So when the CEO of a small voice-recognition software company, Datria, reached out to me for a conversation, I jumped at the chance. Datria is a small private player with about 50 employees, and it resells Nuance's speech engine while also counting software giant SAP (NYS: SAP) as an investor.

Jim Greenwell has been CEO for 12 years, and he provided valuable insight into the industry at large, as well as what trends users and investors should be on the lookout for.

Who will rally the troops?

If there's one primary takeaway from our conversation, it's that the voice-recognition industry needs leadership more than anything. I did just call Nuance the clear leader, but let me offer some additional context.

There are two primary layers to serving up voice-recognition: the speech engine and the application software that taps into it. And as Greenwell says, "Nuance clearly has the best [speech] engine out there." He notes that it works in more than 60 languages and has underlying linguistic algorithms to recognize small "phonetic sound bites," which vary greatly between languages.

Datria is one of many voice application software providers that taps into the engine and puts it to use. That being said, Datria uses a plug-and-play model, so it could theoretically swap out the engine if needed, but Datria has been reselling Nuance's engine for 14 years.

Please don't make me call the cable company

It's this application software layer that can cause a negative perception of voice technology in general. Let's say you call up one of your various service providers, be it your cable provider, discount broker, or favorite airline. Many companies use automated voice now, but sometimes those systems come up short on actually interpreting what you mean.

Many of those companies license Nuance's engine, and the recognition side works great, but if the application (which is frequently built in-house) isn't programmed to interpret all the ways you can say "yes," then it might not realize that "absolutely" means the same thing. This leaves many users with an impression that voice-recognition technology is broken, when it's really the application software layer that needs improvement.

That disjointed experience is what the industry needs to address.

Maybe the big boys can help

Enter Apple (NAS: AAPL) . The Mac maker is doing wonders in terms of consumer awareness with Siri, which serves as the app software layer while Nuance's engine runs on the back end. Siri used Vlingo's engine in the beginning but eventually switched to Nuance, while Nuance has since acquired Vlingo.

On the other hand, Google (NAS: GOOG) has Voice Actions built into Android and is likely to be working on a Google Assistant to boot. In contrast, Big G builds its own speech engine in-house, with the help of Nuance co-founder Mike Cohen leading its speech technologies group.

Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) also has a back-end speech engine that competes with Nuance's that it built after purchasing Tellme five years ago, but this isn't an area where Mr. Softy has dedicated a lot of attention.
Nuance has different strategic approaches to its different markets. The health-care and medical-transcription market is one segment where it builds the app software running on its engine, which is important as its largest segment (38% of revenue last quarter). On the mobile and consumer side, Nuance also has its popular Dragon suite of apps.

Whereas on the enterprise side, which barely put up any growth last quarter, Nuance just sells its engine while leaving the app software layer to third parties such as Datria.

Keyboard and mice are so last century

Greenwell spends a lot of time evangelizing for the benefits of voice recognition and debating with naysayers, whose perceptions have been skewed by limited exposure to quality applications. This is where the industry needs leadership: driving awareness to uncover more useful applications. Greenwell is mostly indifferent as to where this leadership could come from -- be it Apple, Google, Microsoft, or Nuance.

He even envisions a corporate virtual assistant that could do wonders for the enterprise. While Siri helps you manage your personal affairs and taps into public content sources such as Yelp or Wolfram Alpha, imagine an enterprise doppelganger that can access HR files and proprietary corporate databases through voice interaction, complete with advanced biometric security (which Nuance already offers) to prevent unauthorized access.

One of the biggest challenges is uncovering all the niche uses of voice technology and subsequently monetizing them, which just makes leadership in awareness that much more crucial. There are plenty of ways to boost productivity to increasingly mobile workforces with voice, and Greenwell says it's "impractical to perpetuate the legacy UI of keyboards and mice" for mobile workers.

A twofer

Enterprise voice applications are a huge market that Datria is tapping into with help from Nuance. It's further evidence of the consumerization of IT and the mobile revolution, which are two of the largest technological shifts in generations -- two trends that investors won't want to miss.

Wireless access points (APs) are delivered with two capabilities: able to simultaneously transmit on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Voice applications can be run on either band (or both at the same time), yet Datria recommends 5 GHz as a best practice for voice applications. Why?

