The challenge:

Outdated hardware limited operational efficiency in warehouses, as well as team member satisfaction and customer service.

The solution:

Feature-packed wireless headsets paired with smartphones allowed picking operators adaptability and situational awareness as they moved through busy warehouse lanes preparing pallets. OpenComm enhanced the functionality of new software, boosting preparation reliability and customer satisfaction.

Tell me more:

Every day in Carrefour warehouses, millions of packages are prepared and sent out to stores. The logistics behind the hypermarket company grew faster than the system it operated on, which lacked flexibility and limited employees’ ability to serve customers with their desired level of accuracy and efficiency.

Project EOL:

Evolution Operations Logistiques was designed to turn pickers into business collaborators by first replacing their heavy equipment with lightweight, modern tools. OpenComm turned out to be more versatile than just a lightweight headset - its open-ear design ensured pickers were no longer isolated from their environment, making them a much safer alternative. Carrefour could envision how increased situational awareness while still hearing audio prompts from the software would boost productivity.

Proof of concept testing was conducted at seven pilot sites to ensure functionality met needs. In fact, expectations were surpassed. Because OpenComm headsets are primarily made of durable titanium coated in silicone rubber, they could endure challenging conditions, such as freezers where the temperature can drop to -20 degrees C, without malfunction. The dual noise-canceling boom microphone delivered clear vocal prompts, a key element to the accuracy of their proprietary software.

As Carrefour plans out the large-scale deployment to 100% of their 65 warehouses (36 in 2023, then 29 in 2024), they’re continuing to solicit feedback from pickers. Nine out of 10 feel the EOL solution, including the OpenComm headset, are considered rewards. SO it’s full speed ahead in their effort to modernize their supply chain – and ideally similar organizations will learn from their work!

The challenge:

Members working in shared offices and from their homes were increasingly hindered by disruptions to the clear audio necessary for efficient virtual meetings, including nearby voices and external noises.

The solution:

Members were given OpenComm headsets to use for all virtual meetings, equipped with a dual noise-canceling boom microphone that eliminated virtually all ambient noises. As disruptions were reduced and meeting times shortened, member frustration decreased.  

Tell me more:

The CMSWU group relies on virtual meetings conducted by members that work from various types of corporate and home offices. Despite efforts to control their environment, members found that people on the other side of conference calls and virtual meetings often dealt with choppy audio, required information to be repeated and even missed important communication. The IT team was tasked with finding solutions that would deliver more professional and productive meetings.

OpenComm bone conduction headsets were tested in a small control group amidst concern about how the open-ear audio experience would affect the headset users. The result exceeded expectations from every angle. The boom microphone only picked up the speaker’s voice, repressing any surrounding sounds from the environment they were in. Users reported that the adjustability of the mic delivered a sense of security that they’d be heard clearly, and therefore could speak comfortably in a normal tone (versus unconsciously raising their voices to speak over potential noise).

Ability to multipoint pair to both a PC and smartphone provided an additional level of convenience for those that took meetings from both devices depending on circumstances. And the battery life allowed for all day use without pausing to charge.