Verity: elevating inventory intelligence
29 May 2024
Warehouse operators are under constant pressure to maximize speed and volume. To help address that challenge, Verity enables a predictive, responsive, and intelligent warehouse environment. Powered by a multi-layered software stack, the fully autonomous system automates inventory management, delivers real-time insights, and enables operational excellence. From inventory checking operations to sophisticated analytics and algorithms, Verity delivers inventory intelligence that is transforming how 3PLs, retailers, and manufacturers operate warehouses everywhere.
Streamlining inventory flow
Managing warehouse inventory is a complex process that requires precision at every touchpoint—from the moment goods arrive at the loading dock to their final delivery at each retail store, business client, or end customer. Because every putaway or picking error has the potential to disrupt the efficient movement of goods, it is vital to detect and correct errors as soon as they occur. But achieving that goal is not an easy task, making the process an ideal target for intelligent automation.
The solution to the challenge is zero-touch inventory scanning, one of the most valued benefits of the Verity system. Operating at Level 5 autonomy, the drones navigate and manage tasks without any human intervention or supervision. This eliminates the monotonous, repetitive, and inefficient task of manually checking inventory—a process that is prone to human error, introduces health and safety risks, and takes workers away from activities that support the warehouse’s primary goal of ensuring service levels that drive customer loyalty.
The integrated system is built on robust, sophisticated software that targets scans for empty locations, moved items, picking locations, or client-specific inventory managed by 3PLs—all at greater frequency and without increasing labor costs. By enabling precise, targeted scanning, Verity:
- eliminates the need to re-scan locations that have not been moved since the previous scan,
- ensures all relevant, accurate data is fully utilized,
- and keeps aisles free of inventory checking operations that prevent optimal inventory throughput.
The system also automatically creates and maintains a complete digital twin of the warehouse to provide accurate, real-time views of all locations at anytime, anywhere. This data can be used to address a broad range of use cases, including ABC analysis of inventory issues, building inspection and monitoring, and trend and heatmap visibility.
Verity independently conducts stock checks, identifies discrepancies, and guides continuous operational improvements. This autonomy gives staff more time to focus on serving customers and delivering the right products at the right time, every time, and it reduces or eliminates downtime for core warehouse operations.
The power of distributed processing
Part of the system’s intelligence resides on the drones themselves, enabling the agility and operational freedom of a fully distributed environment. The system determines which locations require verification, and missions are created in the cloud using historical and real-time data. (When desired, users can manually assign locations.) The software then dictates which drones to send to the locations and optimizes flight paths for real-time tracking. In-flight processing improves scanning efficiency without requiring in-flight Wi-Fi, and onboard sensors enable flight data analysis, object detection, collision avoidance, and predictive maintenance.
Once each mission is complete, the drones return to their chargers and the captured data is automatically uploaded to the cloud and compared with data stored in the Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). The software then translates that information into high-value insights, including clear discrepancy reports and AI-powered resolution suggestions.
Combined, these capabilities support rapid correction of putaway, picking, and other errors before they escalate into larger operational issues. Whether applied in a single warehouse or across an interconnected logistics network, it is this intelligence that gives users the information they need, when they need it, to optimize inventory tracking and warehouse operations.
Creating value through cloud-based intelligence
Developed and built entirely in-house, Verity’s integrated platform is buoyed by over 100 patents that support advanced algorithms and analytics. Working in concert, these tools analyze comprehensive warehouse, operational, and inventory data in the cloud to provide key insights and deliver a 99.992% mission complete rate*. Verity’s advanced intelligence enables end-to-end system integration, simple WMS communication, and AI-enabled operational analysis. Verity offers flawless reliability, unmatched flexibility, and total autonomy. The result: a smart solution that enhances inventory management, drives warehouse operational excellence, and supports total customer satisfaction.
* An extensive analysis of global flight data for Verity’s systems shows only a handful of instances where drones did not return to their chargers during missions (8 per 100,000). In these cases, the system determined that the drone should conduct a controlled safety landing.