12 Jan A New Year’s Resolution for Supply Chain Profitability: Upgrade to Cloud-Based Voice Automation
Recent research from Voxware found that 41 percent of respondents returned an item due to retailer error (incorrect size, color or wrong item altogether), up from 30 percent in 2018. Incredibly, 51 percent of respondents said they returned an incorrect item only to have a wrong item sent the second time around. Meanwhile, 30 percent of consumers are much less likely to purchase from an online retailer who has failed to deliver an item on-time in the past, up from 23 percent in 2018.
If those statistics don’t concern you, this one surely will. The latest Voxware research conducted during the final week of 2020 found that 53 percent of respondents will never place another order with certain retailers that mishandled their order fulfillment during the 2020 holiday season.
These figures should serve as a wake-up call to the industry to advance their distribution operations to ensure a flawless customer experience. With eCommerce continuing to expand, brands cannot afford any mistakes, or consumers will swiftly take their business elsewhere.
Warehouse technologies can help companies meet their growing customer demands, and those that resolve to upgrade their supply chain solutions to Cloud-based models can drive even greater profitability from their eCommerce sales. After record holiday season eCommerce sales, smart retailers will resolve to upgrade their distribution operations. Retailers need to execute against ever-increasing consumer demand for on-time and accurate fulfillment in 2021.
Take, for example, Voxware’s Voice Management Suite (VMS), which helps companies increase efficiency by more than 30 percent and improve accuracy to above 99.99 percent. Using Voxware VMS, warehouse operations realize immediate improvements in accuracy, double-digit productivity gains, reduced operating expenses and complete visibility across the entire distribution operation through analytics.
Companies that choose to upgrade to Voxware’s SaaS (Solution as a Service) subscription are able to deploy voice automation more easily and affordably throughout their distribution operations. Not only does the model reduce the upfront capital investment for new customers by 40 percent, but it also helps them set operating costs and stabilize the year-on-year budgeting process.
Voxware customers can maximize their investment by leveraging additional benefits:
- No WMS necessary
- Operations without a WMS can easily and affordably realize the benefits of a voice solution.
- Minimal impact on IT resources
- A hosted solution limits strain placed on the customer’s IT team, relieving them from server/software installation and management, as well as providing a straightforward, one-time set-up. Additionally, the intuitive toolsets provided enable DC operators to manage the solution alleviating the need to rely on expensive consulting services.
- Cost effective/future-proof
- Includes all hardware/software, automatic software upgrades and hardware device refreshes, ensuring the latest technology is being used.
- Quickly scale usage up and down
- Allows customers to acquire additional capacity when needed (e.g., during a peak period when dozens of additional voice users are brought into the operation) then return that capacity later and only be charged for actual usage.
- Reduce training
- VoxTempo, Voxware’s Natural Language Voice Recognition technology, enables new hires to complete onboarding and time to full effectiveness in minutes. Without the need to train a voice profile, workers can be on the floor working their very first day on the job.
Voice automation is proven to optimize workflows and employee performance for all distribution center functions. From receiving and put away to packing and loading shipments for delivery (and all processes in between), voice-enabled workflows remove time and errors from warehouse activities. Not only must retailers ensure that supply chains can execute online shipments on time and accurately, but they must also be able to ensure fast and convenient returns processing.
As more consumers rely on eCommerce as their means for shopping, automation will be critical and companies that have not taken the initiative to optimize their distribution centers will struggle to deliver the flawless experience customers expect. Consumers are able to switch retailers with the swipe of a finger, so speed and accuracy of delivery will be a critical differentiator moving forward.
For companies that want to maintain a competitive advantage in 2021, resolve to upgrade your distribution operations in the New Year. Voxware is here to help. Contact Voxware today to learn more or to schedule a demo.