Introduction
Voice picking is an exciting technology on the rise. If you work with warehouses, you’re going to love that!
In this post, we’ll talk about:
What a voice picking system is and how you could use them;
The benefits and applications of voice picking;
Whether or not voice picking is suitable for your warehouse.
What is a voice picking system?
Imagine you’re working in a big warehouse where lots of products are placed in specific locations.
One day, you get instructed to pick up a product from a particular slot in the warehouse. You check your task information and your other documents to find the right product.
Once you’re done with the paperwork and have the parcel’s location, you reach the rack and finally put your hands on the desired item.
After handing the box over to the shipment department, you check the next order on the system, and you start the whole process all over again.
At the end of the day, tired of the tedious tasks, you sit down to think about how to make this job more efficient.
In these industries, voice picking plays an essential role in processes, automation, and streamlining operations.
Voice picking is a hands-free and eye-free system that uses an intelligent voice assistant and speech recognition technology to guide associates through their tasks.
The phrase « voice picking » refers to a method of improving picking operations using voice-only technologies. However, today’s voice-directed applications often incorporate complementary technologies like barcode scanning or RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification).
Voice-picking systems work hand in hand with a WMS (Warehouse Management System) or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system running on-premises or in the cloud. Pickers are required to wear headsets with industrial microphones and carry a mobile device running the voice picking application.
When a warehouse worker gets instructions to pick up a certain product, they hear all the relevant information in their headset and can communicate back with the system by talking to it.
The central WMS is constantly updated to accurately reflect the status of the facility. Voice picking helps simplify one of the most crucial processes of warehouse management: product picking.
Benefits of voice picking
Voice picking has the potential to simplify most processes in a warehouse and establish an efficient management plan where each worker can perform any task without any miscommunication and unnecessary mistakes.
Let’s have a look at some of the benefits of voice picking.
Boost speed and accuracy of orders: Since voice is hands-free, the warehouse pickers can focus on quickly locating their products rather than handling multiple items at once, and end up being lost. Higher accuracy means happier customers as the orders are delivered more quickly, thanks to efficient warehouse management.
Increased productivity: Voice has enabled users to increase productivity significantly, due to the ease and streamlined approach. In fact, according to industry benchmarks from Lucas Systems and Honeywell, warehouses transitioning to voice-directed picking typically see an average productivity increase of 15% to 35%.
Accurate inventory counts: Inventory counts improve with better picking accuracy. Warehouses often organize their items in ways that simplify the picking experience. When combined with voice picking technology, a company can manage inventory more accurately thanks to a high degree of organization.
Picking errors are reduced: A study from Oracle shows that picking errors on average range from 1 to 3% – or between 10 and 30 per 1,000 picks. With a real-time Distribution System (RDS) voice technology and integrated barcode scanning validation, accuracy can be increased to 99.99%, or only one error every 1,000 picks.
Shortened training time: Voice picking is easy to learn for warehouse workers; it takes less time for them to be operational. Following simple voice commands is easy, making it easy for workers to accommodate the technology! Since there is less training required, work, and outcome efficiency increases.
Warehouse safety: Industry data from Körber and Lucas Systems highlights that « eyes-up » operation significantly reduces warehouse accidents. By removing the distraction of handheld screens, workers remain 100% focused on their surroundings, particularly in high-traffic zones where forklift collisions are a risk.
How to use voice picking?
Using voice picking is as simple as listening to music: Wearing a headset and responding to verbal instructions by speaking or scanning.
As part of their picking duties, warehouse workers receive voice-picking devices, special-purpose mobile computers connected to headsets with microphones and barcode scanners.
The WMS (Warehouse Management System) or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system collects all customer order details and efficiently dispatches them to pickers.
The voice-picking device gives instructions to the warehouse worker, communicating the picking tasks and their locations.
The worker then confirms the job information by voice.
When the worker arrives at a specific location, they verbally provide the confirmation digits to verify the location.
The voice-picking system then prompts to confirm the aisle or section and provides the operator with the pick quantity. The operator verbally confirms the quantity.
When the task is completed, the system sends the picker to the next pick location, providing an optimal path to maximize the worker’s efficiency.
All interactions between the picker and the voice application are tracked, so managers can view the progress of orders live as they are being fulfilled.
