Hi Junaid,

I can think of two inventory problems where an IVR system could create a difference: One is timeliness, and the other is infrastructure reliability.

I haven't seen situations where IVRS would usually improve inventory counting and ordering in a storeroom. There is typically no important time gain in that situation; do your counts on a hand-held or paper, then bring it to a central point to process into orders, whether through an inventory system or by manually toting up quantities and ordering. But in some manufacturing/industrial settings, where "counting" current inventory may be a skilled job that may occur remotely (estimating yards of gravel or sand, for example), IVRS would be good.

On the distribution side, many inventory flows rely on refilling "par areas" of some type (supply carts in hospitals; office supply rooms or shelves in large offices), where on-hand counts are subtracted from par values to calculate reorder qtys to replace items used at those par locations from a central storeroom inventory. If these par locations are numerous, as at a hospital, the refilling process can be labor-intensive and error prone, particularly if the counting person is responsible for calculating the refill qty (meaning, he/she is supposed to know what the par value is, which everyone says they do, but in fact they differ widely and nobody knows it).

A widely used method in these situations is a handheld device that prompts for items and allows input, either qty onhand or qty needed. But the counting person may need to use both hands to count (items are stuffed in cubbies, etc.), so a hands-free phone would nice. This can be done with tricked-up handheld--that's your main competition for most IVRS applications--but it *may* be more cost-effective to use IVRS. (What kind of phones? How good is wireless connectivity in the user environment? Infrastructure may favor handheld, or may favor telephone.) Also in terms of infrastructure, there may be an advantage through IVRS of maintaining programs on a centralized server instead of loading and maintaining separate programs on the handheld (not that the handhelds have to do all of the computer work, but they still need a program, an item list, etc., which has to be maintained for each handheld). Moreover, it should prove more feasible to provide a very robust and responsive par area counting routine on a central server that communicates to a "dumb" telephone instrument. It's hard to design, implement, and maintain a handheld program for these purposes that remains robust and responsive when items are out of order at the location, or new ones are added, or mistakes have to be corrected, etc.

Timeliness often favors IVRS, and time = labor = cost in these situations. If par areas are refilled, you have to count and calculate refill qtys, then pull the order from stores and deliver it to the par area. If the par refill orders are immediately processed in stores, a more efficient workflow can be devised. I've written maybe too much already, but feel free to ask me if you need examples of this or any other point.

posted November 27, 2007

I confess that I had not come across the term IVRS, but I believe it could be just another term for something I do know about.

Many warehouses use Radio Data Terminals (either hand held or truck mounted) to direct the work flow and to maintain a live stock picture. Some companies are replacing the RDTs with wearable equipment that uses the latest voice recognition technology. The operator wears a lightweight headset, (usually one ear only) and clips a rugged paperback-sized unit to their belt. Bar-code scanners, worn on the wrist, are an optional extra. The unit is directly connected to the warehouse management system via radio, in the same way that the RDTs are connected. A voice talks the operator through their tasks and also listens and reacts to what the operator says. It is hands free, has no keyboard or screen, and is much faster to learn how to use than conventional screen based RDT systems. Pick accuracy is improved substantially, as is pick productivity. Safety is increased as the system is hands free, useful for FLT drivers. Systems cost about the same as RDTs and some are on their fourth design generation so are pretty much bug-free. Brand names include “Vocognition” and “Talkman”. At the start of the shift, the operator is taken through a 1-2 min calibration routine that teaches the system to recognize the operator’s accent. So it is a great system if you have a continuously rotating mass of temporary workers of various nationalities. The hands free feature makes the system especially useful in cold stores where thick gloves normally make keyboards difficult to operate quickly and accurately. Typically, operators are initially suspicious but like them once they have tried them. Because the system is communicating directly to the WMS, there is no timelag or other problem with delay. The already installed WMS needs no reprogramming, as the system takes the same interfaces and instructions as the RDTs. The system can be used for all the functions that RDTs are normally used for; direction of operators and MHE, audits, stock checks etc.

I hope that is of some use to you.

posted November 30, 2007