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Tractor Supply Company Installs Vocollect's Talkman Voice-Directed Distribution System
by
Anonymous
CONTACT: Mary Ann Miller, APR
Desbrow & Associates
412-471-5700, Ext. 109
mamiller@desbrow.com
RELEASE:
Immediate
TRACTOR SUPPLY COMPANY INSTALLS VOCOLLECT’S TALKMAN® SYSTEM
Voice Interface To Tractor Supply’s SAP® WMS Improves Productivity Nearly 10%
PITTSBURGH May 5, 2003 – To improve its ability to speed hundreds of thousands of items to market every day, Tractor Supply Company (TSC), the leading retail farm and ranch store brand in America, recently chose Vocollect and its Talkman® system to streamline its distribution center in Pendleton, Ind. The Talkman hardware and software system went live in January 2003, and early results are impressive: an 18% improvement in productivity in gravity flow areas, and an 8 to 10% productivity increase across the entire distribution center.
Jim Harnage, functional systems manager at TSC, and implementation project leader, said, “Our team members say the Talkman system is very intuitive. The ‘hands-free, eyes-free’ operation allowed us to boost productivity, not only over our paper-based environment but over handheld RF units, as well.” Since the installation, TSC no longer needs to key data into the WMS; instead, selectors enter data directly from the warehouse floor simply by speaking to the Talkman system.
Installing Vocollect’s Talkman system was one piece of a much larger and more complex IT expansion designed to support 110 newly opened stores in 2002. Tractor Supply’s SAP®-based IT infrastructure underwent a comprehensive upgrade, and voice was a critical new enhancement to the process. As par
of the implementation, an interface was developed between the SAP Warehouse Management Module and the Talkman system, which Harnage says provides good visibility as to what is occurring in the warehouse at any given moment, and has improved their replenishment efficiency.
Harnage added, “The voice installation by Vocollect is, by far, the simplest and most pleasant third-party experience I can remember. The Vocollect team is the best I have worked with. Great product, great team, great company.” Due to these results, TSC’s next voice installation is planned for its soon-to-be completed Waco, Texas distribution center this summer, with its remaining two facilities coming online over the next year.
Tractor Supply’s installation is testament to the flexibility of Vocollect’s voice solution, according to Jack LeVan, president and CEO of Vocollect. “It’s great to work with an innovator such as TSC. They are one of the first SAP users to realize the benefits and simplicity of the Talkman system and how easily it can integrate with their existing system. We believe Tractor Supply will continue to use voice to enhance the functionality they derive from SAP, and we will work very closely with them to achieve that.”
About Tractor Supply Company
As of March 29, 2003, Tractor Supply Company operated 445 stores in 30 states, focused on supplying the lifestyle needs of recreational farmers and ranchers. The Company also serves the maintenance needs of those who enjoy the rural lifestyle, as well as tradesmen and small businesses. Stores are located in towns outlying major metropolitan markets and in rural communities. The Company offers a comprehensive selection of merchandise such as livestock and pet products, including everything for their health, care, growth and containment; maintenance products for agricultural and rural use; hardware and tool products; seasonal products, including lawn and garden power equipment; truck, trailer and towing products; and work clothing for the entire family.
About Vocollect
Vocollect, a privately held company headquartered in Pittsburgh, is the global leader in wearable computers employing speech synthesis and speech recognition technology for warehousing and industrial applications. The company has developed and installed voice-directed systems since its start in 1987. Today, tens of thousands of Vocollect Talkman terminals and software applications are installed throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Vocollect and its global network of resellers and integrators provide Talkman systems and on-site support for customers in inventory-driven industries such as grocery wholesale and retail, supermarket, foodservice, conveniences, beverage, health & beauty, general mass merchandise and medical/pharmaceutical.
SAP is a registered trademark of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries around the world.
This article courtesy of http://www.heavy-tractor.com.
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