It's good to talk...for Faber
March 1st 2011 Warehouse slashes pick errors,boosts throughput and halves headcount after
installing a voice solution from Zetes and Vocollect
Faber needed to need to reduce variable costs and create a
more efficient distribution centre to support its expanding
multichannel sales operation. A key part of the company's
strategy included implementing voice directed working, enabling
Faber to conduct 'wave picks' and cost effectively process for
small orders typical of e-commerce sales.
The result of this investment has helped Faber Music create a
highly successful multichannel business which today sells over
120,000 music publications globally through music and book
retailers, online booksellers (such as Amazon) and direct to end
users with its online music bookstore, fabermusicstore.com.
John Hepworth (picctured), md of Faber Music Distribution
says: "Without using voice we could not have adapted so easily to
suit the different order profiles required for multichannel sales
without significantly increasing our costs. Switching to voice has
created a much leaner operation ready for further growth as the
economy improves."
In 2005 Faber doubled in size and as a result, the firm took on
more staff and costs spiralled. Hepworth undertook an efficiency
exercise and procured the voice solution. Payback was anticipated
in 18 months but delivered in 13 months.
The installation allowed Faber to cut head count by half while
improving throughput by 25-30%. It has also virtually
eliminated any picking errors, which means the right goods are
reaching customers more quickly and for less cost. Returns have
reduced from .07% to 0.007%.
New staff take 20 minutes to train on the device, as the system
gets accustomed to their voice.
Wave picking
Following the implementation, a single picker can complete up
to 150 order lines per hour compared with a previous hourly
average of 50 to 70 order lines using the old paper based system.
Additionally, pickers now also have the capability to
simultaneously pick 18 orders at a time (wave picking), which is
essential for a profitable e-commerce business.
Faber needed to overcome a number of challenges when
implementing its voice picking system, which was adapted by
Zetes for its complex business processes. Orders were required to
be split into three parts to cater for three different scenarios:
general stock orders, bulk picking and a digital printing for items
that are only manufactured on demand.
From the outset, the warehouse operators were involved in the
project and have been enthusiastic about the new picking system,
which has been customised to identify order lines according to
specific format and thus helps avoid ambiguities. For instance,
the system was adapted to specify 'copy' for printed music and
'CD', 'DVD' or 'Set' for orchestral sets. The system also switches
from descriptive identifiers, such as the abbreviated title for the
majority of mainstream and English language publications, to
item number identifiers, used for foreign language publications
and international composers that are not easy to identify in
English.
"The warehouse staff really like the new system and they were
very keen to start using it," says Hepworth. "It is human nature to
avoid change and at the start we had a few within the team who
were quite apprehensive. However, once they started working
with voice, all their concerns were allayed straight away and have
said they wouldn't want to go back to a paper based system.
"Now we are thinking - what else can voice do? We are looking
at our stock taking and replenishment processes, for example, to
see if efficiencies can be made there."
Many companies have implemented voice picking but Faber
Music's system is innovative and noteworthy for two reasons,
argues Simon Jones, sales manager at Zetes.
"First, Faber has proved it is a viable option for a warehouse
with less than 10 pickers, since previously voice technology had
only been adopted by much larger businesses. Secondly, they
have clearly shown how voice can create a more adaptable
warehouse for a multichannel
business model."
The solution
Zetes, the auto ID solution specialist developed and implemented Faber Music's voice picking
solution, which is based on Vocollect Talkman T5 devices and speech recognition engine.
Faber is using Vocollect Talkman T5 wireless headsets and belt pack devices with 3iV voice
application software supplied and implemented by Zetes. Zetes was also responsible for
integrating the voice picking system with Solarsoft's integrated ERP solution and Warehouse
Management System and provide ongoing system support.
Faber has been given a special Warehouse Innovation Award by Zetes for Outstanding Business
Improvement, due to the installation. Faber md John Hepworth says staff were thrilled to be
recognised for their hard work calling the award "a huge pat on the back for everyone in the
team". More articles from Zetes Ltd: | 
