
Robotics and artificial intelligence promise to transform warehouses by delivering data for more efficient operations. Lucas Systems Inc. yesterday announced its next generation of Dynamic Slotting, which uses AI to support in-the-moment re-slotting decisions.
“This is a game changer for how the industry operates. Traditional slotting is fraught with challenges,” stated Scott Mullins, chief technology officer at Lucas Systems. “Dynamic Slotting gives on-floor managers and supervisors the power to optimally re-slot on the fly.”
Lucas Systems said it can help increase worker productivity, operational agility, and customer and worker satisfaction with speech-recognition and AI optimization technologies. It provides software to workers in more than 400 warehouses across four continents.
In May, the Wexford, Pa.-based company announced that its software had assisted in 100 billion picks.
Dynamic Slotting uses AI to optimize slotting
Lucas Systems said Dynamic Slotting replaces what is typically a cumbersome, long and expensive process that is seldom done. The technology gives warehouse operators the ability to re-slot every day, keeping warehouse slotting in optimal shape, it said.
Lucas Systems touted the easy-to-use interface in the latest version of Dynamic Slotting. With a few button pushes, the software will intelligently sift through an abundance of warehouse data to serve up optimal slotting recommendations, said the company.
Dynamic Slotting generates results in minutes, while traditional slotting analysis often takes months to complete and requires engineering resources or consultants, it added.
The system’s similarity detection feature prevents related items from being placed side by side to reduce picking errors. Dynamic Slotting also takes into account hundreds of parameters, including demand seasonality, item size, SKU velocity, and costs.
The AI can then identify and recommend product moves that offer the biggest potential payback, explained Lucas Systems.
The company claimed that Dynamic Slotting can increase throughput by 20% to 40% because it recommends the best locations for inventory based on SKU affinity, product/slot information, pick paths, and other data. Lucas Systems said it can provide the following:
- Increase of 5% to 20% in productivity
- 10% to 20% labor cost savings
- 1% to 5% improvement in accuracy
Dynamic Slotting applies machine-learning algorithms to recommend which products should be moved. It also learns the spatial characteristics of a warehouse and predicts task time based on activity-level data. The model then continues to “learn,” providing continuous optimization as conditions change, said Lucas Systems.
“It’s the type of slotting that every supervisor or manager can use,” Mullins said. “This ease of use means reslotting can be done more often by those on the floor, which is key to overall optimization.”
Register today to save 40% on conference passes!
Rotary Corp. partners with Lucas Systems
Rotary Corp., a global supplier of outdoor power-equipment parts, has been partnering with Lucas Systems on its Dynamic Slotting offering.
“The ability to quickly and frequently make optimal slotting decisions is extremely impactful because it contributes to optimal picking efficiencies, cost savings, and meeting our customer promises,” said Donald Fountain, chief operating officer at Rotary Corp. “If we are making those decisions in an agile way – dynamically – we are gaining the most efficiencies.”
Lucas Systems said Dynamic Slotting replaces what is typically a cumbersome, long, and expensive process that is seldom done. It asserted that the software gives warehouse operators the ability to reslot every day, keeping warehouse slotting in optimal shape.   Â