Voices from the cloud help pet food supplier speed warehouse operations

Hollywood Feed’s warehouse is implementing Voxware’s cloud-based WMS solution. Source: Voxware.

Hollywood Feed is a provider of natural and holistic pet food, as well as ancillary services such as grooming and training. With 19 stores throughout the mid-South area and plans to expand in the near future, the retailer wanted to improve its product fulfillment processes at its central warehouse without investing in a costly IT infrastructure.

The pet food supplier chose Voxware’s Cloud Voice Management Suite (VMS) to enhance its operational efficiency, accuracy and scalability. With the software, users don’t need technical expertise; they simply complete a questionnaire before receiving a ready-to-deploy product. For smaller operations, the software also doubles as a warehouse management system (WMS) with voice instructions to workers. Since it’s cloud-based, the software is maintained off-premises by the supplier—the end-user doesn’t have to install updates/upgrades or worry about server crashes.

“As we look to expand our number of stores, we require a solution that can increase the speed and accuracy of our operations, as well as fit within our budget,” says Shawn McGhee, president of Hollywood Feed. The Memphis-based chain has grown from 10 Memphis stores just two years ago to 19 stores in Memphis, TN; Jonesboro, AR; Little Rock, AR; Birmingham, AL and Jackson, MS. “We felt that a hands-free voice solution would best meet our needs, and as we evaluated voice vendors, we found Voxware to offer the most intuitive software package. Its cloud-based voice solution is easy to implement and use, and its subscription-based pricing gives us the flexibility we require. These factors, in addition to Voxware’s reputation for quality, made Voxware a perfect fit for Hollywood Feed.”

Hollywood Feed chose the software to meet the following requirements:

• Increase scalability to adequately manage peak load
• Enhance productivity and safety by employing a hands-free means of communicating critical information
• Improve accuracy of product picking and delivery to cut error-related costs and better serve customers
• Expand store locations without requiring additional investments in warehouse employees or expensive IT resources.

“I am confident that we will see substantial increases in efficiency as we move from manual, paper-based processes to Voxware’s high-quality voice solution,” says McGhee. “Cloud VMS will drastically boost our performance, thereby ensuring we have both happy employees and customers.”

The voice management software helps organizations elevate their operations and enhance the customer experience with minimal IT resources. The cloud-based software bundle includes:

• Software: The supplier provisions and maintains the software and configures it on the devices before the customer receives them.
• Hardware: Voice-ready units incorporate all of the user-friendly features needed to maximize productivity and accuracy.
• Services: Users can choose from pre-packaged configuration options to address their workflow requirements.
• Support: New 24/7 support enables customers to speak with a supplier representative any time an issue or question arises.
• Upgrades: Software updates and hardware refreshes are built into the product, with a delivery schedule matching that of the full standalone product.

For more information, visit Voxware’s website or call 609-514-4100.