Interview: Transitioning to Voice Picking — A Warehouse Manager’s Perspective

Context: Voice picking promises improved accuracy and hands-free operation, but real-world transitions involve planning, testing, and change management. We interviewed Jordan Meyer, Warehouse Manager at Arrow Distributors, about their multi-site voice picking rollout.

Q: Why did you choose voice picking?

Jordan: We needed to reduce errors and free up hands for handling temperature-sensitive product. Our pickers were spending time looking at screens and handhelds which added cognitive load and slowed them down. Voice offered an intuitive, hands-free option that could also reduce training time for seasonal staff.

Q: What preparatory work was required?

Jordan: We audited SKUs and reworked slotting for velocity, standardized units-of-measure, and cleaned up our pick notes and exceptions. Voice systems are unforgiving of inconsistent data — so data hygiene was the biggest upfront task.

Q: How did you run pilots?

Jordan: We did a 60-day pilot in a 25,000 sq ft site with a single shift. We compared same-shift productivity with and without voice. KPIs: LPH, error rate, and user satisfaction. We iterated the voice prompts and created shortcut phrases to reduce cognitive friction.

Q: What were the tangible outcomes?

Jordan: Post-rollout, we saw 18% higher average LPH and a reduction in picking errors from 0.9% to 0.3% on voice lanes. Training time for new staff fell dramatically — new hires reached baseline productivity in two days rather than five.

Q: What challenges did you face?

Jordan: Ambient noise was the first issue — we used directional headsets and optimized phraseology. Another issue was accents and speech recognition accuracy; we worked with the vendor to expand vocabulary and include sample recordings from our staff to train the recognition models. Finally, battery life on mobile devices meant we had to implement mid-shift charging protocols.

Q: How did pickers react?

Jordan: Initially skeptical, but adoption accelerated when they realized voice meant less time bending to read displays and fewer errors to correct. We created peer mentors and a points-based reward program during the early weeks to encourage adoption.

Q: Any advice for others?

Jordan: Invest in data hygiene, start with high-velocity lanes, and pilot across different shift patterns. Also, work closely with HR to show staff the pathways to higher-skilled roles — they'll be more receptive if they see long-term benefits.

Q: Will you expand voice to all sites?

Jordan: Yes, but selectively. Some small, low-velocity sites still prefer handhelds due to budget. For sites with seasonal spikes and a need to onboard temps quickly, voice is now the default choice.

Conclusion

Jordan's experience shows voice picking can yield measurable productivity and accuracy improvements but succeeds only when paired with disciplined data work, thoughtful pilot design, and an emphasis on workforce transition. The human factor — training, incentives, and recognition — often determines the long-term success of technology adoption.