Voxware Voice Software And Symbol 3090s Enable Belgian Frozen Food Logistics Company To Improve Tracking, Tracing, Compliance

Belgian third-party logistics (3PL) provider Coldstar operates a frozen food distribution center in Londerzeel that operates at -25 C (-13 F) and picks 73,000 cartons per week. Coldstar used a paper-based picking system until late 2006, in part because pickers could not operate the keyboards of hand terminals while wearing gloves.

A primary disadvantage of Coldstar's paper-based picking system was its failure to provide the 100 percent lot tracking and tracing that is now required by the European Union's General Food Law and that would make any food recalls as safe, efficient and economical as possible.

Coldstar determined that a voice-driven logistics system was the only solution that would comply with the General Food Law and meet Coldstar's other goals of better performance measurement, better worker management and keeping workers' hands and eyes free. The company worked with its warehouse management system (WMS) vendor, Van Boxtel Software B.V. of Boekel, Netherlands to add voice capabilities to the WMS. Coldstar and Van Boxtel Software leveraged Voxware's VoiceXML browser, VoxBrowser™, to voice-enable the WMS, and work with the Symbol 3090 multi-modal mobile computing device.

Luc Put, CFO of VEHA-Groep, Coldstar's parent holding company, said, "A very important reason we chose Voxware was the fact that unlike any other vendor, Voxware did not require us to buy terminals that would work only with its voice system. Instead we could choose standard terminals from Symbol, which we can use for non-voice functions as well."

"Equally important," Mr. Put continued, "was that Voxware could be easily added to our existing system so we would not have to buy a completely new WMS or pay for capabilities that we did not need."

Seth van Gemert, CTO of Van Boxtel Software B.V., said, "Voxware delivers a standard application template that is easy to modify. They also use open technologies, like VoiceXML and JavaScript, which are widely used and well documented. These and other factors made it easy to integrate Voxware's system with our WMS."

Mr. Put said Coldstar is pleased with the results. "Now we know exactly where each lot of product came from and exactly where each lot went and when," he said. "If there is ever a recall, the enhanced data that Voxware provides will allow us to avoid unnecessary destruction of product that is not actually affected. This could mean the difference between losing 1,000 cartons or 10 cartons."

"We often have nearly identical cartons of different products located adjacent to each other," Mr. Put added. "When a picker arrives at a product location, the Van Boxtel system requires him to speak a location code. If he is standing in front of the wrong product, the system recognizes this and corrects the worker before he picks the product."

Mr. Put also noted that the Voxware system's performance in a noisy freezer environment has been outstanding. By early November of 2006, Coldstar was using the Voxware system to pick items for the company's 15 primary customers. Coldstar planned to expand system use to include all customers by the end of 2006. And sister company Frisor plans to expand the WMS of Van Boxtel Software with this Voxware voice solution during 2007.