The principal idea behind third-party logistics is that a company outsources logistics to a service provider like Itella Logistics and thereby is able to concentrate on its core business.

Multi-client Picking Environments

The principal idea behind third-party logistics is that a company outsources logistics to a service provider (such as Itella Logistics) and allowing them to concentrate on their core business. The customer is freed from fixed costs and pays only for the space used and work done. Basic services can be upgraded with different value-added services: products and equipment can be prepared for store or end user.

At Itella Logistics's Voutila 3PL warehouse the voice solution is used for picking many kinds of products, for example vehicle spare parts, electronics, clothing and construction equipment and materials. In the hands of Itella Logistics voice solutions work well in multi-client picking environments. In addition, terminal sorting is handled with voice technology.

Customer Specific Customisation

Development Director Mika Larinen and Operative Manager Jarkko Vuorenheimo have been in charge of implementing the voice solution. Larinen explains that the implementation of voice-directed solution in multi-customer environment requires customer-specific customisation. Each customer has its own implementation project.

- The picking of the products is carried out according to a specific model. For one customer the products are picked in bulk by full carton, for another one the same products are picked in single items. All these instructions need to be stored in the system, so that the picker knows exactly what to do, explains Larinen.

Positive Customer Feedback

- Voice is a good and a well-functioning solution that helps with the picking of the orders, says Vuorenheimo.

According to Larinen and Vuorenheimo the cooperation with Optiscan has worked well, and they are also pleased with the results of the project. Customer feedback has been positive because picking is now better timed and more accurate than before.

- The efficiency has improved by 10-30% depending on the customer, and the level of errors has been reduced by half. With one customer the picking accuracy during the first 6 months was up to a perfect 100%, says Vuorenheimo.

Larinen and Vuorenheimo emphasize that thanks to voice the working process is transparent. This enables better supervision, tracking and control of the entire process. The mobility of the staff is also higher because customer-specific instructions are included in the system and there is no need for pickers to rely on their own memory.

Itella Group, the parent company of Itella Logistics has now recognized the benefits of voice. Voice-directed picking project won two categories in Itella Group`s internal InnoMoves competition where development projects from eight countries competed with each other on merit. The voice-solution also received a special recognition in the competition.