones.

    Built-in Order Accuracy and Picking Speed

    Numina’s RDS™ WES-WCS real-time warehouse execution and control software manages both the robots, and the pick-by-voice to direct the pickers’ work tasks and movements.  

    Picking Productivity Increases to 250 Lines/Person, 50% Less Wasted Walk Time

    By optimizing the order release and all work tasks, picking productivity has exceeded 250 lines per person by reducing over 50% of wasted walk time and manual cart pushing across the pick and pack processes.  

    Six Intelligent AMRs Do the Work of 25 “Meet Me” Robots

    The RDS WES-WCS software and use of the large batch carts allowed a small fleet of six intelligent robots to perform the equivalent work of a fleet of 25 or more “Meet Me” type robots.

    To further optimize picking, RDS WES-WCS looks for the closest available pick cart and robot to assign and dispatch for a group of prioritized orders, and directs the transport of the batch cart throughout the pick zones. 

    At the same time, RDS WES-WCS looks for the closest available picker and directs the picker using voice commands to each pick location. Voice-directed picking technology directs by voice with hands-free barcode scanning to validate locations and items picking.

    Pick carts visit each required zone and the same picker movement optimization is repeated until pick completion. Carts are then assigned and delivered to the dual cart pack station staging locations. 

    40% Faster Packing

    Packing has accelerated by 40% through “keep the open pack station full” logic. Additionally, automated conveyor at the exit to packing includes in-line order weight-dim audit, and print and apply labeling to automate manifesting, and sorting to the carrier doors.

    Results – Doubled Picking Rates

    Numina RDS WES-WCS software, coupled with a design innovation using large order capacity batch picking carts autonomously driven by AMRs, more than doubled the customers picking rates, and increased robot utilization so a fleet of 6 robots performs the work of 25 or more small capacity AMRs. 

    The solution drove pick rates over 250 lines per hour, and a 40% increase in order packing efficiency by uniting robots and people across the entire order fulfillment operation.

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  • Prepare Now for Next Peak Season

    Prepare Now for Next Peak Season

    Prepare Now for Next Peak Season

    Jennifer Maloney
    January 13, 2021

    Now is the Time to Get Ready for the Next Peak Season

    The peak season may be over, but now is the time to start reviewing and updating common warehousing issues that could drain next year’s peak season profitability. 

    Although peak season brings in a welcome surplus in profits, it also highlights previously overlooked inefficiencies in the warehouse. Missed or inaccurate order deliveries cause customer dissatisfaction and a higher level of order returns, resulting in lost profits.

    By deploying leaner processes managed by real-time warehouse automation software and warehouse execution and control systems, warehouses and DCs can increase productivity and accuracy resulting in higher throughput and lower labor costs. 

    These processes can help to handle volume growth in and out of peak season.

    Seven Warehousing Pitfalls to Avoid

    Whether the cause is due to inaccurate order fulfillment or wasted labor efforts, inefficient warehousing can cost as much as $100,000 per hour in downtime, $20 per mis-shipped package, and lost client loyalty. 

    While every warehouse faces unique challenges, there are a few warehousing issues every warehouse should avoid:

    1. Too much inventory — To avoid costly out-of-stock items during the busiest day of the year, many companies choose to overstock to keep up with surprise demands. However, a lack of an organized inventory management system can lead to overcrowding, creating confusing pick paths, wasted space, lost products, and small packing spaces. These ultimately contribute to elevated worker stress and missed or inaccurate orders.

    2. Unforgiving drop shipping — When shipping on behalf of other businesses such as Amazon or Walmart, shipping rules must be closely followed to ensure a continued business relationship. Errors such as missed delivery dates or wrong shipping labels can lead to millions in lost revenue as companies may reject you and favor your competitors.

    3. High seasonal labor costs — Seasonal warehouse salaries are now averaging $15 per hour or more, not accounting for training time, which also may take longer if other inefficiencies are present. Furthermore, as expected with the holidays, seasonal labor costs also include overtime, weekend pay, and holiday pay.

