| [April 19, 2012] |
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New Vocollect Solution Enables Fast Voice Implementations with No Host Changes and Nominal IT Resources
PITTSBURGH --(Business Wire)--
Vocollect,
a business unit of Intermec,
Inc. (NYSE:IN) and the world leader in voice solutions for mobile
workers, today announced the introduction of Vocollect VoiceExpress, a
new host interface solution that provides distribution center (DC) and
warehouse operators with the benefits of voice across almost any
distribution workflow quickly, by eliminating or reducing common
customer adoption barriers of voice solutions.
VoiceExpress is unique in that it allows Vocollect's certified partners
to reengineer processes easily - without host changes or significant IT
resources - and to combine their consultative expertise with Vocollect's
industry-leading speech recognition to create a high-performing,
integrated voice solution. This results in more productive and accurate
voice-based workflows along with more satisfied warehouse associates.
Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle, Inc., one of the nation's largest
multi-format food and fuel retailers, has initially deployed Vocollect
VoiceExpress in its put-to-store workflow at one of its retail support
centers. "Vocollect VoiceExpress has helped us cure an ongoing
efficiency problem we had in our put-to-store workflow," says Joe
Hurley, Senior Vice President, Distribution and Logistics for Giant
Eagle. "We had tried to apply voice to this workflow previously, but
couldn't cost-justify the interface customizations. Since VoiceExpress
didn't require us to change our warehouse management system (WMS), it
provided a new and much easier way to deploy voice. VoiceExpress has
helped us improve productivity by an additional 20 percent. Voice is
also a safer way to work. We are now looking at using Vocollect
VoiceExpress to address a variety of additional workflows."
"We continually look for new technologies that can make our operations
more efficient, so we piloted Vocollect VoiceExpress for the receiving
application at our Shelbyville, Tenn. distribution center," said Joe
Stephenson, Supervisor, Purchasing for Newell Rubbermaid. "The
hands-free/eyes-free aspect resulted in greater efficiency, including
less travel timeand less risk for product damage, as well as a more
ergonomic environment for our employees."
New workflows can be voice-enabled within a matter of days - from
selection to cycle-counting, put-away, receiving, loading, and many
others. Voice-enabling a broader portion of a DC or warehouse is also
much easier now, since VoiceExpress leverages Vocollect's latest client
software, Vocollect VoiceCatalyst, which operates on multi-vendor
vehicle-mount and fixed-mount computers and, later this year, on
handhelds. Now customers can increase their return on investment from
their voice-enabled mobile devices by reusing those devices for
additional workflows, either during off-shifts or by workflow
interleaving, with nominal investments in host interfacing. If workers
or mobile devices are workflow-specific, VoiceExpress provides new
justification for devices that are ready for upgrades or replacement.
"Based on early feedback from some of our customers and partners, we are
excited about our ability to enable more distribution operations to gain
the benefits of voice quickly across more workflows - in a way that
minimizes their need to modify the host or tap precious IT resources,"
says Tom Murray, Vice President - Product Management and Marketing for
Vocollect. "Partner expertise is a vital component of successful voice
deployments, and VoiceExpress helps our partners and customers to
reengineer and optimize workflows. That expertise, in combination with
faster implementations through Vocollect's industry-leading speech
recognition, purpose-built headsets and certified mobile computers,
provides a powerful solution that helps transform business results and
workforce performance for distribution operations around the world," he
says.
Vocollect now offers four host interface approaches, each of which
addresses specific target market needs. Since VoiceExpress can be
deployed alongside other Vocollect interfaces to the same host, it gives
companies maximum flexibility to add voice quickly and easily to
additional workflows. The initial solution implementation leverages the
power of Vocollect VoiceArtisan, an open and flexible integrated
development environment, Vocollect VoiceCatalyst, a next generation,
multi-vendor client application, and VoiceExpress Server, a "thin,"
pass-through middleware component that is based on technology from the
DataMAX Software Group.
Vocollect VoiceExpress is now commercially available worldwide. For more
information, visit www.vocollect.com
or call 412-349-2515.
About Vocollect Vocollect, a business unit of Intermec (News - Alert), Inc.
(NYSE:IN), is the leader in creating and providing voice-centric
solutions for mobile workers in distribution and warehouse environments
worldwide. The speech recognition software and extreme recognition
accuracy of in-vocabulary speech helps customers achieve a higher level
of business performance through voice. Every day over 400,000 workers
worldwide use Vocollect's comprehensive voice solutions to distribute
more than $4 billion in goods from distribution centers and warehouses
to customer locations. A global team of over 2,000 supply chain reseller
and channel partner experts supports Vocollect Voice offerings.
Vocollect VoiceWorld Suite integrates with all major WMS and ERP
systems, including solutions from SAP (News - Alert) AG, and supports the industry's
leading mobile computing devices. For more information, visit www.vocollect.com.
Vocollect®, Vocollect Voice®, Vocollect
VoiceArtisan™, Vocollect VoiceCatalyst™, Vocollect VoiceExpress™ and
Vocollect VoiceWorld Suite™ are trademarks of Intermec IP Corp. All
rights reserved.
About Intermec Intermec Inc. (NYSE:IN) develops and
integrates products, services and technologies that identify, track and
manage supply chain assets and information. Core technologies include
rugged mobile computing and data collection systems, voice solutions
that increase business performance, bar code printers, label media, and
RFID. The company's products and services are used by customers in many
industries worldwide to improve the productivity, quality and
responsiveness of business operations. For more information about
Intermec, visit www.intermec.com
or call 800-347-2636.

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