Strong international growth for Optiscan
Optiscan Group now operates under single brand in all market areas. New company name and visual identity are linked to closer pan-Nordic cooperation to speed up the breakthrough of voice recognition technology.
Mikko Mertjärvi, Managing Director of Optiscan Group, explains that closer operational coordination is aimed to add momentum to the breakthrough of voice in Nordic and Baltic countries. Finland is a pioneer in utilization of voice, and Mertjärvi estimates that the neighbouring countries are following about three years behind.
― Our business has grown and developed very positively. We have established a new local office in Oslo and strengthened our organizations in Sweden and Finland. The international demand has increased with such a pace that it has become actual to begin operating under a single brand.
Versatile AutoID expert
Mr Mertjärvi emphasises that the company is a versatile AutoID expert. Optiscan Group supplies solutions based on voice recognition, barcode and RFID technologies for managing material and data flows in manufacturing, warehouse and field automation.
As a market leader in the Nordics and the Baltic countries, Optiscan Group is the key driver in the expansion of voice directed work. The daily number of order lines picked with voice gives a clear picture of the success story of voice in warehouses. One order line typically consists of 2-3 products.
― Our customers are currently picking more than 10 order lines every second, twenty-four hours a day. This means that on an average over 20 products are picked every second without any breaks, Mertjärvi notes
Speed and accuracy
He explains that the reasons behind the success of voice recognition are twofold. Voice provides both improved accuracy and a faster working process. In other words, it boosts up productivity, allows considerable cost reductions and at the same time improves customer satisfaction.
― Typically voice recognition increases productivity in the warehouse by 15―25%, simultaneously improving accuracy beyond 99.97%. The impact is so remarkable that voice rapidly becomes almost a standard in certain business areas. It is not possible to maintain competitiveness without the benefits provided by voice.
According to Mertjärvi the development already seen in Finland is now spreading to neighbouring countries. The large wholesale distribution centres are the first to implement picking systems based on voice recognition technology. After these large logistics operators voice spreads to other sites.
