To better handle today’s SKU proliferation, warehouse distributors that implement warehouse management systems (WMS) and solutions like voice picking technologies, can save time, money and valuable resources to allocate to other parts of the business, experts say.

The “Pick-A-Little Talk-A-Little” song in the 1962 musical “The Music Man” features the gossipy, hat-and-feather-wearing matrons of River City, Iowa, telling Professor Harold Hill unsavory things about the town librarian. Although today’s voice picking technology focuses on warehouse operations instead of a library’s “dirty book” selections, the technology is drumming up its own attention thanks to its ability to escalate productivity and accuracy, improve safety and ergonomics, and aid in pickup, delivery and in-store workflows.

One of the most pressing problems affecting supply chains is an ongoing talent shortage, according to MHI, the Charlotte, N.C.-based material handling, logistics and supply chain association.