Smith Drug Company Dramatically Reduces Error Rates With Vocollect's Voice-Directed Distribution®

Voice-Directed Distribution Delivers 20 Percent Increase in Productivity and Cuts Costly Picking Errors

PITTSBURGH—November 21, 2005—Vocollect, the global leader in Voice-Directed Work, announced that Smith Drug Company, a full-line wholesale distributor to over 700 independent pharmacies in the Southeast, has achieved a 20 percent increase in productivity while achieving a picking accuracy rate of 99.9 percent since implementing Vocollect’s Voice-Directed Distribution™.

“The pharmaceutical industry is extremely time-sensitive, and the products are expensive, so we are always searching for solutions that provide us with a competitive advantage,” said Randy McConnell, director of information systems for Smith Drug Company. “Since implementing Vocollect’s Voice-Directed Distribution®, we have cut down on costly errors and improved our productivity, which has in turn led to higher profitability and greater customer service.”

With over 130 Smith Drug employees handling an average of 80,000 units per day, the company saw that by improving accuracy and productivity, a real return on investment (ROI) could be realized through modernizing its operation, as Smith Drug Company had been using paper picking lists in their warehouse to fulfill orders. To achieve modernization, Smith Drug turned to V oice-Directed Distribution to help its workers track drug SKUs from their manufacturing origins straight through to point-of-sale. This eliminates any uncertainty in the drug distribution process, and provides greater visibility into Smith Drug Company’s overall supply chain. According to McConnell, the company received its ROI in less than a year.

Voice-Directed Distribution works in concert with existing Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) or Material Handling Equipment (MHE) facilitating real-time, item-level inventory tracking as orders are filled or slots replenished making it easy to have a detailed record of the movement of products through the distribution center.

“Smith Drug’s success with Vocollect’s Voice-Directed Distribution is a testament to the impact voice-directed work has on DC performance and operating results,” said John Steadman, vice president for product operations at Vocollect. “Voice-Directed Distribution outperforms other options for directing work in the warehouse such as paper lists, labels and scanners, making it easier to deliver measurable improvements to accuracy, productivity, customer service and regulatory compliance.”

About Smith Drug
Smith Drug Company began as an independent pharmacy in 1925. Today, it is an independent full-line wholesale distributor to over 700 independent pharmacies throughout the Southeast.

About Vocollect
Vocollect delivers proven gains in productivity, accuracy, safety and job satisfaction to companies seeking to improve their supply chains. The Vocollect Voice portfolio features a complete range of hardware, software and services built for voice performance, reliability and adaptability in the global supply chain and logistics marketplace. Every day hundreds of thousands of people on six continents rely on Vocollect and its worldwide network of more than 100 certified supply chain resellers and channel partners to improve work. For more information, visit www.vocollect.com.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jennifer Clement, jclement@vocollect.com, 412.825.5336

Raf Jezierski, rjezierski@vocollect.com, +44.1628.552945