PITTSBURGH – April 22, 2008
Vocollect, Inc., the world leader in Voice-Directed Work, today announced that its global growth continued in 2007, with over 45 percent of total revenue now coming from international markets across Europe, Central and South America, and Asia Pacific regions.
Roger Byford, Vocollect chairman and chief executive officer, addressed the global economy in his keynote presentation last week at Accel 2008, Vocollect's first customer conference on voice in the global supply chain, with representation from over 80 companies. "Changes in today's global supply chain environment are causing businesses to look for new ways to remain competitive," said Byford, "and successful companies are embracing collaboration as central to the process. We are dedicated to finding new applications for voice to help customers address their business challenges and opportunities. We see you, our customers and partners, as being expert collaborators in helping us to innovate."
Last year Vocollect became the first voice provider to launch a global partner certification program designed to enhance partner knowledge in sales, development, implementation and support of Vocollect Voice offerings.
To date, this has resulted in over 400 professional certifications, with at least 550 expected by year-end. The success of the Vocollect Voice Partner Program means that customers worldwide are assured of the highest quality and consistency of implementation and support from reseller organizations whose staff are trained in Vocollect Voice offerings. Today Vocollect has 99 global partners reaching over 35 countries on six continents.
Vocollect has experienced strong sales and consistent profitability since 2001. This profitability has enabled the company to invest over $15 million per year into research and development efforts, with results including:
• A service-oriented architecture middleware platform supporting all Vocollect Voice applications, which creates expanded flexibility and choice for corporate IT enterprises
• A sixth generation of dedicated wearable voice devices that leverages the latest voice recognition capabilities
• The world's only IP-54-rated wireless headsets designed specifically for the distribution centre (DC) and warehouse, which provide workers even greater freedom of mobility on the job
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Vocollect has deployed voice on more dedicated devices and general purpose mobile computers, in conjunction with a broader array of WMS and ERP vendors' platforms worldwide, than any other voice provider.
Augmenting this picture of global growth for Vocollect has been its penetration in new vertical markets. When Vocollect created the voice industry for distribution, most initial business was in the food retailing distribution market. Today the company has expanded the application of voice worldwide within many vertical markets, including retail, third party logistics, pharmaceutical, automotive and manufacturing distribution. In addition, its subsidiary Vocollect Healthcare Systems (VHS) is delivering growth in its market through voice applications that document and manage care activities for residents of long-term care facilities.
"Global competition is causing companies to ship merchandise to more destinations, under more cost pressure, with more security issues, than ever before," said Byford. "As competitive pressure grows, we believe that voice will increasingly be seen as the fastest way to improve productivity, accuracy, safety and employee job satisfaction, not only in the DC or warehouse through a wider variety of applications, but across the entire supply chain, from the point of manufacture right into the retail store.
Coming from our ventures outside the DC, such as VHS, we also see a proliferation of device refinements that will drive continuous innovation within our company and create enormous potential in many customer-facing occupations across multiple industries."
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