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In today’s time, warehouse logistics and supply chains deliberately depend on operations, accuracy, and efficiency of data. Monitoring and controlling your warehouse logistics, supply chain, or stock inventory is crucial to reducing goods or product delays, damages, and errors. Aside from that, proper maintenance and control of your logistics can also result in a lot of positive impacts like improved customer experience.

For one, finding the right warehouse to operate and store all your goods or products, whether perishable or not, is crucial. As much as possible, try to look for warehouses that are close to the hubs of the city, so you can easily find essentials or resources to maintain the entire lot. With that, a lot of warehouse spaces in Kansas City are strategically placed in areas near the city’s conveniences. After finding the right warehouse, you’ll have to plan on how to maintain it, generate income, avoid or reduce damages, delays, and errors, and improve customer experience. The alternative option is to partner with a strategically located and tech-forward 3PL company to outsource your warehousing needs.

With everything and everyone starting to depend solely on technology, it’s impossible not to find ways to seamlessly run operations in the business, especially within warehouse spaces. With that, lots of technology tools and gadgets nowadays are starting to enter the warehouse industry because of their durability, advancement, and ability to make operations less hefty and more convenient. In this article, you will find different ways of how VR and AR are improving warehouse logistics today.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality or AR is a type of technology that grants users an interactive experience of the real-world environment with computer-generated information or images. AR is usually experienced through smartphone cameras, allowing the presence of reality still, but with augmented features. A few examples of augmented realities are PokemonGo, Snapchat, and Instagram lenses or filters, Jurassic World Alive, and a lot more.

Order-Picking Process with AR

Augmented reality applications or software can help improve order pickups within the warehouse. The app provides useful information about the correct position or placement of items on racks and shelves. With that, it can indicate the estimated time of order for picking up items.

Because of this, there are fewer losses or damages to any item, product, or goods due to its proper placement on each rack. Also, less time is spent to complete an order, so there is increased productivity among warehouse employees. Lastly, it helps reduce expenses (damages, delays, and errors) because of the systematized process of pickups and placements.

Pathfinding Solutions within the Warehouse with AR

AR apps and software also help with finding the right aisles and racks to locate specific products or goods. It allows product navigation with orders inside the warehouse. Not only that, but AR apps and software as such can inform users about other relevant information like the exact product location, how many stocks are left, delivery time or itinerary, and a lot more.

With that, there is increased employee productivity and efficiency, especially for those who have yet to familiarize themselves with the entire warehouse and specific item placements. Also, there is a reduced waste of time since you can quickly search for an item’s exact location.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality, on the other hand, differs a lot from augmented reality. VR is a whole lot of different experience that takes place in an immersive environment, so much so like a simulation. With VR, you can use special equipment or gadgets like helmets or screens for a complete immersive experience.

Safer Delivery and Training Processes with VR

For one, training with a virtual reality experience aims to teach employees new warehouse operations to be fully aware of the possible risks, accidents, and emergencies if procedures are not done correctly.

Must Read: Top VR Gadgets Coming Out Soon

On the other hand, delivery processes are also much safer and more efficient because of virtual reality. Delivery personnel are expected to ensure that goods or products make it to stores, customers, or back to the warehouse safely and in one piece. With that, VR tools and gadgets can be specially programmed to display valuable information directly on vehicle windshields, without having to glance at smartphones or other handheld devices. As a result, drivers can be reminded of important information about the delivery process while also keeping in mind to drive safely. Furthermore, VR tools can also indicate or suggest alternate routes, traffic updates, and roadblocks along the way, for faster delivery.

Predictive Modeling with VR

VRs can also help inform and update higher officials in the business who don’t go as often in warehouse sites due to out-of-the-country meetings, conventions, etc. With VR, managers, businesspeople, and other team members overseas can get real-time updates and view a real-time look of the entire warehouse to ensure that operations are being done as planned.

Wrapping Up

Technology just keeps getting better and better. For the most part, technology has been with us, it has done nothing but try to make human lives and tasks more manageable and less hefty or risky. Now that everyone is starting to depend on technology, there’s no room to doubt because you know for sure that in the coming years, technology will do so much better than it does now. As for the warehouse industry and supply chains, adopting these tech tools has been one of the best decisions in the business so far. Not only does it reduce damages, delays, and errors, but it also improves warehouse operations, and other costs, or expenses are also starting to decrease.