Advancing Warehouse Management with Voice Picking Software
Set new productivity and accuracy standards in voice-directed warehousing by implementing the latest AI technology.
Are you looking for a dynamic solution to optimize your warehouse management? Look no further than Lucas Systems’ Voice Picking Software. Our AI-driven system, Jennifer™, transforms warehouse work, delivering real-time improvements in productivity and accuracy.
Long before Alexa and Siri, Jennifer™ was making work easier and faster for tens of thousands of workers on five continents. Combine voice, scanning, and vision to improve the end-to-end execution of warehouse tasks. Upgrade to Lucas Systems’ Voice Picking Software and experience the benefits of our AI-driven solution. Contact us today to learn more and schedule a demo.
Key Takeaways:
Voice-Directed Warehousing Optimization
Our picking software is powered with unique AI-based intelligence in Jennifer™, which adapts and optimizes processes in your warehouse. Jennifer™ supports technologies such as barcode scanning, smart glasses, and RFID to help automate manual, hands-on processes in your warehouse.
How the Lucas Voice Picking Software Works
Voice-directed software establishes an efficient automation process that allows for eyes-up, hands-free picking. The process is straightforward. Pickers wear headsets with an industrial microphone that connects to a mobile device running the voice application.
As the imported orders come in from your current enterprise or warehouse management systems, or resource planning software, they are recorded, sequenced, and released for processing. The application’s voice tells the picker where to go and what to do, such as the warehouse picking a location and the quantity of the item to pick. The voice picking application includes speech recognition software that recognizes and interprets the order picker’s spoken responses and can feed information into the system.
Once the voice-picking system directs the operator to a particular area in the warehouse, the operator offers numbers to verify that they have reached the correct aisle, section, and bin. The voice-picking system will verify the area and then give the operator the pick quantity, which the operator verbally confirms.
Finding the Most Direct Path
Once picking is completed, the system will send the operator to the next pick location. Throughout the process, the system optimizes the pick path to maximize efficiency and minimize warehouse walking. Many voice-picking systems integrate with existing warehousing systems. In this case, the voice-picking system sends real-time updates to the host system, indicating completed picking, batch completion, and other updates.
Streamline Your Processing with Lucas Systems’ Voice Picking Software
Voice-picking systems are increasingly used in warehouses to streamline operations. Today’s voice-directed applications often incorporate complementary technologies like barcode scanning or RFID. Furthermore, voice systems are now used to automate any manual, hands-on process in the warehouse, including receiving, putting away, replenishment, cycle count, sortation, packing, cross-dock, loading, etc.
Discover How the Jennifer Voice Picking Warehouse System Can Boost Your Business
Implementing voice-picking systems can result in immediate improvements in hourly pick rate and work pace, heightened accuracy, and reduced labor hours. With shorter training times, increased productivity, and improved safety, you’ll experience greater employee satisfaction and decreased employee turnover.
With Lucas’s voice-directed warehousing and voice picking software, you can transform your warehouse operations and improve the end-to-end production of tasks. Lucas voice picking software is used by tens of thousands of workers on five continents, delivering customized improvements quickly and accurately. The software is easy to learn and use, making it simple for your team to adapt and start seeing results immediately.
Are you considering using voice picking in your warehouse? Our experienced team includes industry leaders who can help improve your business processes and productivity. Contact us today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Voice-directed warehousing is a method of executing distribution center tasks including picking, receiving, replenishment, putaway, and more, in which workers wear a wireless headset connected to a mobile device and are guided entirely through spoken instructions and verbal confirmations. Rather than reading paper lists or looking at an RF scanner screen, the worker hears where to go and what to do, then speaks short responses (such as a check digit or quantity) to confirm each action. This hands-free, eyes-up approach keeps workers focused on the physical task in front of them, improving safety and accuracy while saving an average of 2–3 seconds per pick compared to traditional barcode scanning systems.
At Lucas Systems, voice-directed warehousing is powered by Jennifer™, our virtual AI assistant. Running on standard Android hardware offering over 35 language options and integrating with virtually any WMS, Jennifer™ optimizes workflows in real time, supports multilingual workers, and can combine voice with scanning or other input modes when needed. The system is easy for new associates to learn in hours and helps them reach full productivity within days while improving throughput, accuracy, and worker satisfaction.