    4. Missed delivery dates — Labor shortage and lack of inventory transparency result in missed delivery dates as your workforce encounters more obstacles to pick, pack, and ship orders.

    5. Inadequate picking routes — Longer travel routes and manual data entry both lead to inaccurate orders, which drive up costs with QC time, inventory issues, return fees, and customer dissatisfaction. A Tier I warehouse automation solution for order planning and release, combined with technologies such as voice-directed picking and AMR warehouse robots can be combined to yield dramatic picking efficiency.

    6. Missing paperwork — Every aspect of your warehouse operation is important, down to tiny labels. Labels that have been printed incorrectly can result in undeliverable packages or the wrong product being delivered to the wrong person, causing headaches for your customer service team, and possibly a dangerous situation depending on the product that was delivered.

    7. Overwhelmed delivery services — It is estimated that more than 3 billion packages are shipped between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Because every year brings an overwhelming increase in shipped orders, it is important to stay ahead of mailing dates stipulated by your courier service and avoid last-minute shipping at all costs.

    If any of these problems sound painfully familiar, Numina Group can help. Our warehouse design services and warehouse automation solutions have helped many of today’s industry-leading companies to reduce labor and shipping costs and warehouse operations efficiency and profitability.

    Learn More About Who We Serve 

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  • Vaccine Rollout Logistics

    Vaccine Rollout Logistics

    Voice Picking System Benefits

    Jennifer Maloney
    December 17, 2020

    The Logistics Behind Rolling out the Covid Vaccine

    The Covid 19 vaccine distribution effort is being described as the biggest logistics challenge since World War II. An anchor on CNBC summed it up perfectly, “Scientists and doctors solve diseases, but it is logistics that solves the pandemic.” Carl Quintanilla, CNBC Anchor.

    The great news is that the FDA granted emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine, and the Moderna’s vaccine will most likely soon receive the same authorization, bringing the USA one step closer to ending the pandemic. This massive effort will have a major impact on the USA supply chain. 

    Have you considered its impact on your logistical operation, especially if you operate a frozen food order fulfillment operation or are primarily a parcel shipper, e-commerce or B2B operation?

    The Impact of Vaccine Distribution on Other Industries

    The Covid vaccine distribution process will impact every distribution operation. Recently, CNBC reported that millions of doses of the vaccine will be shipped via UPS and FedEx as air freight. 

    For every pallet of vaccines shipped, it is estimated that 25 to 30 pallets of peripheral materials – alcohol wipes, syringes, and medical waste disposal containers will need to be coordinated and shipped at the same time to the vaccination centers. 

    With Covid vaccine distribution taking priority and dominating major carrier resources, the upcoming transportation shortage may result in a real boom for the smaller, regional and last mile parcel carriers.

    Vaccine shipping requirements further complicate logistics. The Pfizer vaccine must be maintained at ultra-cold temperatures and requires dry ice during shipping and storage. 

    The vaccines must be shipped in specialty cooler units with temperature sensors, alarms, and GPS units for continuous tracking. The coolers’ monitoring devices also present a reverse logistics challenge for required material returns to vaccine DCs.

    The food and beverage industries will be particularly impacted, as they will have trouble securing supplies needed to ship products safely. Cold chain logistics providers, frozen food distribution centers, and other shippers will face the possibility of operating with a shortage of dry ice supplies. All industries will likely face challenges finding and securing logistics carrier trailer space.

    Optimize Your Shipping Processes to Offset Unforeseen Challenges

    It is crucial to be prepared with tools in place to optimize your shipping processes. Despite challenges caused by the pandemic, your operation must have the flexibility to continue to meet customer delivery expectations.  

    If you’re worried that your DC lacks the flexibility and processes to meet demand amid a changing environment, the experts at Numina Group are available to help. 

    Download our free comprehensive guide – Turn Your DC into a Profit Machine.

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  • Order Consolidation Put to Light Walls

    Order Consolidation Put to Light Walls

    Put Walls, What are they and Why Might Your Operation Need One?

    Jennifer Maloney
    December 3, 2020

    A put-to-light order consolidation wall is flexible, economical, rapidly deployable solution that generates a quick ROI.

