XPO Logistics pilots wearable technology for e-commerce logistics

XPO

XPO Logistics has announced a successful pilot of a wearable barcode scanner designed by technology partner ProGlove, Inc. The first pilot of the ProGlove MARK 2 was conducted over seven weeks at an XPO distribution centre in Everett, Washington, using smart-glass headsets worn by employees during inventory picking; a second pilot will test the same scanner with hand-held tablets.

The intelligent scanner is worn on the back of the hand and can be paired with an augmented reality headset or other smart device, which displays real-time information about storage locations, product identifiers and inventory levels. The technology integrates with XPO’s warehouse management system and digital tools used in the order preparation process.

XPO expects that the benefits documented by the pilot should produce similar results across the company’s network of logistics sites. XPO stated some of its notable findings to be:

  • Six seconds saved per pick, representing an efficiency gain of approximately 10%;
  • 75% reduction in errors per million units picked;
  • Data assimilated by the company’s XPO Smart™ labour productivity tools; and
  • Employee health and safety supported by the scanner’s ergonomic design, as well as the ability to set social distancing alerts.

Ashfaque Chowdhury, president, supply chain – Americas and Asia Pacific, XPO Logistics, said, “Wearable technologies make it easier to work with precision in the fast-paced logistics environment. It’s not unusual for each of our e-commerce fulfilment centres to manage thousands of different product SKUs during peak seasonality. With ProGlove, we can realise sustainable gains in productivity, while delivering a better experience for our employees.”

Source: XPO