Segmenting Traffic
Like a highway offering Express Lanes, voice and data can travel on parallel but different paths within the same wireless network. The 5 GHz “pipe” can be optimized for real-time applications such as voice. The 2.4 GHz pipe can be used for data transmissions and their “bursty” behaviors. Segmenting data and voice traffic – using standard AP capabilities – optimizes performance for each and simplifies network administration. It also provides better coexistence with legacy 802.11b devices, avoiding voice network speed reductions to accommodate older, slower mobile devices.

Outside Interference
The 2.4 GHz spectrum is broadly used and susceptible to interference from nearby devices and neighboring networks. On a 2.4 GHz network, sources of disruption include break room microwave ovens, video surveillance cameras, cordless phones, Bluetooth devices (such as a cellphone with Bluetooth turned for use with a car), faulty fluorescent bulbs, TDD phones, game controllers, motion detectors, rogue APs and other WiFi networks (especially those run by neighboring companies). Deploying voice on 5 GHz avoids these forms of outside interference, which harm performance via lost packets, increased re-transmissions (more network traffic), automatic speed fallbacks and loss of transactions.

Speed (Bandwidth)
The 5 GHz spectrum has far greater bandwidth allocated than 2.4 GHz. This is reflected in the number of channels available for AP transmissions, and the size (width) of the channels. 5 GHz offers up to 23 channels for use (versus three on 2.4 GHz), making it far easier to avoid “self-interference” from nearby APs (co-channel interference). A larger number of channels on 5 GHz enables denser placement of APs, which is useful in areas where workers congregate (shift change locales, break areas and staging/docks).
5 GHz offers far greater throughput (300-450 Mbps) when compared to the operational speeds for 2.4 GHz which are typically at 11 Mbps or less due to auto-fallback. Top throughput is realized in 802.11n networks, where 5 GHz leverages channel bonding: where two 20 MHz channels are combined to form spacious 40 Mbps channels.

Bluetooth
More and more warehouses/DCs are using wireless (Bluetooth) headsets to improve worker safety while reducing consumables costs from available wear-and-tear. As many more data-related systems tune these headsets to operate like a data packet over the less-capable 2.4 GHz spectrum (though in an unpredictable manner), the many levels of interference on this spectrum can disrupt performance, frustrate users, and drive down efficiency. With a true voice solution running voice on a 5 GHz spectrum, these pitfalls are avoided and performance maximized.

Distance Myth
A misleading truism with wireless networks concerns coverage distances. Physics states that the higher the radio frequency, the shorter the transmission distance. On the surface, it would appear that 2.4 GHz would travel farther, potentially reducing the number of APs required. But there is another significant factor with voice applications: the need for the voice signal to be at least 20 dBm higher than the noise floor (the signal-to-noise ratio) for a quality voice call. As the 5 GHz spectrum is substantially quieter than the 2.4 GHz spectrum (less interference), the usable distance of a 5 GHz call can be just as far as the usable distance of a 2.4 GHz call (sometimes even longer).

Conclusion
5 GHz wireless network options were introduced in 1999 with the 802.11a standard, augmenting the original 2.4 GHz band. Most legacy APs are equipped with both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz capabilities, as are all new APs sold in the past 10 years. When supporting multimedia applications such as voice and video, 5 GHz represents an ideal way to leverage existing investments to achieve high quality real-time performance in parallel with data use. Don’t look now; those APs you have are likely capable of delivering more than you initially planned or have been told recently. The costs of deploying Voice may only be a configuration setting away.

Datria use VoIP to deliver substantially faster ROI in voice directed supply chain solutions, plus create a re-usable enterprise resource for all types of mobile workers, whether in the warehouse, in the yard, doing deliveries, working on the store floor or performing field service.

Focusing on VoIP in the warehouse, what are the most common misconceptions?

Can I re-use my existing wireless network for VoIP?

In almost every instance: yes. Every wireless network installed in a warehouse in the past 15 years supports voice applications, including 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi networks and DECT networks.

If I add VoIP to my existing network, will it kill the project ROI?

No. Network-based solutions like Datria's save significantly on hardware for each worker (much less expensive devices). A small amount of the hardware savings is redirected to network improvements. After budgeting network enhancements (typically adding inexpensive access points), a Datria solution still provides a 30-40% lower 5-year total cost of ownership (TCO) than non-VoIP warehouse voice solutions.

Do I need separate wireless networks to run data applications like RF scanning in the same warehouse as VoIP?

No. Voice and data applications run alongside each other on the same wireless network.

Will voice calls destroy my network traffic capacity?

