Leading Retailers Turn to Voice Picking Amid Labour Shortages

The retail industry is navigating one of its most challenging periods in recent memory, with persistent labour shortages, rising operational costs, and growing consumer expectations placing enormous strain on supply chains. In response, leading UK retailers are turning to voice picking technology to maintain performance and meet demand. With tools like BEC’s eSmart Voice software at the centre of this shift, voice-directed warehousing is fast becoming an essential solution for a sector under pressure.

Labour Shortages Disrupting Fulfilment

Retailers across the UK are grappling with a shrinking warehouse workforce. The combination of Brexit, an ageing labour pool, and the long-term effects of the pandemic has left many distribution centres operating below optimal staffing levels. Once managed by flexible, temporary labour, seasonal peaks are now more difficult to resource, forcing businesses to find ways to do more with less.

Voice-picking technology is proving to be a powerful answer to this challenge. By streamlining workflows, speeding up task execution, and reducing training time for new hires, voice-directed systems allow fewer workers to maintain—or even improve—output levels. This helps fill the labour gap and ensures that performance targets and service levels are consistently met.

The Role of Voice Picking in Retail Warehousing

Voice picking, or voice-directed warehousing, involves guiding operatives through tasks using spoken instructions delivered via a wireless headset. The system communicates directly with the warehouse management system (WMS), sending picking, replenishment, or stock-taking instructions and receiving verbal confirmations in return.

The benefits are substantial: hands-free, eyes-free working conditions increase efficiency, while the intuitive nature of voice commands shortens the learning curve for new employees. In a retail environment where product variety, order complexity, and customer delivery expectations are increasing, voice picking offers the flexibility and responsiveness that traditional methods struggle to match.

Accelerated Onboarding and Productivity

Training warehouse staff is often time-consuming and resource-intensive, particularly during periods of high turnover. Voice picking solutions such as eSmart Voice from BEC dramatically reduce onboarding time, allowing recruits to reach full productivity in days.

The software is designed to be user-friendly, with context-aware instructions and support for multiple languages and accents. This is especially beneficial for diverse workforces and temporary seasonal teams. By simplifying the picking process, operatives can focus on task execution rather than navigating screens or deciphering printed pick lists, leading to faster and more accurate order fulfilment.

Operational Efficiency and Error Reduction

Retailers adopting eSmart Voice are reporting measurable improvements in accuracy and speed. Traditional paper-based and RF scanning methods are more prone to human error and slow movement, particularly in large or multi-tiered warehouses. Voice-directed workflows eliminate these inefficiencies by guiding workers through each action, reducing cognitive load and the potential for mistakes.

In environments handling thousands of SKUs and tight delivery schedules, small reductions in pick errors or idle time can deliver significant savings. Real-time tracking and voice confirmations also ensure that stock records are updated promptly and accurately, supporting better inventory management and customer satisfaction.

Strategic Advantage for Multichannel Retailers

As consumer habits continue shifting, retailers manage increasingly complex fulfilment operations. Omnichannel models — incorporating online orders, in-store collections, and direct-to-consumer shipments — require fast, accurate, and adaptable warehousing processes. Voice picking offers a strategic advantage by enabling operations to scale quickly and flexibly in response to changing demand.

eSmart Voice integrates directly with existing WMS platforms and is easily scalable across multiple distribution centres. Its modular design means retailers can begin with a targeted implementation, such as high-volume picking zones, and expand system-wide as required. This flexibility makes it ideal for established chains and fast-growing retail brands.

Data Visibility and Workforce Management

BEC’s eSmart Voice also provides warehouse managers and operational leaders valuable real-time data. Dashboards and analytics offer insights into task performance, pick rates, and exception handling, enabling more intelligent resource allocation and continuous improvement initiatives.

This level of visibility is fundamental in an environment of constrained labour availability. Managers can track productivity, identify bottlenecks, and adjust staffing or workflows dynamically, ensuring that performance is optimised at all times.

Looking Ahead

With labour shortages unlikely to ease in the short term, and customer service expectations continuing to rise, the retail sector must find long-term solutions to enhance warehouse efficiency. Voice picking technology addresses immediate staffing pressures and lays the foundation for future-proof, scalable operations.

BEC’s eSmart Voice is helping some of the UK’s leading retailers bridge the gap between workforce limitations and operational demands. By streamlining fulfilment, reducing training time, and improving accuracy, voice-directed warehousing transforms retail logistics, enabling businesses to thrive, even in a constrained labour market.