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Tag: wearables

AI Agent Trained with Supply Chain Expertise

Posted on by David Priestman

Rufus Labs, Inc has launched Rufus AI, an AI tool powered by wearable technology, designed to optimize warehouse productivity. Rufus AI empowers warehouse operations managers to make data driven predictions enhancing operational efficiency, increasing productivity and boosting profitability for warehouses.

Rufus AI is a natural extension of Rufus Labs’ WorkHero dashboard. The dashboard presents real-time and historical data from multiple sources in the warehouse. Using Rufus AI, warehouse management can now interpret this data to enhance decision making capabilities, offering predictive analytics that will improve the day-to-day operational running of the warehouse.

“AI has the potential to significantly benefit the supply chain sector,” said Gabe Grifoni, CEO of Rufus Labs. “At Rufus Labs, we’re committed to empowering our customers with valuable data. Now, with Rufus AI integrated into the WorkHero dashboard, the tool instantly and intelligently analyzes and interprets that data. It’s as if we’ve installed a Data Analyst in every warehouse.”

Using the power of Generative AI, combined with Rufus Labs’ experience and expertise in the supply chain, Rufus AI helps optimize peak planning, manage labor requirements and streamline overall warehouse efficiency.

“We spoke with customers about their data, and this is the tool they were crying out for,” continued Grifoni. “We have already doubled warehouse productivity with Rufus WorkHero, but we wanted to go one step further. With Rufus AI we have deployed a tool that enables our warehouse customers to make predictions that are tailored to their business needs and warehouse operations. This will allow the whole supply chain to become even more efficient.”

“In the short time we have been using Rufus AI it has already been a game changer for us,” said Derrick Vanover, Director of IT, BR Williams Trucking, who has been beta testing the innovative solution. “Thanks to Rufus we’ve always had access to the data we needed, but now we have a tool that can process this information for us in seconds and present it in multiple board-friendly formats. This provides us with the ability to convey critical insights clearly and effectively to our leadership team and make forward-looking decisions.”

Rufus AI is powered by OpenAI’s advanced ChatGPT4 technology. In collaboration with Heft IQ, specialists in AI-driven, supply chain analytics, Rufus Labs has harnessed its extensive industry experience to deploy the first specialized, generative AI tool designed specifically for warehouse barcode scanning technology.

“Rufus AI is a great tool and we’re proud of our involvement in it. We create advanced tools for decision making in the supply chain and logistics sector and working with Rufus Labs on Rufus AI felt like a natural extension of that,” said Learie Hercules, CEO at Heft IQ. “Rufus AI creates a big shift in how warehouses can use their own data to improve their business decision making.”

Rufus AI analyzes the user’s individual data from their warehouses, to offer incredibly powerful predictions and recommendations. Users access Rufus AI through a generative AI interface, using typed questions and prompts or voice requests.

“AI represents the future of industry and can deliver so many benefits,” said Grifoni. “We have now brought this advanced functionality into the supply chain, and we’re excited to see the massive advantages it will deliver.”

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New Wearable Barcode Scanner

Posted on by David Priestman

WEROCK Technologies GmbH, an innovative provider of industrial IT solutions, introduces the Rockscan W100, a wearable barcode scanner that sets new standards for efficient and flexible scanning. The Rockscan W100 enables effortless and fast hands-free scanning, offers the best scanning performance in its class and is rugged and durable.

Working in industry, logistics and retail, numerous barcodes need to be scanned every day. The Rockscan W100 was developed to speed up and optimize this process. As a workflow accelerator, it enables effortless and fast scanning while keeping the user’s hands free. With state-of-the-art technology and multiple carrying options, the Rockscan W100 offers a flexible solution to the challenges of the traditional barcode scanning process.

The Rockscan W100 is not only powerful, but also rugged and durable. It is ideal for harsh environments where conventional scanners fail or are not reliable enough. It can withstand drops from up to 1.5 meters onto concrete and more than 2000 drops from 1.2 meters. It therefore exceeds the drop resistance according to MIL-STD-810G and is waterproof and dustproof according to IP65.
The wearable barcode scanner is equipped with a number of innovative features that make it one of the most powerful and versatile barcode scanners on the market. These include

– Easier and faster scanning: The Rockscan W100 features advanced scanning technology that enables fast and easy barcode scanning with a read range of up to 14 meters.
– Long battery life: The Rockscan W100 is equipped with a powerful battery that enables up to 5,000 scans per charge.
– Rugged construction: The Rockscan W100 is designed for use in harsh environments and can withstand drops from up to 1.5 meters onto concrete.
– Flexible applications: The Rockscan W100 can be used as a pocket scanner, ring scanner or back of hand scanner.
– Intuitive feedback: The Rockscan W100 provides acoustic, haptic and visual feedback to avoid errors.

“We are proud to launch the Rockscan W100, an innovative barcode scanner that meets and exceeds our customers’ requirements. It is the result of our many years of experience and expertise in the field of industrial IT solutions. It is the performance booster for the workflows of our customers who work in a world where time savings and precision are of crucial importance,” says Markus Nicoleit, Managing Director of WEROCK Technologies GmbH.