No, even if a legacy 802.11b WiFi network is used. The warehouse VoIP traffic is segmented onto its own virtual network (VLAN). Voice bandwidth is <100 Kbps per worker, an amount that is more easily accommodated as networks have moved from the 11 Mbps speeds of the early-1990s (11b), to the 54 Mbps speeds from 10 years ago (11a/g), to today's 300 Mbps throughput (11n). Most existing deployments support two different band choices (2.4GHz and 5GHz) often with one being unused (available for segmented voice traffic if desired). Newer networks also support more worker VoIP calls per access point, increasing each AP's capacity by 4-6X. This makes dense worker areas (docks, staging and shift change areas) easy to accommodate.

Are wireless VoIP phones appropriate for a warehouse?

Warehouses require 'enterprise-class' wireless phones, which are different than consumer-oriented iPhones, Droids and Blackberries. Many vendors (Cisco Motorola, Polycom, Ascom Wireless amongst others) offer wireless phones that provide warehouse ruggedness and sealing, shift-long battery life (even in freezers) and are easily managed across shift changes. Workers love that they are small in size, lightweight and very familiar.

The one frequently overlooked truth about deploying a Datria voice solution in the warehouse is that the project pays for a substantial infrastructure upgrade, which is valuable to the enterprise going forward. Many companies move from a 'just enough' wireless network built to merely serve RF scanning, to a robust wireless infrastructure supporting voice, data and video traffic while increasing coverage to 100%. As companies want to add new mobile technologies (an example being video surveillance), the infrastructure will already be in place (and paid for via an attractive ROI). Many IT organizations also see the project as a way to simplify wireless network management and enable more modern network security.

VoIP is a proven and valuable mobility technology for warehouses, and supported by all wireless network vendors. The ability to support a wide-range of devices that can better align with the activities being performed is just one of the major benefits that a VoIP-based solution has over the voice solutions of the past. The ability of those devices to connect to the network via an 802.11x connection or a cellular connection provides even greater flexibility across the supply chain for more visibility and process flow. It merits a closer look as it drives faster project paybacks while increasing company-wide process automation capabilities for mobile workers.

This got me thinking about how human behaviors impact spoken communication between man and machine, such as speech recognition in warehouses. How often does human behavior get in the way of what speech applications expect to hear? For insight, I visited with Datria's Dan Timmerman, VP of Customer Solutions and a person who has personally led speech recognition deployments to over 50,000 users.

On the Most Common Adjustment for Humans Using Recognition and Datria’s Resolution:

"The most common human behavior complicating speech recognition is impatience," says Dan. This is particularly true in the warehouse, where highly repetitive tasks often lead a worker to be thinking ahead, to what's next. When that happens, workers don't always listen to the full prompt and begin speaking before the system is listening. Or move ahead in the process dialogue before a specific task is taken or question answered."

"These behaviors are easy to understand as warehouse workers hear a familiar set of task prompts thousands of time per shift. Isn't it natural for all of us to reduce our listening skills when we think we already know what the speaker is saying?"

"Datria help users overcome natural impatience tendencies using technology and user training. Each worker chooses their preferred speed, making the audio prompts as rapid as they wish. The system differentiates between highly repetitive portions and critical data, so that familiar prompt content can be extremely rapid while critical (changing) info is kept at an easily understandable level."

"Another technology Datria applies is 'barge-in' which emulates the way people behave in typical conversations - one cutting off the other's speech. In a speech recognition application, this allows the user to interrupt an audio prompt and begin speaking the answer. Most customers use this capability carefully, choosing whether to enable it on a prompt by prompt basis. If there is critical data in the prompt, they may require the user to hear the entire prompt to ensure accurate actions are taken. They may also avoid barge-in if the work is close to loud noises (e.g., alongside a production line) which might be interpreted as a person wanting to interrupt."

The Importance of Proper Training for Voice Users

"Training should never be over-looked either," Dan continued, "as users need to understand how talking to a speech recognition application differs from speaking to another person. Training ensures proper speaking behaviors: talking in a natural manner, using known words/phrases and avoiding excessive verbiage. Simple as these actions are they can never be taken for granted."

"For example, some workers talk to a system differently than to a co-worker. They speak to it like they might to someone not familiar with their language, talking more slowly or more loudly. Some may even yell at the system instead of speaking in a normal voice. Others speak abnormally fast, slurring bridges between words and losing enunciation. All these human behaviors can distort speech, making speech recognition more difficult. Proper training - speaking in a normal voice at a normal pace and in a medial tone - ensures extremely high recognition performance."

