An intelligent new way of looking at inventory and people management for warehousing and dispatch…

WITH THE ‘JUST-IN-TIME’ system dominating retail and warehousing across the world, it is imperative to profitability that any margin for error is reduced.

Just-in-Time inventory management requires a fine balance between keeping stock levels down to a minimum, reducing the need for floor space and storage, and anticipating demand.

If inventory levels are too low, it results in delays for clients and customers who will always source the most efficient suppliers who won’t let them down.

With competition so prevalent in the age of multinational online sellers, local businesses with more of a bricks and mortar presence need to deliver the best customer experience possible.

Conversely, dedicated online sellers that focus on large scale warehousing as their operational base with little or no real-world presence need to ensure they compete with the convenience and instantaneity of physical retail.

Aside from efficiency of dispatch, accurate forecast of demand is key to optimising warehousing operations. Too much stock leaves a range of storage and safety issues. Too little in certain inventory lines means too long a wait for clients and customers, who may go elsewhere for a given purchase – or possibly take all future business to a competitor if repeatedly disappointed.

While fit-for-purpose computer systems exist to assist warehouse managers in day-to-day logistical operations, most are fairly rigid and do not possess the ability to adapt to their unique environment and monitor it in real time to effect change.

And none of these existing systems effectively monitor how employees act and interact in the workplace in any meaningful way, largely limited to shift commencement and cessation.

Put simply, these systems lack any sort of intelligence, leaving management to make any sense of the data at hand and make changes long after detrimental occurrences and trends emerge.

Now, an Artificially Intelligent solution for warehousing and despatch has arrived.

Foresense Technologies is revolutionising commerce, government, agriculture and industry, making day-to-day processes and procedures smarter and more efficient.

At its core, the Foresense platform utilises proprietary AI to identify areas for improvement and guide commercially based decisions to increase operational KPIs and efficiencies with highly detailed, quantifiable behavioural data.

Foresense facilitates the collection of presence data and the analysis of how people act – and interact – on-site in real world settings to provide real-time analytics of traffic inside and around any physical location.

The technology can also be utilised to monitor stock as it moves across the warehouse floor – or in freight across the globe, accurately logging demand spikes and seasonal variations to better anticipate future demand.

In a similar way to how behavioural data is utilised online through careful analysis of aspects such as dwell time, session duration, and return visitations, the Foresense platform collects data through sensors integrating with smartphones, or on-person technology such as bracelets or smart ID cards.

Specialised sensors can also be placed with particular stock lines to determine exactly how they move across the warehouse floor in real-time – or their exact location at any given point anywhere in the world via 5G network technology.

Foresense allows accessibility in real time so highly-informed, proactive decisions can be executed as trends are actually emerging.

As a complete employee journey mapping solution, individual data such as area arrival and departure time and the breakdown of time spent within different floor areas is collected.

Track employee movements as they move across different floor areas to improve workflow and productivity.

Exact employee locations at any point in time can easily be accessed, and automated real time messaging can be implemented to raise instruction, alert or alarm.

Break down employee flow from arrival, through to work preparation and actual work commencement to gain behavioural insight and increase productivity.

Accurately log arrival and departure times or shift commencement and cessation data.

Precisely monitor mealtime, break and restroom visit durations for individual staff members.

Monitor time spent working to ensure adequate breaks are taken for staff wellbeing and to comply with appropriate workplace regulatory frameworks.

With the assistance of Foresense AI, managers can identify exactly what areas need improvement to make the site and its facilities more efficient and user friendly for employees identifying site layout and design changes to improve work flow.

In this way, concrete justification is provided for expenditure on new production equipment and other work facilities such as parking, dining, change and break rooms and rest room facilities.

With the many stages and many different peoples involvement in the processing and logistics phases, many opportunities for error and mistakes from both humans and machinery, routinely arise.

Foresense addresses many of these potential failures to keep goods safer in transport resulting in less stock losses and greater customer satisfaction.

During transport, accurately log inventory count, package tracking and unique user data for who is handling stock at any point in time.

For sensitive goods such as dangerous chemicals or perishables, sensors can specifically log temperature control dynamics including open/shut time of transport packaging and ambient air temperature to log any safety issues and raise alerts where possible breaches may occur – or have occurred.

The technology can also complement existing security surveillance systems. The AI platform detects loitering, erratic behavior and unauthorised entry and can deploy staff in real time as issues develop. For example, if an employee gains access to an area where they should not be, such as management only areas, an immediate security alert can be raised.

As we learn to live with COVID, Foresense can also complement existing digital tools to monitor and log employees and visitors as they move across the site to assist contact tracers and keep everyone safer. In this way it can also be used to monitor and control the number of people gathering in any given area to address density regulations, social distancing requirements and total numbers on premises.

Foresense can identify those who have not recently received negative COVID testing where such laws have been introduced and those who bypass QR code scan points, sending digital reminders to scan in, taking responsibility out of the hands of management.

The technology can even be used for personal safety concerns. For example where a person is not moving across an area as normal, or has been stationary for an excessive amount of time, indicating illness, collapse or unconsciousness.

Foresense Technologies offers a powerful array of AI guided analytical tools to improve operational efficiencies for warehousing and despatch operations.

With irrefutable qualitative data readily available, minute aspects of day-to-day operations can be scrutinised with greater clarity and key decisions can be made to improve on-site facilities and overall safety conditions and for all employees and visitors.

With the key ability to monitor stock and people in real time through the power of AI, optimum efficiency can be achieved in all procedural areas – from stock on the floor right through to delivery.

And with customisable options and full integration with existing inventory management systems, each unique operational requirement can be addressed on a case by case basis.

The future of warehousing and despatch is here.

That future is Foresense.