Oxford University Press

Oxford University Press (OUP) is a publishing company and department of the University of Oxford. OUP has a presence in more than 50 countries, and is the largest university press in the world.

Location: U.K.

Challenges:

OUP had been a long standing user of handheld terminals (HHTs), which were coming to end-of-life. Additional challenges included:

• RF dropout zones in certain parts of the DC
• Health and safety concerns with distracting devices

Solutions Implemented:

OUP decided to implement:

• VoiceMan
• Talkman devices

Benefits:

OUP now uses voice across five workflows – picking, put-away, bulk very narrow aisle (VNA), relocation, and stock counting – with over 70 personnel working eyes-free, hands-free at any given time. Additional benefits include:

• VoiceMan Screen-to-Voice features session persistence: tasks sit on the device to ensure uptime during any blackspots.
• Processes such as picking are now more fluid as voice users can be ‘walking and talking’ to the next pick without waiting to view an instruction on a screen.
• OUP added voice to its forklift truck (FLT) VNA area, removing the need for distracting screens and allowing associates to focus on safely and efficiently moving pallets.
• Training time has been cut in half.
• The process has been cost-effective and OUP has experienced productivity gains in excess of 10%.
• OUP’s WMS did not need to be modified to accommodate the voice solution.