"There are also times when workers need to ensure their responses are appropriate to where they are in the work process (the application dialogue). They may be answering a different question than the one asked, causing the application to think they are saying something illogical (outside of the expected range of responses). Another scenario is a user saying something logical ('I don't have any') which may not be defined as an acceptable answer or synonym in the system. While new vocabulary is easily added to the system, proper training encourages workers to listen more carefully when hearing an automatic re-prompt or error tone, or to ask for a list of 'choices' when their response is not accepted. Sometimes human behavior is similar to driving and being lost: how long will it take before stopping to ask for directions?"

On How Voice Can Enforce Process and Consistency

"Human behavior can also lead workers to skip steps, such as wanting to report a warehouse item as 'out of stock' as soon as they see an empty slot. They might try to say this before they have confirmed that they are at the proper location, which may be required first by the work flow."

"Answers may also be misunderstood if a user provides multiple answers in a single phrase. Consider a warehouse worker making a correction during a response by saying, 'Check 5-4-4, no it's 5-4-5.' Proper training helps workers avoid such responses, where excessive speech ends up creating garbage input instead of clarity."

"Another very important human aspect is how equipment is worn. This includes proper positioning of the boom headset mic, which needs to be close to the corner of their mouth but not directly in front. An improperly positioned mic might work okay at the start of a shift, but may have problems with heavy breathing later. A missing windscreen can impact microphone performance and thus speech recognition as well."

"Lastly, proper training teaches workers to speak at the appropriate time. For example, don't speak to the system right when you are 'throwing a case;' instead choose to speak just before or after the product is added to a pallet."

On How to Implement a Successful Voice Training Program in Your Facility

Dan concludes, "Datria enables effective user training and behaviors through a combination of activities, including:

• Role-modeling from an experienced worker, with both trainer and trainee on the same transaction with either being able to respond to any audio prompt
• Automated tutorial exercises, providing new hires the ability to practice the task flow without impacting real data
• Providing Job Aids (cheat sheets) so workers will be familiar with the task flow and choices
• Enabling simple changes to acceptable responses (synonyms) by modifying centrally maintained grammars. For example, alternatives (e.g., accepting 'okay' for the word 'ready')
• Letting users determine their current position within a workflow (with commands such as 'Say again' or 'Repeat') or what type of responses are expects ('What are my choices?')
• Providing user statistics that provide visibility into workers who might be under-performing and requiring assistance
• Simplifying the first level of support by recording each worker's actual spoken responses: enabling the diagnosis of user behavior/equipment usage issues versus technical problems when dealing with user reported issues.

In summary, Dan's guidance and Datria's well refined deployment methodologies are a sure path to rapid user acceptance and project success whether in the warehouse, retail store or mobile field service. Now if there was only an easy way for me to leverage these insights with a pre-teen. Unfortunately it is easier for workers to have quick and effective communication with a voice-enabled warehouse application, than to overcome the all-too-human behaviors of a teenager.

Technology lifecycles typically start with highly proprietary 'point solution' approaches when new ideas are embryonic and being proven viable for a particular market or customer segment. Over time the technology is embraced, becoming common commercial automation solutions; the Chasm is crossed and the Early Adopters have invested heavily. Eventually, as adoption moves from the Early Adopters through the Early Majority, Customer demands start to come into play - for compliance with standard IT infrastructures, plug-and-play solutions, the flexibility offered by portability, and increased choice/flexibility - resulting in community efforts to develop standards for the new technology. Standards bodies release community-approved specifications, with the resulting benefits being increased competition, faster and more plentiful innovation, and improved affordability.

The voice directed warehouse is experiencing this type of technology transformation, moving from single-vendor proprietary approaches to those based upon speech industry standards. The evolution of voice is in a transition beyond the reliance on hardware devices that define what a solution is allowed to do or what the ROI needs to be, and moving towards opening the powerful software technology to be used on any device, for any task, for any customer. This new availability has created a re-birth in the market for voice and has allowed smaller companies, where picking isn't an 8hr job for 50 workers, to implement voice and drive savings in their own facilities.

The most significant open standards that have contributed to the expansion in the voice market and freed us all from the device, as defined by the WorldWide Web Consortium (W3C), are VXML and MRCP.

