Get more products out the doors of your warehouse, with less people.
Since 1998, Lucas voice directed warehouse optimization solutions, featuring Jennifer™, have been making work easier, faster and more fun for tens of thousands of workers on five continents. By combining voice, vision and scanning, Jennifer™ transform end-to-end warehouse tasks, delivering immediate improvements in productivity and accuracy.
- Average 36% increase in productivity
- 33% increase in throughput
- 46% reduction in shortages
- 50% reduction in labor hours
- 20% improvement in inventory accuracy
- New worker training reduced from 2 weeks to 1 day
- Average 99.99% accuracy rates
- Employees love working with Jennifer™
Learn why over 15,000 warehouse workers use Jennifer™ voice
Fill out the form below to schedule a call with one of our industry experts to get a demo of our solutions and to schedule a free analysis of your operations.
We’ve helped distribution leaders in every industry
We helped Baptist Health, a leading healthcare provider, double picking productivity.“The previous average picking rate in the LUM area was 50-56 lines per hour (LPH). Today it is 100-110. That is a 100% improvement, and in bulk picking, the number is about 20 percent.”
-Dale Adamson, AVP of Logistics and Distribution
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We helped Apex Tool Group, a leading manufacturer of hand and power tools, operate with 10% fewer man hours.“You rarely implement a new system and have users tell you ‘It’s made my life so much easier!’ Making the processes better for associates makes them more productive. And that’s better for the business.”
-Chris Rufa, Senior Director of Global Distribution
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Frequently asked questions
How does voice directed warehousing work?
Jennifer™ uses information from any ERP or WMS system to create a fluid, voice directed process for warehouse associates, verbally directing them where to go and what to do. Associates communicate with Jennifer™ through a headset and a voice-enabled Android device that ensures they work as efficiently, safely and accurately as possible.
Every interaction between the picker and the voice application are tracked so managers can be provided with a management console to view the progress of orders as they are picked.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read our “Introduction to voice picking”.
What warehouse processes can be directed with voice?
Jennifer™ voice adapts and optimizes end-to-end warehouse tasks –picking, receiving, putaway, sortation, loading, audit, replenishment, cycle count, returns, and more. Jennifer incorporates complementary technologies like barcode scanning, smart glasses and RFID to help automate any manual, hands-on process in your warehouse.
What are the benefits of voice directed warehousing?
Compared to traditional warehouse order picking processes using paper or barcode scanning, a voice directed warehousing system creates a hands-free, heads-up user workflow. Rather than stopping to read, scan, write or punch keys, users listen and speak in a fluid, efficient cadence. This results in dramatic, direct pay-offs:
1) Improve Productivity:
Depending on your process (e.g., full case picking from pallets vs. piece picking from flow racks), productivity gains may range from 10-90%. Lucas customers have achieved average picking productivity gains of 36%.
2) Reduce Errors:
Even DCs with 99.9% picking accuracy before voice can reduce picking errors by 25% or more with voice picking.
3) Ensure Safety:
Because operators are eyes and hands free, they are more aware of surroundings. Operations that add voice solutions often see a decrease in accidents.
4) Decrease Training Time:
Voice directed processes are more intuitive for users. Most Lucas customers find that a new associate can be trained and begin going solo in less than a day, and become proficient in one to two weeks.
How do voice solutions compare to RF?
Companies that move from barcode scanning to voice directed warheousing typically see improvements both in productivity and accuracy, due to the inherent advantages of a hands-free, heads-up process:
1) Heads-Up Improves Accuracy and Safety. – With voice, users never have to look down at a terminal screen to get information.
2) Two Hands Free Is More Productive – Voice users never have to juggle a scanner while trying to grab and move items, so they can grab, lift and move items more efficiently.
3) Ease of Use and Training Training time may increase when moving from paper to RF due to the need to educate workers on how to use an unfamiliar piece of equipment, in addition to learning the details of the job.
4) Voice Plus Flexibility – We offer the ability to configure a voice-directed process to combine speech recognition and scanning, where it makes sense.
Looing to see how voice directed warehousing compares to other technologies (pick-to-light, automation, etc.) read our recent post, “How Voice Compares”.
Will Lucas voice integrate with my current system(s)?
The short answer, yes. System integration is a vital part of any software implementation. Although integration can be complex, the Lucas standards-based system interfaces makes the process quick and effective.
The Lucas software is designed to easily integrate to virtually any on-premise, hosted, or cloud-based IT or automation system: ERP, order management, and warehouse management packages (SAP, Oracle, BlueYonder, Manhattan, Infor, Microsoft, etc.); custom-developed host systems; warehouse control systems; and other automation and IT systems used in the DC.
Are different languages and accents an issue with voice solutions?
The short answer, no. Jennifer™ speaks in 30+ languages and ensures optimal recognition even for users with non-standard accents or non-standard speech patterns. Jennifer™ incorporates speech recognition technology that utilizes multiple simultaneous recognition strategies (phonetic and word-based).
What hardware can be used with voice directed applications?
Lucas voice directed mobile applications run on a wide variety of Lucas certified devices. In 2014, We introduced voice applications that can run on Windows or Android devices, including smartphones and industrial devices. All major hardware manufacturers (Zebra, Honeywell, Datalogic) are moving to Android in their new devices, in part because Microsoft is ending support for Windows Mobile. All of these newer devices can use wireless Bluetooth headsets.
Voice-capable hardware devices include but are not limited to:
• Handheld and wearable RF devices
• Vehicle mounted devices
• Tablets
• Smartphones
• Smartwatches
• Smart glasses
Read our “Buyer’s Guide for Mobile Computers” to learn which devices you should use.
Is voice training required?
While traditional speaker-dependent systems require 20-30 minute voice training sessions, Lucas speech recognition requires no user training. (While people use Lucas without training, the system is not speaker-independent.)
How long does it take to get a new associate performant?
Most Lucas customers find that a new associate can be trained and begin going solo in less than a day, and become proficient in one to two weeks.
What are the typical cost savings with Lucas voice?
Savings with a voice solution depends on more than the technology itself. To help determine your potential cost savings, we created an ROI calculator which only takes a few minutes to complete. And although voice-directed technology can help you reduce DC costs in many areas (e.g., replenishment, put away, QC/audit, receiving, loading, etc.), this calculator focuses on direct labor and accuracy costs in picking.
What’s different about Lucas voice solutions?
We are the pioneers in voice technology for warehouses and DCs and occupy a lot of firsts. Our voice directed warehousing solutions incorporate hundreds of thousands of person-years of user experience. And since our founding in 1998, we’ve had a track record of innovation in voice and AI technology.
1) In 1998, we introduced hardware independent voice-directed applications featuring Jennifer™.
2) Introduced voice-directed bucket brigade picking in 2003.
3) First company to deploy voice-directed solutions on multi-modal mobile devices in 2005, allowing the seamless combination of voice, scanning and screens.
4) Introduced a variable check string validation in 2008.
5) First to adopt Android in 2014 – a full five years ahead of traditional voice providers.
6) Only dual speech engine technology available on the market that interprets associates spoken responses, in multiple languages, regardless of accents and background noise.
7) Introduced AI-based smart batching and pick path optimization in 2017.
8) In 2020, we became the first company to deploy voice applications on smartwatches.
9) Introduced machine learning based tools for dynamic slotting and predictive workforce planning in 2021.
Ready to set new productivity and accuracy standards with voice?
Let’s turn your distribution operation into a competitive advantage, together.
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