{"id":4058,"date":"2021-08-30T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/?p=4058"},"modified":"2021-12-10T15:20:21","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T21:20:21","slug":"augmented-and-virtual-realities-transforming-supply-chains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/30\/augmented-and-virtual-realities-transforming-supply-chains\/","title":{"rendered":"Augmented and Virtual Realities: Transforming Supply Chains"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BY SARA PEARSON SPECTER<\/span><\/div>\n
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Link to digital version of article in MHI Solutions.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A<\/strong><\/span>ugmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have both been deployed successfully throughout warehouses and distribution centers, albeit to achieve different goals.<\/p>\n

AR, which overlays virtual elements onto an actual, real-world view as seen by the wearer through clear lens smart glasses, is boosting accuracy, productivity and troubleshooting speed throughout a variety of applications\u2014including picking, sorting, order fulfillment, compliance audits, and maintenance, Augmented and Virtual Realities: repair and operations (MRO) service and training.<\/p>\n

VR, which immerses the wearer of a special, enclosed headset into a simulated real-world environment, is principally being used to train employees. It allows them to gain experience and demonstrate proficiency in operating machinery, performing specific tasks or learning new skills in a safe space where mistakes won\u2019t result in an accident, injury or facility damage.<\/p>\n

Already making in-roads into supply chain operations, adoption of both technologies accelerated in response to COVID-19. A recent market research report from Technavio expects the combined technologies\u2019 total market size\u2014encompassing both industrial and consumer applications\u2014to grow by $125.19 billion between 2020-2024, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 35%.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eric Abbruzzese, AR\/VR research director at ABI Research, attributes much of that growth trend coming from AR technologies, primarily on the consumer side, but with notable investment from companies as well. Remote applications\u2014such as AR remote expertise and AR remote training\u2014will continue to grow in 2021 and lead in terms of adoption rates, he said, projecting that the increase in deployments will drive the overall industrial AR market value to $70 billion by 2025. (By comparison, ABI forecasts consumer AR software and content to grow at over 100% CAGR between 2021 and 2025, reaching $20 billion in total revenue in 2025.)<\/span><\/p>\n

“The risk of traveling and the experience from the first months of the COVID-19 outbreak will drive demand in 2021 for proactive solutions that increase employee and business efficiency and ensure employee safety,” Abbruzzese noted.<\/p>\n

He anticipates that AR software and platform providers will continue to update and expand their offerings. This will include more features and new strategic collaborations to support, automate and simplify large-scale deployments while providing more data and analytics tools for proactive decisions. Enterprise AR hardware will not shift dramatically, as current offerings well serve value use cases.<\/p>\n

As for VR adoption, however, Abbruzzese said: “Market elements have not aligned to enable mainstream virtual reality (VR) adoption. Growth will be strong in 2021, but the user base will not reach levels once thought probable since VR competes for usage time with TVs, smartphones and traditional displays. Price and availability of valuable content remain primary barriers.”<\/p>\n

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\nUnited Service Technologies uses Help Lightning\u2019s merged reality to create a “hands-on” interactive work environment. <\/em>UNITED SERVICE TECHNOLOGIES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is a look at how five different organizations have deployed AR across their global supply chain operations within a variety of applications, including training, remote assistance, compliance audits and order fulfillment. Plus, VR-powered forklift operation training is helping to prepare new distribution center workers to fill high-demand skilled job openings.<\/p>\n

Training New Hires and Resolving Customer Issues Faster with AR-Powered Remote Assistance<\/h2>\n

United Service Technologies (UST) provides field service to support commercial food equipment in the grocery and restaurant industry, with customers including Safeway, Whole Foods, Costco, Panera Bread, Kroger and more. But, like nearly all field service organizations, the company is facing a growing personnel challenge. Specifically, how to optimize and transfer the knowledge of their most seasoned technicians\u2014many of whom are planning their retirements\u2014to the next generation of newly hired field service professionals.<\/p>\n

To address these challenges, Rodger Smelcer, COO of UST, sought a new way to reduce new-hire training time. He selected Help Lightning, whose remote assistance app uses a form of AR the company calls “merged reality” to combine the live video streams of field technicians with product experts, creating an interactive work environment. This allows veteran technicians to reach virtually into the field of view and provide “hands-on” guidance to their colleagues or customers.<\/p>\n

“We use Help Lightning to bring the field into the classroom,” said Smelcer. “Our new technicians are able to connect with the more experienced technicians in the field and see what they are working on. They are seeing exactly what they are going to be doing in the field and getting to interact with the technician in the field.”<\/p>\n

The solution works on existing mobile devices or a web browser, which appealed to UST\u2019s new hires, 70% of whom are Millennials. However, because of how intuitive the system is, even UST\u2019s older generations found it easy to use, he added. “Since the implementation of Help Lightning into our training process, we have reduced our new technician training time from three months to six weeks.”<\/p>\n

As an extra bonus, UST discovered they could also use the merged reality solution to triage service calls from customers. Via a browser-based link, a customer can “show” a UST technician the problem and receive instant guidance on how to resolve the issue without an in-person service call.<\/p>\n

“This has been a great relationship builder with our customers,” Smelcer noted, adding that the technology has also allowed UST to achieve a nearly 90% first time fix rate. The company has also created a virtual technical trade school populated with recordings of each Help Lightning session\u2014tagged with searchable keywords\u2014for later use. “Providing this learning resource to our techs is incredibly helpful and allows us to scale what we are doing.”<\/p>\n

AR Enables Remote Supply Chain Compliance Audits<\/h2>\n

In 2019, multinational grocery retailer Tesco began exploring options for more continuous evaluation of its supply chain. With 45 distribution centers, 6,700 retail stores, and more than 400,000 employees worldwide, the UK-based company wanted to evolve the way it monitored compliance across its supply base, with a focus on continuous improvement.<\/p>\n

The standards and audits team at Tesco felt a technology-based solution was the answer that would provide a cost-effective\u2014yet user-friendly\u2014approach to maximizing its time and resources. Their requirements included ensuring consistency across all audits (regardless of geographic location and auditor), effective use of time and resources when conducting audits and visiting suppliers, and the implementation of a continuous evaluation approach to Tesco\u2019s audit processes.<\/p>\n

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it accelerated the need for a solution. Suddenly, Tesco\u2019s audit providers could not visit suppliers and distribution centers in Asia and other parts of the world, presenting further challenges to the team. What was originally a continuous improvement project quickly became essential to the effective operation of the audit function.<\/p>\n

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\"tescoTesco uses Librestream\u2019s Onsight AR worker platform to allow its auditors to conduct immersive, time-saving virtual audits in remote locations<\/em>. TESCO<\/figure>\n

Tesco selected Librestream\u2019s Onsight AR worker platform to allow its auditors to conduct immersive, time-saving virtual audits in remote locations via an internet connection and their smartphones, computers or wearable devices. Using the Onsight app, a plant or floor worker helps the auditor observe and assess the site and its activities. The auditor can do a thorough product or process audit by marking up video and images for clarity and taking control over the camera to adjust lighting and zoom. The data captured from this audit is automatically saved to a centralized knowledge base where it is shared with relevant team members.<\/p>\n