    Are you looking for new ways to accelerate and increase order fulfillment throughput without increasing labor costs? Put walls have many beneficial uses in the warehouse or distribution center. 

    They are ideally well suited to operations with high-volume SKUs, for goods-to-person order consolidation using a put wall/pack wall combination, for high-density storage needs, for kitting needs, or any operation that deals in small parts, such as automotive and HVAC.

    Put walls work great for:

    • High Volume SKUs
    • Goods-to-person (G2P) order consolidation using a put wall/pack wall combination
    • High-density storage
    • Kitting
    • Small parts

    Put-to-light consolidation walls are a proven, cost-effective solution, especially when combined with intelligent software, put-to-light devices, and flexible racking customized to your operations. Numina Group’s Real-time Distribution Software (RDS™), a Tier 1 WES-WCS, integrates the put wall into the operation’s work flow using order release optimization and cartonization.

    Benefits of Put-to-Light Consolidation

    • 99% accuracy rates
    • Shorten order fulfillment cycle times
    • Lower operational costs through reduced labor and reduced errors
    • Improved customer service

    Put-to-Light Consolidation Walls Facilitate Batch Picking

    Put to light is a highly efficient and cost-effective way to batch pick hundreds of orders throughout the DC, gaining 30 to 50% higher productivity than discrete order picking.

    Put-to-light walls streamline batch order zone picking throughout the DC and automate the sorting of the SKU’s to individual orders.

    “Workers can average 400 to 500 scans and puts per hour, a significant efficiency gain over traditional order fulfillment.”

    1. Items are batch picked and moved by tote/pallet to the put-to-light wall for workers to sort into order cubbies. 

    2. The worker scans the barcoded item. Message display and indicator lights are energized to indicate the item location and item to be placed. 

    3. The operator places the item(s) and confirms the task by pressing the button or scanning the put location with a wearable ring scanner. 

    4. Scanning the location eliminates seconds per put, delivers higher accuracy, and can eliminate the majority of secondary checking, resulting in higher pick, pack, and ship productivity.

    The sorting process is directed by a light system and can also integrate voice-directed technology for further speed and accuracy increases. RDS™ Pick by Voice, combined with put-to-light order consolidation, provides the ability to batch pick hundreds of orders in a fast and highly accurate manner across all warehouse zones. 

    Order totes or hamper carts are directed to the put walls for order consolidation and pack to shipping cartons. Batch cart picking is ideally suited to the latest generation of autonomous vehicles that automate the transport of the batch pick cart to the put walls, packing, and shipping areas.

    A flexible and easily deployable put wall accelerates ROI

    Order sorting velocity is dramatically accelerated by centralizing the task in a condensed order consolidation wall to minimize worker movement, guided by technology to direct item sorting. 

    Numina Group has found Meta Storage Solutions shelving as a great product to use for our put wall applications. Meta’s clip shelving systems are modular, with no tools needed for installation. Meta shelves install in a fraction of the time required for other shelving systems we have used, saving time and money for our customers and getting their operation up and running quicker.

    Because Meta shelves are modular, it is easy to change configuration when your operations’ needs change. For example, you may need to change the cubby size or add additional shelving or units. Put walls are used to consolidate a mix of products of varying sizes. 

    Meta Solutions are modular, providing the ability to create multiple cubby sizes within the same unit. Each order can be directed to a right sized cubby, which is a space savings advantage over one sized cubbies, allowing the put wall to handle more orders or storage of parts.

    “With Meta Storage we were able to complete installation of a large put wall system in half the time of other products that we used. The put walls were easily configured without using tools to the dimensions that we needed for our clients products and will be easy to reconfigure if their SKU sizes change.” Eric Raschke Numina Group’s Service and Installation Manager

     Meta Storage Solution Features & Benefits

     

    1. Rapid installation without tools
    2. Flexible configuration
    3. Edge of Shelves have a space for ease of mounting the light assembly
    4. Attractive galvanized finish

    Learn More About Numina Pick-to-Light and Put-to-Light Solutions

    Contact us to set up a complimentary consultation with a warehouse automation specialist.

