Combining voice, RF, RFID, and other hardware systems to improve real-time data collection is enhacing WMS performance and can lead to dramatic gains in overall supply chain operations.

Everyone knows there’s no such thing as a standalone solution in today’s highly integrated business world, where logistics managers spend time connecting the dots between the many links of the supply chain. Warehouse Management System (WMS) vendors have caught onto the need for more robust technology systems to manage the supply chain, and they are including hardware like RF (Radio Frequency), voice, and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) into their offerings. 

According to ARC Advisory Group of Boston, voice recognition reigns as a top choice for WMS vendors looking to take their products to the next level. A WMS originally constructed around RF scanning, for example, may be more effective at enabling users to assemble mixed-SKU cases of goods via an integrated speech recognition system. And while not fully mature yet, RFID may also play a role in providing real-time warehouse data to the WMS. Where the application can provide value, for example, is in doing fast scans of a warehouse’s contents to figure out exactly what items are there, and where they are located within the four walls.