VXML - voice extensible markup language (also: 'VoiceXML'). Just as HTML is the WorldWide Web Consortium's (W3C) standard extensible markup language (XML) for human-to-computer visual interfaces, VXML is the W3C standard for specifying human-to-computer voice dialogues. VXML specifies requests to a VXML browser, to play audio to a warehouse worker or listen to their responses. Solutions that comply with the VXML specification are entirely hardware independent, thereby portable.

In practicality, a VXML-complaint warehouse solution can be deployed with any VXML browser in the market. This provides extensive choice for customers, as there are more than 30 suppliers of premise VXML browsers, and over 40 of hosted VXML portals.

Datria has been providing open and portable VXML-complaint voice solutions for over 10 years, and is a member of the VoiceXML Forum.

MRCP - media resource control protocol. VXML browsers use MRCP to connect 3rd-party speech technologies (speech recognition or text-to-speech synthesis software engines) as needed. As an open specification, it provides VXML browsers with a defined plug-and-play interface to connect any complaint speech engine.

As speech recognition and TTS are rapidly evolving, this provides customers with valuable flexibility to add the latest and capabilities to an existing warehouse voice solution, regardless of vendor. There are more than a dozen MRCP-complaint speech technology suppliers, including such well-known R&D forces as Nuance, Google, IBM, Microsoft and AT&T.

Datria is the only voice directed work automation vendor that has certified multiple MRCP speech technologies from leading vendors. Its customers are not locked into any one-speech technology.

Other - Related W3C standards increase the portability of speech solutions beyond the four walls and truly enable the mobile workforce, for solutions based upon VXML standards. For example, SRGS (speech recognition grammar standard) and SSML (speech synthesis markup language) are two specifications that enable a customer's software solution to smoothly move from one VXML Platform to another. Complementary specifications, such as CCXML, enable useful call control for bridging or transferring calls. Datria supports all of these standards (as well as others).

Solutions that comply with industry standards encourage increased competition and bring great value to customers - innovation, flexibility and increased affordability. The myth's that surround the use of voice in the industrial market (it must be on an purpose-built device to work effectively; server-based recognition doesn't work; there's only one way to use voice in the warehouse) are simply side effects of a market evolution that has redefined what's possible with today's open technology. Whether you're using voice, evaluating it for the first time, are currently a reseller or systems integrator, or simply considering integrating your solution with voice, understand the evolutionary cycle currently taking place and envision the future of voice; it's here.

We caught up with Datria's CEO James Greenwell who shared his impressions of 'the big guys' move into speech recognition.

Q: What is your take on the rumored Apple-Nuance alliance?

A: It is a natural evolution for the big guys to take speech recognition to the masses. Apple has done a fantastic job of creating an ecosystem of apps that change the way we work and conduct business. Apple also has reinvented the user interface of its products. Voice recognition is a natural extension of these enhancements. Today the lines are blurred between work and life outside of work. At Datria we continually ask ourselves and our customers how can we make enterprise mobile workers more productive? How can we use voice to simplify tasks?

Q: Can you provide some examples of how companies are simplifying tasks for mobile workers?

A: Sure, take Coca-Cola for example. The company has implemented Datria's VoIP-based technology to voice enable order picking for more than 3,000 warehouse associates in 100 facilities speaking in three different languages. But Coca-Cola is not stopping at warehouse order picking. Beyond using voice for warehouse applications, Coca-Cola Refreshments saw an opportunity to use voice to automate another key process in its organization. With thousands of employees using SAP every day, security of enterprise data and information is always a concern. The company requires each employee to reset his or her SAP password every 30 days.The old process was for the employee to call the help desk and an agent made the password change The company to had to staff up to accommodate time zones, call volume and schedules. Datria was able to streamline this process. Now any employee can call over any phone to a voice application to guide the employee through the password reset task.This greatly reduces help desk staffing constraints and makes it easier for employees to reset their password at their convenience to avoid delays in productivity.

Think of anything you can do on a computer that is tied to an enterprise resource planning (ERP), warehouse management (WMS) or similar system. Many of these tasks can be done using voice on any device, including putaway, shipping, and directing drivers and service techs in the field. We are able to show the value of these speech applications with less than a one-year payback.

Other applications that make sense for the enterprise are the mundane corporate tasks such as completing time cards, expense reports and other forms. Instead of typing this information on a keyboard or speaking to a live agent in a call center who is typing in information) employees can use voice (with support for more than 60 languages) from any device in any location to complete a wide variety of tasks.

