Voice technology can be put to use in your business in new and innovative ways. In this article, we will look at how voice technology can improve warehouse operations. Read on to find out how voice technology can enhance the picking and packing process to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and safety in your warehouse.

Business processes and activities in the warehouse have traditionally been very receptive to automation, with the goal of improving efficiency and effectiveness. Automation has been focused on areas including managing stock levels, tracking stock movements, and more. The processes done on the warehouse floor itself, such as item picking and packing, are now largely run by computer-based systems. One attempt at automation included outfitting staff with handheld systems, but they proved to be impractical or prohibitive since they required the use of both hands, were complicated to use, and made the overall process too complicated. Employees have generally preferred to stick with the simple pen and paper instead. But recent advancements in human-to-computer interfaces—such as the use of voice commands instead of keyboard and mouse, pen-based, or touch based systems—promises to change this.

Using voice technology, warehouse staff and managers can now send and receive instructions via voice, using a headset connected to a back-end system that understands and processes voice instructions and can respond in a natural sounding human voice. This can result in:

• Faster and more accurate order fulfillment: Warehouse staff can be given more specific and accurate instructions allowing them to navigate the warehouse, identify specific bins or pallets containing items for packing, and be able to pick out the correct quantities for the right order.
• Cost savings: Faster and more accurate fulfillment can result in reduced costs over time as it reduces the need to redo work, avoids costly customer returns and dissatisfaction, and lessens other costs such as training time for employees.
• Improved safety: With pallets and bins stacked in long, tall rows, forklifts and other heavy machinery zipping from one place to another, and people moving around, usually in a hurry, with both hands full and sometimes distracted, accidents are commonplace in warehouses. With voice technology, this can be avoided by getting people to focus with voice commands, and freeing up their hands and body to work on other things.

Voice technology in the warehouse is new but promises to deliver great benefits for businesses who employ it. If you are interested, let us know so we can help you find out how UC can enable your warehouse or any other part of your business today.

Like it or not, there will be a time when you have to give a presentation. Most people will use Microsoft PowerPoint to create it and will generally do a good job of setting up the presentation. Where some stumble is if they have to input information or a graph from an Excel spreadsheet into the presentation. This can be a frustrating experience, but there are ways to make it easier.

Here's how you can take data from spreadsheets in Excel and turn it into graphs and charts in PowerPoint.

Before you start

Before you can transfer data from Excel, you should take a look at the spreadsheet. If you have a ton of data and only want to take a certain chunk to make your graph, it would be best to copy and paste it into a new Excel workbook. This way, you can get the data from Excel to PowerPoint easily and turn into a graph or chart.

The key idea here is that you don't want to do a data-dump - putting every single number, most of which could be useless - into a slide. You want to take only the most relevant information from the spreadsheet. It's easiest to do this on a slide-by-slide basis, after you have setup the presentation outline. Copy the information only pertaining to that one slide. If you're not sure whether it will be useful or not, it likely isn't, so don't take it.

Create the graph/chart

Once you have only the data you are going to need for the chart, you can switch over to PowerPoint and go to the slide where you will put the chart. This can be done by:

1. Clicking on the slide's body field - where you enter the main text of the slide, below the title.
2. Selecting the Insert tab from the top of the screen and clicking on Insert Chart. Note: This will only work if the slide's layout supports Content. To change the layout of the slide, right-click on it and select Layout, then pick one that says Content.
3. Choosing the type of graph that's relevant to your data from the window that pops up and pressing OK.
4. Deleting the information in the dummy Excel spreadsheet that comes up by left-clicking and dragging over the content. It will be highlighted and pressing Delete will get rid of it.
5. Copying and pasting the information from the Excel spreadsheet you setup earlier into the window in PowerPoint. Be sure to click on A1 before you paste it.
6. Renaming the chart by double-clicking on the title above the cells.

