Wilkinson invests £1.4m in Vocollect Voice-Directed Distribution and Psion Teklogix WORKABOUT PRO
London, UK; August 21 2007 – Vocollect, the world leader in Voice-Directed Work® today announced UK retail giant Wilkinson has placed an order worth over £1.4 million with its distribution partner Psion Teklogix (UK) Ltd for a new picking solution using Vocollect Voice® technology running on the Psion Teklogix WORKABOUT PRO Speech multi-purpose data collection terminal. The system is set to go live at Wilkinson’s two main distribution centres – at Magor, South Wales, and Manton Wood, Worksop, England, by the end of October this year in readiness for the Christmas rush.
The two logistics centres, which between them, provide Wilkinson in excess of 2.3 million square feet of storage space and house more than 25,000 live stock keeping units (SKU) at any one time. Goods arrive at the facilities from global suppliers and are held before onward delivery to Wilkinson’s 283 stores around the UK.
Psion Teklogix will equip some 630 distribution centre staff with WORKABOUT PRO Speech mobile devices that deliver Vocollect Voice recognition performance on a flexible, multi purpose data collection unit and is the largest order placed for the product which is the result of close technical collaboration between Vocollect and Psion Teklogix. The new technology will replace Wilkinson’s existing paper-based system and is expected to deliver a return on investment (ROI) within 10 months based purely on forecast increases in productivity alone. Anticipated gains in stock control and order selection accuracy are expected to shorten the ROI time still further.
Simon Lowe, Wilkinson’s head of supply chain, commented: “Psion Teklogix was able to demonstrate such a compelling ROI, that there was no reason not to proceed with adoption of the system immediately.”
“We’re delighted to add Wilkinson to the portfolio of leading UK and international retailers who enjoy the substantial productivity and accuracy gains offered by Vocollect Voice,” commented Greg Tanner, managing director of Vocollect Europe. “The size of this project is indicative of the investments into voice that are being made around the world. The combination of Vocollect Voice and the Psion Teklogix WORKABOUT PRO Speech multi-purpose, mobile terminal has met the specific requirements of Wilkinson’s application perfectly. Vocollect Voice is the most trusted and proven industrial Voice technology, used by hundreds of thousands of users daily around the world in many different languages. Its extension on to multi-purpose mobile terminals provides a market expansion opportunity that Psion Teklogix is being very successful in deploying. We’re very excited about this project for both Psion Teklogix and Wilkinson.”
Duncan Smillie, managing director of Psion Teklogix (UK) Ltd, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Wilkinson on this prestigious project. Psion Teklogix has worked with Wilkinson for over a decade and the company has always been technologically innovative. Wilkinson have realised that the introduction of voice recognition systems - which enable order pickers to have their eyes and hands free during their daily routine - can have a dramatic impact on productivity levels within the warehouse. The shift towards greater use of voice technology is probably one of the most significant events in the logistics industry at the moment and Wilkinson is one of the many diverse companies that will benefit from the advantages that it brings.”
About Vocollect
Since 1987, Vocollect Inc. has delivered dramatic improvements in productivity, accuracy, cost reduction and workers satisfaction for mobile employees. Vocollect’s voice-directed work applications literally talk people through their daily tasks, replacing traditional work lists and cumbersome data capture methods with personal voice dialogs. The company’s global network of resellers and supply chain performance experts enables more than 100,000 people on six continents to use voice to improve work every day. Vocollect is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S., and supports its clients and resellers through regional offices in Europe, Latin America and Asia. For more information, visit www.vocollect.com. Vocollect®, Talkman®, Vocollect Voice®, Vocollect VoiceConsole®, Vocollect VoiceLink®, and Voice-Directed Work® are registered trademarks of Vocollect Inc. All rights reserved.
About Psion Teklogix
Psion Teklogix is a global provider of solutions for mobile computing and wireless data collection. The company’s fully integrated mobile computing solutions include rugged hardware, secure wireless networks, robust software, professional services and exceptional support programs. With over three decades of industry experience, Psion Teklogix has customers in more than 80 countries around the world, and over 36 sales and support offices in 17 countries. For more information visit: http://www.psionteklogix.co.uk
VOCOLLECT EUROPE CONTACTS:
Marie-Eve Fonlupt
Raf Jezierski
Tel:+44(0)1628 552900
STRATEGIC CONTACTS:
Amy Redhead
Strategic for Vocollect Europe
amyr@strategicpr.net
+44 1494 434 434
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