To learn about voice picking more visually, watch this video by Honeywell.
Applications of voice picking
Voice picking helps in many aspects and processes in the warehouse such as picking up orders, hands-free formalities, processing all paperwork, and more!
Cross Docking
Cross-docking is a practice in logistics of unloading materials from a manufacturer or mode of transportation directly to the customer or another mode of transportation, with little or no storage in between.
Voice picking can support various cross-dock processes, including full transfers from receiving to shipping, or moving and sorting to outbound staging destinations.
Piece Picking
Piece picking is the process of retrieving individual items for an order and placing them into a container or carton before they are shipped to the customer. According to René de Koster, the order picking stage is a labor-intensive process that research identifies as the most costly activity in a facility, accounting for as much as 55% of total warehouse operating costs.
Putaway
Putaway refers to all the warehouse tasks that happen between receiving products from a vendor and having them stored away on racks and shelves in your warehouse.
With voice-directed putaway, you can store complete pallets, mixed pallets (multiple SKUs stored in separate locations), or carts with mixed SKUs. As part of the voice-directed workflow, barcode scanning is commonly used to identify/verify putaway items.
Receiving and returning
Receiving and returning is one of the most common and vital processes of warehouse operations, as it’s one of the most basic duties.
When receiving pallets with mixed or full contents, voice can be used to identify damages, verify quantities, and sort and stage items to be put away. A barcode scanner and visual displays can be incorporated into the process.
Inventory management
Field inventory management, more commonly known as inventory management, is an analysis of an organization’s stock mix and the different demands on that stock.
This is a vital process of warehouse management as it helps provide information on how much stock is present in the warehouse, which ones would be shipped off and what products have been returned.
A voice-picking system provides a high degree of order accuracy, resulting in accurate inventory counts.
Is voice the right choice for my warehouse?
Voice-directed applications are most commonly used in warehouses and distribution centres shipping products in small quantities or fewer.
Here are some factors to consider to determine if the voice is a good fit for your operation:
Industry: The use of voice is widespread today in warehouses and distribution centres in outbound product distribution, direct-to-consumer e-commerce fulfilment, as well as parts, picking and kitting operations.
With voice, virtually any product type can be packed and shipped, including clothing, nuts, bolts, and wire coils (for example). Voice is used by a variety of industries today, including, but not limited to:
- Retail and eCommerce Fulfillment Centers
- Beverage Wholesalers: Beer, Wine & Spirits, Soft Drinks
- Grocery and Food Distribution: Fresh, Frozen, and Packaged Food
- Foodservice and Convenience
- Healthcare Products and Pharmaceuticals
- Transport
- Manufacturing
- Industrial, Parts, HVAC and Electrical Supply
Facility Size: Warehouses and distribution centres ranging from 50,000 ft² to 1 million ft² or larger are great candidates for voice.
Number of SKUs: The minimum number of SKUs is between 300 and 500. The maximum number of parts can be as high as 1 million in some manufacturing facilities that use voice.
Some Selectors/Pickers and Other Voice Users: Most DCs using voice have at least 10 concurrent pickers per shift. There is no upper limit to the number of users in a single facility.
Companies that provide voice picking technology
Today’s main voice picking technology providers are:
- Honeywell
- Korber (Then Voiteq)
- Lydia Voice
- Zetes
- Keen Research
- And more!
Conclusion
In summary, transitioning to voice picking technology transforms warehouse operations by shifting from manual, screen-based workflows to a « hands-free, eyes-up » environment. As the logistics industry faces rising labor costs and demands for faster fulfillment, the data remains clear:
Productivity: Implementing a Voice Management System typically yields a 15% to 35% increase in picking speed by eliminating the « dead time » associated with handling scanners or paper lists.
Cost Efficiency: With order picking accounting for 55% of warehouse operating costs (de Koster, 2007), voice picking directly impacts the bottom line by reducing labor hours and training time by up to 50%.
Accuracy & Safety: Voice systems consistently achieve 99.9% accuracy, virtually eliminating the high cost of mispicks (estimated at $30–$75 per error) while significantly improving worker safety through better environmental awareness.
Whether integrated into an ERP or a standalone WMS, voice-directed picking is no longer just an « add-on »—it is a critical requirement for any distribution center looking to optimize throughput in a competitive global market.
