Maersk’s integrated logistics arm aims to improve its inventory management system by outsourcing the job of checking pallet locations to a drone. In collaboration with Verity, Maersk is trying out a drone device that flies around the warehouse and scans every pallet in sight.
Verity’s warehouse drones navigate from pallet to pallet, collecting accurate inventory data in three dimensions by scanning barcodes at any height using onboard, high resolution cameras.
The system requires one day of operator training, and the electric-powered drones return to the battery charging pad when necessary, operating on nights or weekends and without overhead lighting turned on.
The drones take photos of SKUs on pallets to identify inventory errors, such as missing or misplaced pallets.
Once the data is collected, the system compares the findings with data stored in the warehouse management system (WMS) and then distills that information into critical insights delivered directly to users via the user dashboard.
The results are cloud-based and shareable, providing actionable warehouse data that offers better analytics for supply chain leaders.
According to Maersk, warehouse inventory management is one of the most important barometers for supply chain flow, financial cost exposure and business decision-making. It is also one of the most difficult, repetitive and tedious tasks to perform consistently in warehouses, with quality of data often questioned and requiring workers to work at heights.
We wanted to deploy a safer, more accurate, data-driven inventory solution that addressed our decarbonization goals for customers and prevented our workforce from working at heights
said Erez Agmoni, Senior Vice President of Innovation & Strategic Growth for Maersk North America.
