DHL Supply Chain is testing new technology that monitors warehouse activity in real-time at three pilot sites in Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Data is aggregated from sensors on scanners and material handling equipment, and DHL’s warehouse management system which is then visualised on ‘heat maps’ to improve efficiency and employee safety.
The system is being developed in partnership with networking firm Cisco and airline software specialist Conduce.
DHL Supply Chain chief information officer and chief operating officer, Markus Voss, explains: “By monitoring operational activities in real-time rather than retrospectively, we can interpret data more meaningfully, and immediately re-engineer processes or warehouse layouts to boost operational efficiency and address potential safety blind spots in a warehouse.”
DHL says that the pilots have revealed valuable insights on activity peaks, warehouse layouts and processes by displaying concentrations of pickers and material handling equipment.
