HAMILTON, N.J. and SANTA ANA, Calif.¡ªVoxware Inc., a supplier of software for voice-based warehousing operations, and Innovation Solutions, a software integrator specializing in solving supply chain business problems, said this week they have joined hands in a partnership in which Innovation will leverage Voxware¡¯s Voxware 3 platform to enhance their WMS deployments.
This will allow Innovation¡¯s WMS to better adapt to changing workflows, labor and technology, according to a statement issued by the companies. Voxware 3 is comprised of multiple tools geared towards designing, developing and integrating voice-enabled logistics services. The statement also explained that Voxware 3 will enable Innovation Solutions to build effective supply chains that provide increased workforce productivity and accuracy, improved warehouse safety, and real-time management visibility to order status. Innovation¡¯s service offerings focus on WMS and ERP integration, including SAP
Voxware Director of Business Development Rich Hayden told LM in an interview that in order to configure voice applications to each client¡¯s specific needs as quickly and efficiently as possible, Voxware needed an integrator who understands how to get data out of the system and then match it to the business process needs of the customer. This, he explained, was a major driver for this partnership¡¯s genesis.
¡°The execution of the voice devices tells each warehouse worker what to do, but to get that data into that simple format, it needs to be taken from a WMS,¡± said Hayden. ¡°The Innovation Solutions team knows how to quickly get the voice data into the right format from the end customer. It has 150 years of combined experience doing this ¨C which is a tremendous amount of experience in the WMS/ERP arena.¡±
Hayden said that through this partnership end-users, such as warehouse and distribution center workers and materials handling integrators, will get voice deployed in the way they want it deployed based off of what their best process is. Another benefit he added is that it will occur in a very timely fashion¡ªinstead of taking months to do this, it will take weeks. End users will now have voice deployed in a 4-to-8 week time period, according to Hayden.
When asked how he envisions this partnership working, Hayden cited two possible ways. The first one being Innovative Solutions helping Voxware in SAP voice implementation, because Innovations WMS expertise will allow Voxware to implement voice quicker and more efficiently, because they can help Voxware or one of Voxware¡¯s partners with the unit, the voice recognizer, the voice application and / or the data integration.
The quicker voice is implemented, the less money the end user spends and the bigger their ROI,¡± noted Hayden. ¡°The second way is for them to actually deploy Voxware¡¯s voice solutions independently.¡±
With the marketplace quickly moving towards standards-based voice solutions that work well with enterprise-wide solutions, Voxware 3 will add value to Innovation¡¯s offering by streamlining Innovation¡¯s services and allowing it to bring greater efficiencies to customers, said Daniel Proulx, Innovation Solutions president, in a statement. He added that this partnership will also help Innovation to enable the seamless conversion and execution of voice throughout the supply chain.
