Page 20 - Warehouse Annual 2022

WAREHOUSE SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE

How to maximise warehouse

productivity – without robots

BY VIKRAM PAVATE, CEO OF LOCIX INC., COURTESY SUPPLYCHAINBRAIN.COM

As operators consider robots and full automation, they should first consider how they can leverage
warehouse spatial intelligence (WSI)-based analytics to improve operations and meet demand while
saving costs, allowing them to gain a comprehensive understanding of warehouse activity.

he inexorable growth of e-commerce and tight labour systems leverage rich data with a high level of spatial
constraints have led operators to consider fully- context in real time. These new data sets are well suited
Tautomated warehouses. In contrast to traditional for the advances that have taken over the past decade in
warehouse operations, e-commerce warehouses require advanced analytics, including computer vision, machine
a significantly higher number of workers because picking, learning and artificial intelligence.
packing and shipping e-commerce orders is more labour
intensive. However, the reality is that all warehouses are WSI solutions can be deployed stand-alone or easily
not ready to deploy them. This boils down to a number integrated with open application programming interfaces
of factors, including cost, complexity and time. So, what (APIs) with current WMS, TMS, learning management
solutions can these warehouses put in place to manage systems (LMS), Internet of things (IoT) and enterprise
the growing demand? resource planning (ERP) software applications to extend
and enhance their respective value propositions. The
While exploring the potential to introduce automation ease of integration allows operators to analyse massive
in a manner that augments their current processes, amounts of data without the need for expensive upgrades
warehouse operators are also actively exploring potential and updates to their current legacy software systems.
opportunities to leverage data and advanced analytics Unlike legacy methods that use periodic and batch-level
to achieve the same goals. While increasing levels of data analytics, WSI captures data and analyses it in real
analytics are being integrated into traditional supply chain time, allowing improvements to be made immediately to
execution software applications such as warehouse maximise benefits.
and transport management systems (WMS, TMS), etc.,
warehouse spatial intelligence (WSI) solutions have A few of the representative benefits that WSI-based
emerged as a new category of cloud-based data and solutions bring to warehouses include:
analytics. This new spatiotemporal approach combines
unique spatial and real-time data sets (precise indoor Worker productivity. WSI solutions allow operators to
location, images and videos and advanced sensors) improve overall warehouse efficiency by reducing travel
with cloud-based advanced analytics to gain actionable time and distance travelled per worker. By integrating WSI to
insights and automate decision-making without human WMS, slotting, labour scheduling and inventory placement
intervention. WSI solutions have been demonstrated to can be improved through intelligent recommendations
enable high ROI and fast payback by improving real-time to boost productivity. WSI solutions have now been
operational visibility, enabling logistics and warehouse demonstrated to increase worker productivity by up to 30
operators to significantly increase worker productivity, percent.
asset utilisation and safety.
Asset and space utilisation. WSI solutions can
Smarter with space also accurately and precisely locate and track forklifts,
The deployment and use of WSI solutions is cost effective assets and other key material handling equipment in a
and highly scalable due to the commercialisation of timely manner to provide continuous data and improve
cameras, battery-operated wireless sensors and cloud- resource allocation. Detailed congestion analytics can
based services, enabling operators to achieve high ROI be used to improve scheduling, optimise warehouse
and rapid time to value. In contrast to traditional data layouts, reduce aisle widths and drive increased space
capture technologies based on barcodes and RFIDs, WSI utilisation.

18 Warehouse Annual 2022