How AI enabled robots are ensuring better control over inventory levels

Artificial Intelligence has transformed the world of robots. GreyOrange, a robotics firm that specializes in deploying advanced robots for automation at warehouses and distribution centers, is using robots that use machine-learning algorithms to dynamically adapt to inventory consumption patterns and optimize storage in a warehouse.

Says Ashish Bindal, Global Head, Solutions, GreyOrange, “Artificial intelligence enabled solutions are designed to demonstrate human like decision-making capabilities. These robots are able to react to various expected/unexpected situations. The reaction also improves with time and experience. These machines can learn from their usage patterns, just like humans do. Rather than working upon a static algorithm designed to work in a predictable environment, these robots have a dynamic algorithm which learns from the past experiences and becomes better with usage.”

GreyOrange has built a robotic automation solution called GreyOrange Butler that receives inputs from various sources in the warehouse and helps optimize the operations in the warehouse. The system is designed in a way that the butlers bring right racks to humans instead of humans going to racks. The operators stand at their place and pick/put the products from these racks. The solution is enabled by artificial intelligence and can understand that in a particular season, the products stored in certain racks can have a higher demand as compared to the others. For example, during Diwali, businesses often see utensils sold in great volumes. The butler picks up this pattern and starts placing racks with utensils nearer to the operator, thereby ensuring quick turnaround time for orders and increasing efficiency.

Bindal says that AI-enabled butlers also equip the customers to have better control in the inventory levels and do support FIFO (First in First out), FMFO (First manufactured out) etc. Basis the inventory movement, the position of racks in the warehouse is decided in such a manner that the pick /put operations results in a faster turnaround time for an operation in the warehouse. This improves the overall efficiency of the pick/put operations in the warehouses. This has resulted in the operator picking efficiency getting better up to 5x vis-a vis traditional systems.

The solutions have been designed to manage racks, cases and a combination of both to enable multiple types of order fulfillment. The racks of the solutions are modular in nature and can be configured as per the Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) profile of the customer. For example, lighter SKUs can be at the top and heavier at the bottom.

The AI-enabled robot constantly learns from past experiences, and this is taken into account while designing customized solutions for clients. Says Bindal, ”We understand customer inventory data, days on hand for inventory, SKU details – Length, breadth, height and weight, seasonality of SKUs, order line in an order, number of lines in an order etc. We also understand customer business growth, projections to design future proof solutions. The size of the warehouse, daily through-put, peaks and criteria of success for automation are also taken into consideration to design a robust automation solution for a customer.”

Currently, GreyOrange is providing its warehouse automation solutions to some of the largest brands in e-commerce, logistics, consumer packaged goods (FMCG) and retail space around the world. All clients use artificial intelligence enabled solutions. Some of these firms include names such as Flipkart, Myntra,Jabong and Pepperfry, Aramex, DTDC, Delhivery, Kerry Logistics (in Hong Kong), and Gojavas.