Ryder Redefines the Smart Warehouse

Supply chain solutions provider Ryder System has successfully transformed its smart warehouses in the Miami, Dallas, and Chicago markets. The facilities feature the four technologies Ryder defines as definitive benchmarks of an effective smart warehouse:

Robotics. The implementation of robotics throughout one Ryder-managed warehouse produced a 25-percent increase in productivity and 20-percent operating savings, simply by reducing travel time in the warehouse, which can account for 30 percent of an employee’s shift.

Drones. At a Ryder customer warehouse, drones successfully scanned pallets and locations in 20 minutes, compared to a manual scan that took 90 minutes. Additionally, a cycle count on the entire warehouse took just three hours versus two days. The drone can also identify available pallet locations and verify product placement.

Sensors. Identification tools provide real-time asset location and enable performance management. When implemented throughout a Ryder facility, productivity and cost savings increased more than 25 percent.

Wearables. When Ryder deployed smart glasses at a customer warehouse to improve picking processes, the time it took to pick and scan inventory decreased by five to seven seconds per item and improved efficiency by 33 percent.