Press Releases / Lucas At ProMat 2017

April 3, 2017

Lucas Demonstrates Voice Picking On Android Wearables, Gamification Of The DC, and Machine Learning For Labor Planning At ProMat 2017 Booth S3443

During ProMat 2017, April 3-6, Lucas will be demonstrating new tools and technologies to improve mobile work in the DC, and is hosting discussion panels with three users of the Lucas Mobile Work Execution Solution

Lucas Systems, Inc., the leading provider of solutions for intelligent mobile work execution for warehouses and distribution centers, is kicking off the ProMat 2017 trade show in Chicago with live in-booth picking demonstrations, a pick-path optimization game (“The DWO Challenge”), and in-depth discussion of how machine learning can be used to address labor planning and other DC optimization challenges. In addition to the activities in Booth Number S3443, Lucas is also hosting discussion panels with three Lucas customers as part of the ProMat Seminar Program.

Discussion Panels Featuring Direct Relief, Imperial Distributors, and Rotary Corp.

On Monday, April 3, Ron Kubera, Executive VP and Chief Marketing Office of Lucas will moderate a discussion with Dawn Long and Rick Snekvik of Direct Relief titled, “Smartphones, Tablets and The Future Of Mobile Work In The DC.” The session will focus on Direct Relief’s experience with the Lucas Mobile Work Execution Solution, including Lucas Move on Android smartphones. On Wednesday, April 5^th, Kubera will moderate a second discussion panel with Perry Lundberg of Imperial Distributors and Donald Fountain of Rotary Corp. In that session, titled “Reinventing Your DC Without Replacing Your WMS,” the panelists will share examples of how they have used mobile work execution software and cutting-edge mobile technologies to transform picking and other hands-on processes, making work easier, more efficient, and more flexible without changing their WMS.

Android Adoption Is Rising

Throughout the show, April 3-6, Lucas will be providing demonstrations of Lucas Move mobile applications, featuring Jennifer, running on Android smartphones, smartwatches, and other Android devices, including the newly-certified Zebra TC51. Lucas Move is the first voice-directed application for the DC that supports Android and Windows Mobile operating systems. Eight out of ten new Lucas customers are choosing Android for use with Lucas Move, in part due to the impending sunset of the current Windows operating system running on most existing mobile computers used in the DC.

Gamification Of Lucas Dynamic Work Optimization

Visitors to Booth S3443 can play the DWO Challenge, a game developed by Lucas to illustrate how the Lucas Dynamic Work Optimization module (DWO) reduces DC travel up to 50% compared to typical WMS-directed picking processes. To play the tablet-based game, players plot the shortest pick path through a typical DC in competition against the Lucas Dynamic Work Optimization algorithms. Players are awarded points based on how well (and quickly) they map out their pick paths, and the player with the highest score each day will win a drone.

At ProMat, Lucas is also unveiling several important updates and enhancements to Dynamic Work Optimization, which is a component of the Lucas Engage work optimization software.

Machine Learning For Labor Planning

At the show, Lucas will be discussing new Machine Learning capabilities it has developed that can be applied to a number of DC planning and optimization challenges, including Labor Planning for peak seasons. The solution applies a series of algorithms to a very large data set of actual picking results, and the algorithms build a predictive model to determine labor needs. This is a powerful, low-cost application of Big Data for the DC. Machine Learning is more accurate and less cumbersome to implement and maintain than the traditional engineered labor standards approach employed with most current Labor Management Systems.

About Lucas Systems, Inc.

Since 1998, Lucas Systems has pioneered warehouse productivity solutions for mobile workers and distribution center managers. Customers like Cardinal Health, The Container Store, C&S Wholesale Grocers, HD Supply, Office Depot/OfficeMax, and Rust-Oleum trust Lucas to deliver solutions that greatly improve worker productivity and accuracy because Lucas truly understands warehouse operations. Lucas Mobile Work Execution solutions optimize hands-on processes and seamlessly combine voice, barcode scanning, and other mobile technologies to improve worker productivity, eliminate errors, and boost end-to-end DC efficiency. The solutions also provide managers and supervisors with real-time reporting and management tools that help them better manage their operations.