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  • Voice Picking Technology Myths – Debunked

    Voice Picking Technology Myths – Debunked

    Common Warehouse Voice-Directed Technology Myths – Debunked

    Jennifer Maloney
    October 27, 2020

    There are quite a few outdated concerns and myths surrounding voice directed picking automation, and we’re here to clear them up. 

    The Numina Group has been implementing RDS™ Pick-by-Voice solutions since 2008 and since that time, the performance speed, efficiency and recognition rate for industrial voice engines has continuously improved. 

    In fact, voice technology is now the fastest and easiest technology for both new and existing warehouse operators to use to perform order picking and other work tasks.  

    Let’s put the misconceptions to rest and discover how voice can better direct workers in combination with material handling automation to improve efficiencies in warehouses, distribution centers, or manufacturing operations. 

    “It won’t work because our employees have diverse accents, dialects, and English skills. The training is too time-consuming.”

    Ensure the voice engine you’re considering is based on the latest speaker independent voice engine. If a voice solution requires voice training of employees, it’s an obsolete speaker dependent voice engine, and you should explore better options. 

    Choosing an outdated voice solution is like driving a car without power steering or brakes!

    A modern voice solution should require zero employee voice training even if workers have a dialect. This is the definition of Numina Group’s RDS Voice Suite, a paperless warehouse or manufacturing automation solution built on 20 years of natural-language voice engine technologies similar to Alexa or Siri.  

    RDS Voice uses an advanced, speaker-independent voice engine and a library of over 5,000 available words to perform real-time recognition of the operator specific word. 

    The voice technology works like a finite state machine that prompts the operator to perform a work task, such as “go to a product storage location” and “pick 2” and then listens to the employees response for the  specific acknowledgement word “2 OK”. 

    Using advanced digital recognition algorithms makes the recognition extremely high, well beyond 99.9%, and minimizes the need to repeat phrases and the risk of voice fatigue and errors that can occur due to repeats.

    Additionally, we equip the operators with the latest generation hands-free back of hand or ring-mounted barcode scanner. RDS Voice uses barcode scan validation to replace a large percentage of the voice responses to increase speed and accuracy, ensuring that it is simple to use, requires zero voice training, and only a handful of voice commands to master.

    Adding a barcode scanner increases voice picking accuracy from 97% to 99.9%.

    The ROI gained by using the latest generation voice technology, like RDS Voice, starts immediately. 

    Our customers have reduced training time for new and seasonal workers to 20 minutes or less, and they’re  productive on “Day 1.” 

     

    In fact, voice-directed technology is rated the #1 picking productivity technology with a 20% or more gain over a mobile wearable computer and barcode scanner with increases in accuracy of 99.9%, a .3% increase.

    Training time and costs are minimized, and worker accuracy increases to 99.9%, eliminating the cost of shipping errors and improving customer service. Furthermore, the RDS Labor Management Module bundled with the voice picking suite records and tracks operator work productivity matched to settable tasks and warehouse zone standards using the RDS™ labor management module.

    “Our warehouse is very noisy – so voice technology will be hard to hear.”

    Don’t believe this voice picking myth. This is a non-issue, thanks to advancements in noise cancelling in Zebra’s latest wearable computers. For example, Zebra’s latest Android mobile wearable computers, matched with the latest blue tooth noise cancelling headsets, virtually eliminates background noise, even in high noise operations.

    Due to the effectiveness of noise-cancelling headsets, workers can clearly hear and follow voice-directed work instructions while working alone or side by side with two or more workers and always experience real-time voice commands and responses for picking and other warehouse automation tasks. The latest voice technology operates with no delays or interruptions due to background noise from a fork truck, compressor or loud machinery. 

    As an added benefit, the headsets are lightweight and designed for extended wear with 12-hour continuous use battery life while executing multiple warehouse tasks. These features can  decrease employee fatigue, improve their ability to concentrate, and enhance productivity and job satisfaction.