Typical areas of application for the Rockscan W100 include

– Retail: Incoming goods, inventory tracking and point-of-sale transactions.
– Transportation & logistics: parcel tracking and warehouse management.
– Warehousing & Distribution: Warehouse management, receiving, picking, sorting.
– Manufacturing: Inventory management, parts and finished product tracking, assembly.

 

Warehouse Tech for Gen Z Workforce

Posted on by David Priestman

Distribution centre technology provider Lucas Systems announced today its rollout of new technologies promising productivity, comfort and ease of use to a Gen Z warehouse workforce of the future.

The technologies – built to serve the new “iGeneration” of workers born between 1997 and 2012 – promise reduction of worker stress, a less physically-taxing work experience, and help for on-floor supervisors by providing the tools needed to be more agile. New technologies include:

• An all-new supervisor management console which provides leadership with a high degree of flexibility and agility to customize data, dashboards, and analytics specific to their operation and needs. Supervisors and managers can get actionable information in a way that’s easy to understand and use through fully-customizable consoles.

• Improvements in reducing worker travel. Lucas Systems new algorithms and machine learning smarts help workers take up to 50% less steps inside the warehouse by showing them the optimal path to navigate. This is relief to physically-stressed on-floor workers as they can often walk 5-10 miles in just one day.

• Ability for on-floor workers to use the smallest wearables for scanning. Lucas Systems certified its voice-enabled optimization suite, Jennifer, to run on a Zebra WS50, the world’s smallest all-in-one Android enterprise-class wearable mobile computer.

These solutions and other insights around technology training, warehouse environments and new methods for division of labour resulted from Lucas Systems in-depth interviews with warehouse workers as well as a commissioned study, polling 500 U.S. warehouse workers nationwide. The research examined workers’ relationships with technology as well as their fears, expectations, and perceptions about their daily jobs.

Additional insights were released today in Lucas Systems guide, Competing for The Warehouse Workforce of the Future, along with recommendations for attracting and retaining a future workforce with unique attitudes around loyalty, work-life balance and workplace satisfaction. One insight is that a majority of Gen Z workers (73%) say robots will help them achieve greater accuracy and speed in their jobs.

“These are all signs that tomorrow’s warehouses will need to operate differently than they do today,” says Lucas Systems CMO Ken Ramoutar. “Gen Z workers expect to use modern technologies like they use at home. Handheld and personalized, tech must be easy to use and must help them save time and mitigate exertion.”

Ramoutar says Lucas Systems recent tech advancements and its research insights offer a warning shot to warehouse operators who aren’t willing to adapt and change.

Warehouses Struggle to Forecast Demand

Posted on by David Priestman

A new survey commissioned by ProGlove, leader in wearable barcode scanners, has identified the ongoing struggles of warehouses trying to predict demand patterns accurately. Of those surveyed, just 39 per cent of respondents felt they could accurately predict trends and activity for the holiday season.

Forecasting demand is one of the cornerstones of successful warehouse management. Yet, 51 per cent of respondents stated that forecasting demand was their biggest inventory management concern. In order to forecast demand accurately and avoid stock surplus or shortfalls, organisations need a predictable logistics landscape. Unfortunately, 2022 was not a year for predictability, and 2023 is already continuing on a similar trajectory. The war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures and the impact of the Covid outbreak in China on global supply chains are just a few factors creating an uncertain environment for warehouses this year.

Uncertainty throughout supply chains over the 2022 peak holiday season has continued into 2023

1 in 5 (19%) respondents stated they weren’t prepared for the peak holiday season in 2022. Looking ahead, less than 2 in 5 (38%) expect supply chain issues to be largely resolved next year. The research, therefore, demonstrates that warehouses must develop resilience to counteract what is expected to be a turbulent year ahead. Instead of focusing on the external factors they can’t control, organisations need to look at their internal operations and focus on what they can control.

Building resilience in the warehouse

When asked whether they felt adequately prepared for the changing retail patterns of the peak holiday season, just 12 per cent of those surveyed said they felt ‘very prepared’. Employees are looking for the tools to build preparedness from the shop floor to the C-level. By factoring external instability into their operations as a constant, businesses can move beyond fretting and look to building advanced solutions.

Ilhan Kolko, CPO of ProGlove, commented, “Resilience comes from a well-equipped, motivated and safe workforce with transparent and extensive knowledge of their roles and processes. Investing in human-centred technology, and seeking out efficiency gains built around the human worker, can provide the stability warehouses are looking for. The findings in our survey confirm what has been self-evident to those in the warehousing and logistics industry for a few years. External factors are wreaking havoc on the ability of businesses to predict demand and prepare for new challenges. Organisations need to focus on building agile and efficient processes through data-driven insights into the internal workings of the shop floor. Building certainty in the warehouse protects from uncertainty outside of it.”

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