Honeywell integrates voice technology into SAP Business One

Honeywell recently announced the launch of a fully integrated voice-directed productivity solution for SAP Business One users.

Honeywell signed an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement with SAP to integrate and offer its Guided Work Solutions as an add-on for SAP Business One. The bundled solutions are expected to provide distribution center customers with improved productivity, accuracy and safety.

Honeywell’s Guided Work Solutions is a software application that runs on the Android operating system and is based on the company’s industry-leading Vocollect voice technology. The worker-focused software is integrated with SAP Business One, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform designed for small and medium enterprise distribution centers.

“For more than 20 years, distribution centers globally have achieved significant productivity and accuracy gains by empowering their workers with Honeywell Vocollect voice solutions,” said Bill Birnie, general manager of voice solutions for Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions. “With our new Guided Work Solutions, we can help small- and medium-sized enterprises smoothly and quickly deploy the same voice-directed technology used by some of the world’s largest and most complex fulfillment operations.”

The integration with SAP software makes it easy for workers to perform complex warehousing tasks, such as picking, receiving, put-away, packing and shipping inventory. For example, when SAP Business One receives a work order, Honeywell’s Guided Work Solutions translates that order into a set of optimized interactive voice commands to allow workers to perform their tasks hands-free and eyes-free.

The software runs on a wide range of compatible hardware, including Honeywell’s mobile computers, as well as other Android mobile devices. The Android platform provides support for multiple interfaces including voice, scanning and keypad.

SAP Business One is a software application that provides small- and medium-sized enterprises with solutions to manage warehouse operations, logistics and order fulfillment. Through the SAP partner program, SAP provides companies like Honeywell with access to technologies and platforms to build integrated solutions that are easy to deploy for end-users.

By allowing workers to receive instructions and capture data hands-free and eyes-free, voice technology improves efficiency, accuracy and worker safety. It also speeds up training times for onboarding new workers by simplifying and standardizing workflows in distribution centers and warehouses.

“Businesses are working to grow their operations while addressing their customers’ expectations for speed and accuracy. Our bundled voice solution will allow even the smallest businesses to make their distribution operations more efficient by adding voice to their existing warehouse management system,” said Birnie.

Nearly 1 million mobile workers use Honeywell Vocollect voice solutions in distribution centers around the world. More than 80 percent of the top supermarket chains in North America have deployed Honeywell’s voice technology. The technology has been shown to increase warehouse worker productivity up to 35 percent, while reducing errors by up to 25 percent.