Putting the fancy into voice tech
Fancy dress costume retailer Smiffy’s opted for Voxware’s Cloud Voice Management Suite (VMS) to increase fulfilment efficiency, boost safety and train seasonal staff quicker.
Smiffy’s employs over 50 warehouse pickers and ships 2-2.5 million products every month to 5,000 stockists in over 40 countries around the world. Voxware’s cloud voice software let Smiffy’s deploy voice automation technology without building supporting tech infrastructure or self-hosting a solution.
Smiffy’s head of operations Ross Johnson says: “We spoke with four different voice technology providers and were very impressed with Voxware. The team listened to what was relevant and important to us and really made an effort to understand our operation. Their genuine interest in our business gave us massive confidence in Voxware and the Cloud VMS solution.”
When it comes to warehouse management, even a small percentage of errors has a huge impact on the bottom line. Errors not only reduce efficiency but they also have a detrimental impact to the brand.
After careful consideration of various offerings, Smiffy’s found that Voxware’s cloud based voice offering would allow them to improve warehouse operations while ensuring an optimal customer experience.
Smiffy’s experiences seasonal peaks between August and November, and now with Voxware’s cloud offering, it can easily scale to keep pace with changing business demands.
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Johnson explains: “We expect that voice technology will enable workers to cope with seasonal peaks with greater efficiency and accuracy than ever before, particularly at such critical times in the retail calendar. With regards to seasonal staff, the new system allows us to train them much quicker than before, and therefore this has a positive effect on our turnover of staff.”
The retailer also cited Voxware’s subscription-pricing model as a deciding factor in its choice to deploy VMS. The system is not geared up to allow Smiffy’s to increase the pace of deliveries, rather it is designed to take pressure off pickers and help them to do a better job.
Johnson says: “At present we operate on a same day dispatch basis, and this will continue with the new system in place. The difference will be in taking the pressure off the warehouse pickers and enabling them to work more efficiently and accurately.”
The change in warehouse methodology has also had an impact on safety.
“Implementing Voxware voice technology means workers can now do their jobs hands-free, instantly creating a safer working environment. While traditional order picking solutions are successful, voice technology brings a whole new level of safety to warehouse operations,” explains Johsnon.
“With staff able to pick entire orders without the need to look down, we anticipate fewer hazards and risks when working in the warehouse environment, contributing to a marked increase in both our levels of productivity and accuracy.”