    “Isn’t voice-directed technology primarily used for picking? Can it be used throughout our operation?”

    Beyond picking, voice-directed technology delivers cost-savings and productivity benefits throughout many areas of the warehouse.

    Numina’s RDS Voice solution provides automation in a wide range of warehouse tasks, including: 

    • Receiving and intelligent directed product put-away to storage locations

    • Continuous or batch wave order release  management

    • Cartonization based on SKU dimensions and weight to pick, pack, and verify directly to the shipping carton

    • Managing simultaneous and parallel discrete cart picking and pick to conveyor batch picking of 15-20 or more orders in an optimized travel patch

    • Voice + hands-free 2D barcode scanning for SKU, serial, and lot code capture

    • Interleaving replenishment, cycle counting and inspection tasks

    • Kitting for assembly and manufacturing

    • Directing order consolidation, pallet building and trailer loading applications

    • Pack area automation with automated in-line carton pack-sheet print, insert, void, and seal

    • Workforce productivity tracking by task and work zones with order progress, labor to order tracking, and productivity reporting

    Before launching any warehouse automation initiative, we first collaborate with our customers to explore the benefits of RDS Voice and identify opportunities to improve productivity and accuracy across the entire warehouse order fulfillment operation.

    During this process, our engineers work with you to define the project, performance metrics goals and develop a roadmap that defines how voice or any of our family of warehouse automation technologies can be used to streamline current operations.

    Learn More About Numina’s Warehouse Design Services

    Will voice-directed technology impact network performance?

    The short answer is No. The voice application can reside on any number of computer platforms from a dedicated to a virtual server. 

    The messages between the voice application server are transmitted over the DC’s network are small byte-size messages that are essentially the same size as a barcode scan message. 

    Data exchange between the Zebra wearable computer and the voice application causes minimal load on the wireless network.

    RDS Voice Technology message size and response occurs in real-time, typically in under 50 milliseconds. The voice application is highly flexible and can reside on a dedicated server, a virtual server, or a cloud based server. 

    The mobile wrist computer is very high performance, similar to a PC from a few years ago, operating with quad core CPUs, and running a “thin client” voice engine as a bi-directional messaging software stack, receiving alpha-numeric messages and converting them to warehouse or manufacturing work instructions and acknowledgement messages to enable operators to work in a paperless, hands free and eyes focused manner, without having to stop and read the application instructions or key-in responses.

    “It’s hard to measure the return on investment (ROI) with voice-technology.”

    As with any technology, the key to success lies in developing a well-defined plan with measurable performance goals. The Numina Group has deployed this methodology with many companies to achieve measurable productivity and savings gains typically seeing a range of 30% to 50% gain in operator performance after implementing our voice technology.

    Before launching any project, we collaborate with the customer to explore the benefits of RDS™ Voice across the entire order fulfillment operation. Our engineers work closely with our customers to define the project and performance metrics goals that can be enhanced with voice technology. These are written into the project plan, including the system acceptance test plan to measure and verify success.

    Based on this methodology, we’ve established a track record of a proven ROI for every project. In our experience, for example, a typical voice-directed picking process can provide a 35 to 50% boost in productivity derived from:

    • Increased pick volume per worker

    • Overall increased efficiency in pick and put processes

    • Increased accuracy in picking, with a reduction in repeat work

    • Safety improvements with greater automation in areas like barcode scanning, reducing repetitive motions

    • Integration of picking and fulfillment processes, yielding greater efficiency from pick to shipment 

    Our customers typically see a 15 to 24-month return on investment. 

    The Numina Group partners with clients to define, design, and implement automation in warehouse management, beginning with an in-depth lean analysis. Our consultative design approach sets us apart from traditional warehouse automation firms. We know how to roll up our sleeves, analyze data, recognize your biggest challenges, and streamline your process to gain higher profitability.

    Don’t believe the voice picking myths. To learn more about the benefits of our RDS™ Voice Picking Suite, download our whitepaper, Turn Your DC into a Profit Machine today.

    Contact us for a complimentary consultation with a warehouse automation specialist.

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