Jennifer™ uses ERP or WMS data to guide associates by voice, telling them where to go and what to do through a headset and voice-enabled Android device so they can work more efficiently, safely, and accurately.
Every picker interaction is tracked, giving managers real-time order progress through the management console.
For more detail, read our Introduction to Voice Picking.
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.
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:
- 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%.
- Reduce Errors: Even DCs with 99.9% picking accuracy before voice can reduce picking errors by 25% or more with voice picking.
- Ensure Safety: Because operators are eyes- and hands-free, they are more aware of their surroundings. Operations that add voice solutions often see a decrease in accidents.
- 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.
Companies that move from barcode scanning to voice-directed warehousing typically see improvements both in productivity and accuracy, due to the inherent advantages of a hands-free, heads-up process:
- Heads-Up Improves Accuracy and Safety. With voice, users never have to look down at a terminal screen to get information.
- 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.
- 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.
- Voice Plus Flexibility. We offer the ability to configure a voice-directed process to combine speech recognition and scanning, where it makes sense.
Looking to see how voice-directed warehousing compares to other technologies (pick-to-light, automation, etc.) read our recent post, How Voice Compares.
Lucas Systems integrates with virtually any WMS, labor management system, ERP, or order management system, including SAP, Oracle, Manhattan, Infor, Dematic, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Deposco, and many home-grown systems. At Lucas, we support standard interfaces such as RESTful APIs, FTP flat files, and socket communications, with bidirectional data flow between Lucas and the host system.
Acting as a mobile work execution layer between the WMS and warehouse floor, Lucas adds voice workflows, AI-optimized travel paths, dynamic batching, and real-time labor visibility without a costly WMS upgrade. The integration supports full refreshes or near-real-time updates and scales from one facility to multi-site deployments.
Yes! The Lucas management console gives supervisors and managers real-time visibility into their operations, exceptions, associate productivity, and workflow, as well as powerful tools to manage workers using our voice-directed mobile applications. The management console also lets managers configure how they view information to suit their needs and preferences. And since supervisors today need to be as mobile as their workers, they can access the console on tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices.
Yes! 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).
Lucas voice directed mobile applications run on a wide variety of Lucas-certified devices and we are continually testing and certifying new compatible devices to utilize with our software.
Warehouses can choose to use Lucas mobile applications on the latest mobile computers, rugged smartphones, and Android wearable devices from leading providers such as Zebra/Motorola®, Honeywell (including LXE and Intermec™), Bluebird, and Datalogic.
Compatible 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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
- In 1998, we introduced hardware-independent voice-directed applications featuring Jennifer™.
- Introduced voice-directed bucket brigade picking in 2003.
- First company to deploy voice-directed solutions on multi-modal mobile devices in 2005, allowing the seamless combination of voice, scanning, and screens.
- Introduced a variable check string validation in 2008.
- First to adopt Android in 2014 – a full five years ahead of traditional voice providers.
- Only dual speech engine technology available on the market that interprets associates’ spoken responses, in multiple languages, regardless of accents and background noise.
- Introduced AI-based smart batching and pick path optimization in 2017.
- In 2020, we became the first company to deploy voice applications on smartwatches.
- Introduced machine learning-based tools for dynamic slotting and predictive workforce planning in 2021.
Companies using voice-directed warehousing typically see fast, measurable ROI through labor savings, higher throughput, reduction in chargebacks and faster onboarding. Voice picking saves an average of 2–3 seconds per pick versus RF barcode scanning, which adds up quickly across thousands of daily picks. New associates can train in hours and reach full productivity in one to two weeks, cutting onboarding costs by more than 50%.
With Lucas optimization tools such as AI-optimized pick paths, dynamic batching, and intelligent pallet building, customers have reported 15–30% travel savings, 20–40% throughput improvement, and annual savings reaching seven figures. ROI also comes from improved accuracy, fewer injuries, lower equipment costs from standard Android devices, and typical payback within 12 months.
Get Started With These Helpful Resources
Voice Picking Software Selection Guide
This guide dives into determining whether voice is right for your warehouse, key benefits and features, hardware options, WMS and ERP integrations, and system pricing and implementation costs.
Voice Picking Software Selection Guide
This guide looks in depth at how different approaches to implementing voice determine the magnitude of productivity gains any facility may achieve. Use the guidelines in this paper to estimate the potential results in your DC.
