topVOX Limited specialises in speech-based solutions for efficient and ergonomic work processes such as pick by voice and check by voice. Apart from standard applications in logistics, topVOX’s software suite, Lydia®, is gaining popularity in production, mobile maintenance and other fields of mobile data capture.
Thanks to new Plug & Play features for the highly productive Pick by Voice Suite Lydia®, topVOX now fulfills the requirements of its customers in the logistics industry even better. Those customers are looking specifically for a system for speech-based personnel management in intralogistics that they can integrate with as little effort into their existing IT infrastructure.
Andreas Finken, President of topVOX US, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News,
WLN – As the Order Picking category experts, how has the category been performing in the last 12 months? What are the major trends and developments?
It’s fair to say that the companies that use picking solutions are becoming much better informed about the technologies available to them and are very ‘searching’ in their questions. That said, in our particular specialisation of Voice solutions there is still a lot of misunderstanding based on old ‘Trained Voice’ solutions, which are out of date, and confusion with ‘free’ voice solutions on smartphones.
Modern Industrial Voice applications are far more advanced than this and there is a definite trend towards reliable and flexible speaker independent voice solutions combined with flexible lower cost hardware needs.
WLN – What are your core products and services: what are you best known for providing?
topVOX is best known for as a leading technology provider of ‘Warehouse Voice Solutions’.
However, our core products are:
• The ‘Lydia® Voice Solution’ which is the worlds most advanced Industrial Voice Recognition Engine which sits on a ‘voice ready’ device.
• Our highly flexible Support Model which goes with it.
The topVOX business model is based on sale and distribution of these 2 products. Everything else we provide is purely an enabler to this core activity.
Such as:
We provide other server based software to get the best out of the Lydia® Voice Solution including the ‘Lydia® CoPilot’ training, monitoring and telephone system, ‘Lydia® User and Device Manager’, as well as other server software which may or may not be beneficial depending on the solution being deployed.
We also manufacture our own hardware in the form of mobile voice computers like the Voxter® Elite Edition, headsets like the BlueMaster and scanners like the Voxter® Scan Elite Edition. That said these are not ‘core’ products as such as we work with any voice ready hardware including iOS and android devices. However some customers want a ‘full solution offering’ including hardware and software such as our ‘Plug and Play’ solution.
In terms of services, we have the capability to provide all of the technical and deployment services a customer could need. However, this not always necessary as we can introduce customers to our partners who can often provide all they want or need in one fully voice enabled solution.
Where and when it is appropriate, we can also train customers to write their own solutions providing they have the skillsets. As such, unlike most software companies, ‘consultancy’ costs are not ‘core’ to the topVOX business model.
WLN – What developments or upgrades have you made to your core products and services in the last 12 months?
We understand that the market is changing all the time and that the hardware used in industrial applications are changing very fast now and companies are looking for much greater flexibility. As such we now also have android and iOS operating systems covered as well as all versions of Windows allowing customers greater flexibility and control over their costs and their processes.
Also as companies upgrade devices we have made our licences ‘transferable’. This means that customers can move between hardware devices and platforms without having to worry about expensive software upgrades. They can even use a mix of devices on different platforms in the same application.
WLN – What makes you the ‘go to’ supplier in your area of expertise?
topVOX is genuinely a global provider of voice solutions with solutions on all continents excluding Antarctica. We are also the most flexible in that our system works on any operating system and is totally flexible in its deployment. It can integrate to any host system, and is ‘hard coded’ into many of them. Our solution can also be directly developed on Telnet devices very quickly and easily. The module Lydia® Connect enables the integration of voice in any WMS/ERP system without middleware.
Many customers also write their own solutions after receiving training at our world class facilities in Germany and the USA.
Our team is made up of experienced industry professionals who have worked in the industries they now supply. So we really do understand the key drivers as well as the business concerns.
When we combine this with our highly trained technical ‘wizards’ who are constantly updating their skillsets at leading educational and research institutions pushing the boundaries of the technology in our R&D facilities. It makes for a great mix!
WLN – Have you launched any new products and services in the past year? How are they performing?
Our Healthcare products have taken off really well and are extremely well received in hospitals across Europe to the point that there are now three complete solutions in menu management and selection for patients, logistics supply within hospitals and transport within hospitals i.e. the movement of patients, pharmaceuticals and other goods.
WLN – Which industry sectors are your customers in?
Typically in warehousing and logistics due to the history of the solutions based on ‘middleware’ which topVOX always saw as being too restrictive, so we only use this where necessary. The result being that our approach has opened up many more sectors.
WLN – Can you name some of your major customers and tell us about the work you do for them?
At the risk of upsetting those customers not mentioned we will rather name industry sectors that we now operate in:
• 3PL, wholesale, Retail, e-commerce, spare parts, engineering and anyone else who operates a warehouse – Voice directed warehousing.
• Automotive, Aerospace, Chemical, Industrial – Voice Production Processes
• Engineering, Automotive, Automation, Chemical, Tobacco – Voice Quality Checking & Maintenance
• Security, Construction, Aerospace, Utilities – Bespoke Voice solutions
• Healthcare – Internal Logistics, Stock Management and Control, Menu Management and more on the way.
WLN – Can you tell us about your latest major projects, and what they involve?
Our projects both large and small all follow the same process really, we talk to people about their problems and their impact then explore the causes and propose solutions that can solve them. Customers then realise that with topVOX they can effectively ‘design their own solution’ in the knowledge that topVOX or one of our partners can deliver it at an agreed, very cost effective price.
WLN – Have you made any big moves recently in terms of investment in the business, recruitment and so on?
We are constantly developing our solution and, as most German SME’s did during the recession, we increased R&D resulting in three completely new solutions in Healthcare, Maintenance and Aviation.
In terms of our strategy, we have developed a number of key partnerships that are mutually beneficial and we see these as key drivers of both growth and innovation.
WLN – What was your company’s single biggest achievement in the last year?
In the UK last year, we grew the business by as much as the previous 7 years put together.
WLN – What are your plans for 2015? Are you planning to bring out any more products or services, move into new markets or enter new countries?
Without giving too much away, I can say that topVOX are expecting a great year in 2015. We will be bringing new products into the UK as well as developing key partner relationships.
We will also be developing solutions in android and other open source platforms so this will start to really push the boundaries of what can be achieved on voice. That said don’t expect to see Lydia® voice as a download on a smartphone. It’s just not what we’re about.
WLN – Are you exhibiting at any major trade shows this year?
We are reviewing the trade shows that we will be attending next year and we will be at the Internet Retailing Expo at the NEC on the 25th & 26th March supporting many of our partners.
WLN – What are your predictions for the industry in 2015?
The development of Industrial and commercial Voice solutions is growing in its appeal in already established areas such as warehousing and logistics but also now in new sectors such as Healthcare and maintenance where the opportunities are huge. So we will see a lot more of this.
WLN – What other headline news from your company can our readers look forward to reading about in Warehouse & Logistics News in 2015?
We have now developed some very exciting key partnerships in the UK who will be bringing some very interesting and innovative solutions to the market and who have and are still investing very heavily in their developments using voice. I am very excited about what they are doing and we will be supporting them in their ventures which I think will bring many new and interesting things for your readership to enjoy and be amazed by next year.
Phone: 01327 261 050
Email: info-uk@top-vox.com
Web: www.top-vox.com
YouTube: topVOX
LinkedIn: top-vox
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