Q: How is speech recognition evolving?

A: Many companies in the market today are approaching consumers and the enterprise with applications on the device. To us the device and dial tone are ubiquitous. It's all about the data or information exchange as part of a transaction. When you take the endpoint and proprietary device out of the equation the total cost of ownership is significantly less. Datria's history in the enterprise is to move the market away from speech recognition on a device to a server-based solution which becomes a node in the cloud-with virtually unlimited power and bandwidth and all of the functionality of dial tone over any device. Take the example of a grocery store chain and think of all of the data it needs to run its stores-SKUs, pricing history, buyer history, and much, much more. That's way too much data to store and sync on a device. Instead, in this example, speech recognition and associated applications are much better architected with a server farm approach -the device becomes a low-cost vehicle in which to get data in and out. And if you follow Apple you can see the evolution from device-based music to the iCloud-based music.

Q: What advice do you have for companies considering deploying voice recognition technology?

A: First, put the network and infrastructure in place that supports voice and data over the same 'pipes.' The same infrastructure that enterprises are building to support video and VoIP supports speech recognition applications.

Next, I would advise companies to look across the enterprise and explore how voice recognition can support a greater group of employees, suppliers, channel partners and customers, and not simply at the corporate office or campus. Merchandise reps in a store can send and retrieve inventory data via voice to ensure store racks and displays stay filled. Trucks drivers can communicate cross docking and loading status. Customers and suppliers can 'speak' to the backend systems for entry, completion or inquiry on any number of tasks. The possibilities are endless.

Ultimately employees want to do their jobs correctly and on time. Employers want jobs done right at the least cost resulting in loyal, satisfied customers. Speech recognition becomes an enabler to these goals.

Did you sense an upswing at this year's ProMat?

"I attended my first ProMat show in 1986 in Chicago and have been to every one since. My 80's wardrobe may have changed but not my enthusiasm for the show. This year's show was the first one in many years that had a renewed sense of energy with exciting new technologies much like the shows back in the 80's and 90's when the material handling industry was quickly expanding. "

Which new technologies caught your eye?

"I appreciated this year's innovative demonstrations of new technologies - robotics, modeling and optimization software (utilized in either material handling equipment or application software) and the next generation of voice technology from Datria. Technology that either reduces labor costs or improves the productivity and the environment of workers in the warehouse.

I am a fan of Datria because it is the first voice technology that is not reliant on hardware, in fact, it is hardware agnostic, significantly reducing the cost of voice - now ROI justifying the use of voice in other areas of logistics - not just in the traditional use of voice in order picking. The technology can be easily adapted to a work process making this technology flexible and expandable into other areas of the supply chain. Voice technology has proven its value in reducing labor costs while improving efficiency and accuracy."

How was this year's ProMat different from recent events?

"For the first time there were a significant number of new technology solutions from Europe. We can learn much from European companies especially in regard to labor reduction through the use of technology. With the aging of the baby boomer generation, that has comprised the vast majority of the warehouse workforce in the U.S., now facing either increased health problems or retirement - labor availability is rapidly diminishing while costs are significantly increasing. Finding competent warehouse workers from any generation has plagued U.S. companies for years. Working in a warehouse is no picnic, to put it lightly. It is hard manual labor, often performed on a grueling schedule. The worker needs to be able to tolerate the difficult physical work and the frequent isolation of working alone in a large warehouse. As hard as this is for the worker, it has traditionally been even more difficult for warehouse managers to find employees who can excel under these conditions. Making matters worse, the warehouse industry is classically dominated by a relatively high turnover rate among workers."

What does your crystal ball show?

"The 2011 ProMat show demonstrated that there is one certainty in warehouse operations for the future - the old method of just adding labor to solve complex warehouse operations will not work. Warehouse managers need to retain their trained workers especially those involved in the knowledge of supporting the quality of their company's products. ProMat exhibited that today's new technologies utilizing robotics, optimization techniques and voice can perform with labor, reducing costs, improving productivity and the work environment, creating discipline to improve quality, efficiency and accuracy.

As you can tell - I enjoyed the show very much - it was a look into the near future - an exciting future and I can't wait for it to happen."

Greg Cronin currently holds the position of Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President with Quiet Logistics, a provider of consumer-driven fulfillment services. He became a board member at Datria Systems this past December. Previously Greg held leadership and executive positions at a number of public and private companies, including Seegrid, Inc., TrenStar, Viewlocity, Manhattan Associates and Red Prairie.

