Systme U Selects Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA to Increase Warehouse Operations

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Systme U Selects Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA to Increase Warehouse Operations.

Aldata Solution, a leading provider of software solutions for the retail industry, has announced that Systme U, one of Frances largest grocery retailers, has selected the Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA. After a successful pilot program, Systme U has begun operating Vocal PDA with voice-order picking on 50 PDA units.

The Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA is delivering both business and IT benefits to the Systme U warehouse operations, said Franois Lesieur, IS director for Systme U. Our warehouse workers are seeing efficiency gains at the same time that IT is enjoying the flexibility that Aldatas open architecture affords.

Fast growing Systme U already used G.O.L.D. Stock to manage its warehouses and, since 2000, has deployed Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal in a proprietary environment to manage its fresh, dry and perishable products, plus seafood and fresh fish within its warehouses. Adding the Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA to its existing warehouse systems has allowed Systme U to increase both the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of its warehouse systems.

Systme U chose the Aldata G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA for the following reasons:
The PDA solution is compatible with Systme Us current proprietary-based solution, which frees the retailer to replace its current technology investment step by stepin line with its hardware replacement strategyor supplement the existing investment as new needs arise;
Aldata frees Systme U from proprietary hardware and systems integrator choices;
The PDAs multi-modal functionality provides greater flexibility and enables Systme U to study how the PDA can be used in support of other warehouse processes;
The PDA generates real productivity gains in voice-order picking by enhancing the performance of the solution and improving ergonomics. PDAs are proven to improve long-term and short-term productivity by engaging workers on multiple levels.

Aldata collaborated on the Systme U implementation with TIMCOD, which is the hardware supplier and mobile systems integrator responsible for Systme Us WiFi infrastructure and network equipment. The Motorola WT4090 was selected for the voice-order picking project. Both TIMCOD and Motorola are members of the Aldata Mobility Alliance.

Franois Lesieur added, TIMCOD was chosen for its proven ability in this area and their high levels of customer service.

Systme U is an existing Aldata G.O.L.D. customer that is taking advantage of Aldatas flexible implementation services to build out a warehouse system that meets their inventory management needs, said Allan Davies, CMO, Aldata. In combining G.O.L.D. Stock for WMS management with G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA for inventory selection, Systme U has created a sophisticated system that optimizes the movement of product and workers so that inventory gets to stores as quickly and accurately as possible.

Complementing Aldatas existing G.O.L.D. Vocal environment for dedicated voice terminals, the G.O.L.D. Vocal PDA extension permits a wider choice of operator terminals and enhances the potential for new business processes based on multi-modal applications integrating voice and other data management methods (keyboard, barcode reader1D and 2DDatamatrix), electronic tag reader (RFID), voice and photography. Aldata offers its customers both dedicated and multi-purpose voice solutions. Its G.O.L.D. Vocal is used by more than 6,000 operators worldwide thanks to its support for first and second generation voice-order picking.

About Systme U
Systme U is a French retailer cooperative with over 885 independent members and 2007 revenues of more than 16.76 billion. It owns the Hyper U (hypermarket), Super U (supermarket), March U (convenience) and Utile trademarks, which are used by its members. The group targets a 10% market share and a network of 1,000 stores in France by 2010.

Aldata 100% Retail-Wholesale
At Aldata 100% of our business is dedicated to retail and wholesale business improvement. We provide our customers with modern, flexible and integrated software solutions specifically designed to increase productivity, performance and profitability. With over 24,000 successful installations across 52 countries, from convenience store to hypermarket, 480+ live warehouses and customers with 5 to 5,000 outlets, we consistently deliver the goods for retail and wholesale business improvement. Aldata Solution is a public company quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange with the identifier ALD1V.