Case Studies > Using the Cloud to keep up with growth

Using the Cloud to keep up with growth

Customer Company Size

Mid-size Company

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

Voxware Cloud Voice Management Suite (Cloud VMS)
Honeywell HX3 voice-only wearable computers

Tech Stack

Cloud-based Voice Management Suite
Voice Technology

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Productivity Improvements
Customer Satisfaction
Cost Savings

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems

Applicable Industries

Retail
Consumer Goods

Applicable Functions

Warehouse & Inventory Management
Logistics & Transportation

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Warehouse Automation
Supply Chain Visibility

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
System Integration

About The Customer

Memphis-based Hollywood Feed can trace their roots back to the 1950’s, but as recently as 2007, it had only three locations. Since then, Shawn McGhee purchased the company and took control as President, aiming to grow Hollywood Feed so that it becomes the “Whole Foods of the pet industry,” offering unique brands of unprocessed food for canine and feline pets, as well as ancillary services such as grooming, training and proper pet nutrition. Today, Hollywood Feed has expanded to 20 stores at 50% yearly growth with plans to build 12 new stores in the next year. In order to support these growth initiatives, McGhee knew that improving the efficiency and accuracy of their warehouse operations was paramount.

The Challenge

Operating distribution out of a 36,000 sq. ft. conventional warehouse, Hollywood Feed filled orders for 30-50 lbs. bags of pet food using a paper-based picking process. With a small workforce devoted to product selection, the existing picking process did not allow workers to reach maximum levels of productivity or efficiency and left room for inaccuracies in product selection. Knowing their warehouse processes and operations were not optimized to support fast-paced growth - and to accommodate an impending increase in warehouse size to 77,000 sq. ft - Hollywood Feed turned to voice technology to increase productivity, efficiency, and accuracy. “We began investigating voice because it offered a hands-free solution that would best meet our needs. However, we quickly found that few suppliers wanted to talk to us unless we were spending $250,000 or more,” said McGhee.

The Solution

Hollywood Feed decided to deploy Voxware’s high-end cloud-based voice software solution, Cloud Voice Management Suite (Cloud VMS). They had the solution up and running in just 11 days without the help of dedicated IT resources, with 50% of the workforce up and running in two days on-site. Well versed in the often painful software implementation process, McGhee was surprised by how easy it was to install and use Cloud VMS. “Quite frankly, this is the single easiest technology I have ever implemented,” McGhee said. “I’ve had Windows implementations that took longer than this did.” Hollywood Feed has realized many positive results including decreased worker training time, worker efficiency improved by a third, increased accurate order selection, and achieved a return on investment in less than 60 days. With continued growth in their sights, Hollywood Feed plans to scale Cloud VMS to accommodate more workers, increased order demands, and to ensure their customer base remains loyal and satisfied.

Operational Impact

Decreased worker training time
Worker efficiency improved by a third
Increased accurate order selection
Achieved a return on investment in less than 60 days
Plans to scale Cloud VMS to accommodate more workers and increased order demands

Quantitative Benefit