One performance not to miss while in Chicago is Coca-Cola's show-floor talk this Monday (March 21) at 12:45 in Theater F. New cover boy Mike Jacks - the gent gracing the jacket of this month's Modern Material Handling magazine - will be sharing Coca-Cola Refreshment's story on innovation in the warehouse.

"I wonder if wireless phones can be used for affordable process automation in the warehouse (for item selection)," was a notion that Coca-Cola had almost four years ago to the day. That translated into the world's first voice over IP (VoIP) based Voice Picking deployment, supporting 3,000 workers in 100 warehouses (deployed in a record-pace 18 months.)

Come listen to Mike as he shares the why, how, success and what Coca-Cola Refreshments will do next with this technology. He will also be available to answer questions one-on-one following his 40-minute presentation.

Stop by Datria Booth #4568 before or after the session to get first-hand experience with the new world of Voice for the Supply Chain.

Envision a supervisor working in his or her office, when their dashboard monitoring voice picking performance shows - in real-time - that a builder has fallen below expected productivity levels. With a VoIP-based solution, the supervisor simply picks up his phone and calls the worker on the floor to resolve the problem. If it's merely a matter of helping a new worker with the voice picking dialogue, three-way calling enables the supervisor to jump on the transaction with both the builder and the WMS, helping guide the worker through issue resolution. Without even having to leave the office.

This same capability also makes it easy for remote support personnel to help users having problems. Just as a supervisor can call into a builder's transaction, so can a remote support person. From any place, at any time.

Builders don't have to wait for supervisors to jump in though, as they can place internal calls themselves when needing a clean-up on aisle five, or assistance with an equipment malfunction. Companies can control whether calling privileges are restricted to the warehouse, or can be used more broadly to contact other departments. The ability to voice-enable the enterprise and communicate in real-time is greatly enhanced because of the flexibility of VoIP.

Where supervisors probably appreciate VoIP the most is out on the floor, when bringing new workers quickly and effectively to corporate productivity standards. When training a new employee on warehouse voice picking, the supervisor has the advantage of VoIP. Instead of following workers around the old-fashioned way, with a speaker to hear what is going on in the worker's headset, VoIP enables both the supervisor and employee to both be on the transaction together. This way, the supervisor simply role-models the proper behavior for doing successful voice picking, transitioning control at the new employee's speed. Either person can talk to the WMS at any time.

Warehouse supervisors love these new, practical and effective paradigms for voice picking solutions in the warehouse. You will to.

Vendors are smart about this, weaving "Open" into their marketing messages. For fun I tested this by traveling the web to 15 voice directed picking vendor sites. Yes, they ALL had claims about being "open." But more about that shortly.

"Open solutions stimulate innovation," says Mike Jacks, Sr. Manager for Logistics & Transportation Systems at Coca-Cola Refreshments and 4 years into Coke's Voice Pick deployment. "Industry standards attract new, creative ideas and approaches, and enable companies to blend the latest and greatest without significant pain or cost."

"Openness spurs an increase in choices," he continued. "For example, we're not limited to just a handheld of Windows handheld computers, but can choose from hundreds of mobile devices. If Google or Microsoft - big investors in new speech recognition technologies - creates something new and compelling, we can just plug-and-play it into our existing investment."

So openness is goodness. But with everyone saying their solutions are open, how does one discern true value from the vapor? Many of you probably have favorite tests to determine what is truly open. Here are three of my favorite, forward looking tests where openness brings substantial value:

Business Without Walls - Today's mobile devices can connect to many types of wireless networks, providing flexibility. To the supply chain, many networks enable solutions to serve workers beyond the four walls of the warehouse (in the yard, in trucks, at deliveries). An open solution supports a plethora of networks (not just WiFi).

Hot Technology - As Apple, Google, Microsoft, IBM and others innovate, it should be easy to leverage the latest and greatest in speech and mobile technologies. An open solution supports plug-and-play via open standards.

Innovation - Unlike our desktops where Microsoft abounds, the world of mobility is in a constant state of creativity, with new operating systems, cloud computing, user interfaces and similar innovations arriving endlessly. Solutions openly supporting all mobile operating environments (not just Microsoft again) will enable companies to innovate ahead of their competitors, and to lead.

For voice directed solutions, what are your favorite ways to assess openness?