DHL Unit Plans Google Glass Experiment in U.S. Warehouses
Exel, a Deutsche Post DHL Group unit, will give workers Internet-connected eyewear like Google Glass in two U.S. warehouses in a bid to boost productivity
A DHL employee demonstrates "vision picking," in which Internet-connected eyewear directs warehouse workers to a product and scans it, at a facility in the Netherlands. The company plans to experiment with the devices at two U.S. warehouses. PHOTO: DEUTSCHE POST DHL GROUP
Wearable computers like Google Glass never took off with consumers but the Internet-connected eyewear are finding their niche in the logistics industry.
Exel, the freight forwarding arm of Deutsche Post DHL Group’s supply-chain management business, is preparing to test “vision picking”— replacing handheld scanners and paper job orders with wearable “smart-glass” devices outfitted with warehouse management software—in two U.S. warehouses later this year.
The devices can tell workers the fastest route to find products and can read bar codes, which reduced the time needed to pick out an item and pack it for shipping by 25% in tests at a Dutch warehouse earlier this year, Exel says. The technology has the most application in e-commerce warehouses, where workers might need to find a handful of items out of more than a million individual products, the company said.
“A lot of the large operations need help supporting e-fulfillment, especially with lots of [products] that might only be available online. It really drives up warehouse complexity,” said Adrian Kumar, vice president for solutions design with Exel.
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Mr. Kumar said technology like Google Glass could prove especially useful during peak periods, when Exel hires thousands of temporary workers.
“These are people off the street who are not familiar with our warehouses, don’t know where anything is, and we see huge potential for that type of situation, especially with training,” he said.
DHL already experimented with wearable computers in the Netherlands. Workers at a Dutch distribution facility for the printer and photocopier manufacturer Ricoh Co. Ltd. were able to reduce the time needed to pick products off the shelf and pack them, Exel says. The workers used wearable computers made by Google and by Vuzix Corp. and software from German firm Ubimax GmbH.
Google halted retail sales of Google Glass in January after poor sales and a backlash over the device’s ability to record video in public places without other noticing. In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company would begin distributing a new version of Glass geared towards business users.