You can click back to the slide to look at the chart. Often times the data will be opposite. For example, the date will show on the X axis, when it should be on the Y. If you click on the chart, and select Switch Row/Column in the ribbon above the slide, you will be able to re-arrange the information.

Time to format

It's highly unlikely that the graph you placed into the slide is formatted the way you want, or even optimized for your audience. Here are four tips to help you format it so it not only looks good, but can be seen when you give your presentation.

1. Don't get too flashy - Yes, there are a large number and variety of charts available. No, they are not all good for presentations. It's best to pick a simple layout - stick with the classics: Pie, Bar and Line. Don't pick 3-D charts as they are hard to read and can confuse the audience. Also pick colors that can be seen. For example, light green, yellow, grey, etc. can hardly be seen on most projectors.
2. Use big text - It may look big enough on your screen, but you can be sure it isn't going to be big enough for your audience. Use the biggest font size possible, and limit any explanation text.
3. Remove Gridlines - But Gridlines make it easier to determine amounts don't they? Yes, on reports. But this isn't a report, it's a presentation, so it's ok to be general. Gridlines will just confuse your audience, and make graphs look cramped. Remove them by clicking on any grid line in the middle of the graph, and pressing Delete on your keyboard.
4. Test it - Before you give the presentation, it would be a good idea to test the presentation on a screen that is similar to the size you will be presenting on. If that's not possible, get a colleague to look over it. They will likely be able to point some changes out - if need be.

Having attractive graphs in your presentations can go a long way in keeping your audience engaged, and it could increase the chances of your message sinking in. If you would like to learn more about how you can leverage PowerPoint or any of Microsoft's other programs in your office, please contact us today.

Computers and the hardware components that run them are always evolving, getting faster and faster. Unfortunately, small to medium businesses often can't take advantage of the latest and greatest simply because it's too expensive to be constantly updating. This means using older systems that will get slower with age. That's why it's important to take steps to keep your computer running fast.

Below are four things you can do to keep your PC running smoothly.

1. Shutdown properly If you turn your computer off at the end of the day, or it freezes, it may be tempting to flick the off switch on the power bar, or press the power button until it turns off. This isn't ideal for your computer's health because when a computer is unexpectedly shut down, there could be damage to the operating system.

You may notice that when your computer crashes, it takes longer to reboot. This is because Windows is actually searching for, or trying to repair any damage that may have been done. There is a chance that powering down improperly could cause files to become corrupted which may make the system inoperable.

Therefore, you should follow proper shutdown procedures. If you need to shut down quickly, try pressing Control+Alt+Delete and selecting Shut Down from there.

2. Close unnecessary programs running in the background Some programs are written to be always running in the background. If you look in the bottom right of your screen, you should see programs running beside the clock. In truth, most of these likely don't need to be open. You should be able to right click on the icon and close them. This will save computing resources and make your computer run smoother.

A word of warning: It's best not to shut down the antivirus or security software as this will leave your computer open to attack. Also, don't shut down anything from NVIDIA or AMD as this is your video card software. Closing programs like this could cause your computer to crash.

3. Utilize Add/Remove on a regular basis Chances are high that you have installed a fairly high number of programs on your computer, some of which you may not use anymore. Those you don't use just take up valuable hard drive space, and should be removed on a regular basis. You can do this by:

1. Clicking on Start or the Windows Orb.

<li>Selecting Settings followed by Control Panel.</li>

<li>Opening Add/Remove Programs.</li>

It may take a few minutes to scan your system for programs, but a window will open with all the programs you have installed. Click on those you don't use anymore and remove them. We strongly recommend that you do not go into different files and delete programs, this could damage your system.

4. Use a malware scanner and antivirus program This may sound like a no-brainer, but it is still worth mentioning that having an antivirus program and malware scanner is a good idea. Many viruses and other malware often hijack system resources causing the computer to run slower, or crash. A regular scan can go a long way in minimizing this, which means your computer will likely run better for longer.

If you are looking for ways to keep your older systems running at their optimal levels, please contact us today to see how we can help you.