Sport Chalet Vocollect Voice Case Study
Industry: Specialty Retailer, Sporting Goods
Voice-powered results:
Objectives
• Increase DC performance by increasing worker productivity, order accuracy and customer satisfaction.
Results
• Productivity increased by 35% in put-to-store applications and by 15% in order selection.
• Decreased operating costs by switching from RF terminals to Vocollect Voice.®
• Reduced training from one day to hours, if not minutes.
• Achieved payback within nine months.
Future Improvements
• Expand Vocollect Voice to receiving and quality control applications.
Vocollect Voice Enables Sport Chalet To Keep Its ‘Eye on the Ball’
In retail – like sports – speed and focus are king. No company
knows this better than Sport Chalet, Inc., a leading operator of 47
full-service specialty sporting goods stores in California, Nevada,
Arizona and soon, Utah. Founded in 1959, the company offers
over 200,000 SKUs of products and services for the serious
sports enthusiast.
When it comes to competition, Sport Chalet’s focus is crystal-clear.
“We want the hottest products in our stores faster than our competitors,”
said Steve Belardi, vice president of logistics. “We’re considered
the high end in sporting goods – offering products that are
used to climb Mt. Everest to hosting a simple backyard barbecue.
We want the best systems in place that will enable us to maintain
our brand and superior reputation.”
That’s why Sport Chalet implemented Vocollect Voice – to achieve
better management in its DC – not to mention maintaining a
competitive edge in its markets.
“I made a promise to our CEO that any
purchase order that came through the
dock by 10 AM would be loaded onto the
trucks and shipped to the stores the same
day.Vocollect Voice helps us achieve this;
and, it gives me confidence that we can
hit that goal every day because we’re
more productive across the board.”
– Steve Belardi, Vice President of Logistics, Sport Chalet
The Challenge
Improve DC Management
For Sport Chalet, the faster it gets products to customers, the
better. The company doesn’t see this as a challenge per se;
but more of a corporate mission.
“We’ve been utilizing the HighJumpTM warehouse management
system (WMS) since 2003 to streamline our flow of information
and inventory, and have consistently seen impressive
results,” said Belardi. “In early 2005, we started looking for the
next thing in technology and we kept hearing a buzz about
voice. I wasn’t sure if voice would have a big advantage at
Sport Chalet until Vitech, our strategic partner, showed me
otherwise. They strongly recommended voice; and we trust
their judgment, so we started investigating how it would work
within our facility.”
Vitech works with Sport Chalet to successfully apply systems
engineering, delivering services that rein in risks inherent to
development projects such as this. Vitech recommended a
30-day pilot to test Vocollect Voice in one area – its put-tostore
operation. After two days of the pilot, Sport Chalet saw
significant and immediate payback. “Vitech set up a pilot to
mirror our put-to-store process and we saw how our workers
were much faster and how the hands-free nature of voice
allowed them to multi-task,” said Belardi.
Sport Chalet realized a 35% improvement in productivity from
its put-to-store pilot; and, according to Belardi, that was all the
business case justification the company really needed. “When
I saw voice in action, I was impressed with the focus it brings
– workers no longer had to take eyes off their targets,” said
Belardi. “With RF terminals, they constantly had to look down,
which was distracting. Voice made everything more efficient.”
The Solution
Voice Improves Focus, Productivity and Accuracy
With its pilot complete, Sport Chalet moved toward full-scale
implementation of Vocollect Voice across two shifts. Stocking
over 50,000 unique SKUs, and on a given day, shipping 30-40,000 items, the company manages over 20,000 lines per day
in order selection alone. It also has units and lines coming from its
put-to-store operation.
A phased implementation was recommended by Vitech in order to
reduce the potential impact on daily operations. The first phase
included 12 workers in the put-to-store operation and then moved
to the order selection operation. Vocollect Voice is now utilized by
30 workers (30% of total staff) in the 326,000 square foot DC.
Sport Chalet relied on Vitech to manage implementation, and,
according to Belardi, everything went ‘like clockwork,’ with the entire
project – start to finish – being completed in just three months.
“With Vocollect Voice, we can do up to 35% more work with the
same number of people,” said Belardi. “We can maintain our building
because we can move more products through our DC faster, which
is a huge operating cost advantage. Voice works very well with our
HighJump WMS and helps us achieve higher results.”
The Results
Efficiencies Gained Across the Board
Vocollect Voice has been deployed at Sport Chalet since February
2007; and for Steve Belardi, results can be boiled down to three key
gains in its DC operations: productivity, accuracy and worker morale.
“How has voice helped? Let me count the ways,” said Belardi.
“Productivity increased by 35% in put-to-store applications and by
15% in order selection.We reduced training from one day to hours,
if not minutes. Since the voice terminals are body-worn, operators
don’t need to handle them. Because the RF terminals were
frequently dropped, they had to be sent in for repair quite often,
which created downtime. The durability of the voice equipment
has helped reduce our operating costs.”
But perhaps even more important to Belardi is that he can fulfill crucial
customer service promises. “I made a promise to our CEO that
any purchase order that came through the dock by 10 AM would
be loaded onto the trucks and shipped to the stores the same day,”
said Belardi. “Vocollect Voice helps us achieve this, and, it gives me
confidence that we can hit that goal every day because we’re more
productive across the board.”
And, according to Belardi, Vocollect Voice is having a positive impact
on its workforce. “Our workers love voice – they’re not as tired at the
end of the day because it attaches to their belt, as opposed to RF
guns, which strap to the wrist or are hand-held. So, there is less
fatigue overall and a lot more focus, which helps with both productivity
and order accuracy. Our workers are more enthusiastic about
their jobs. Everyone thinks voice is pretty cool.”
Sport Chalet has implemented voice in two areas; but it eventually
wants to expand voice to some functions like quality control and
receiving. “Again, if workers don’t have to divert their eyes in order
to read a screen, they’re going to be more focused, and therefore,
accurate,” said Belardi. “For us, that’s the main draw to voice. I like
the fact that we can speed up our DC operations across the board.”
“With voice, productivity increased by
35% in put-to-store applications and by
15% in order selection.We reduced operating
costs because the voice equipment is
more durable.We achieved payback in
just nine months.”
– Steve Belardi, Vice President of Logistics, Sport Chalet