MSI International Inc. offers a wide selection of countertops, flooring, wall tiles, and hardscaping surfaces. With annual revenues approaching $3 billion, the company employs over 400,000 people worldwide, noted Corvus Robotics Inc.
Orange, Calif.-based MSI manages a huge volume of inventory, and losing or misplacing items delays customer orders, which can lead to dissatisfaction and returns. Tracking inventory throughout the warehouse is key to smooth operations for both sales and fulfillment.
The company’s operations team also tracks labor efficiency as a key performance indicator (KPI). Pulling two to four workers to manually scan inventory wastes valuable time.
Finally, productivity suffers when employees deviate from their primary tasks, according to MSI. If they’re busy locating items instead of packing them, or vice versa, it can disrupt warehouse workflows.
Enter Corvus One drones
MSI Surface implemented the Corvus One autonomous inventory management system to more accurately and efficiently track material across its four national distribution centers. This eliminates the need for yearly, wall-to-wall physical inventory checks, as the Corvus drones can perform daily cycle counts.
While flying through the warehouse, the drones capture inventory at all levels of the warehouse. The drones collect barcode data for each box while counting boxes, totes, and pallets.
“By implementing the autonomous drones for cycle counting, manual labor is reallocated to critical item picking and replenishment tasks,” said Reggy Soenarso, senior vice president of operations at MSI.
MSI has missions scheduled during operating hours without disrupting workflow or blocking aisles. Corvus said its drones fly fully autonomously and can detect and avoid obstacles without reflectors, associates, or Wi-Fi.
No modifications were needed for MSI’s existing infrastructure, including racking or labeling. The drones can read any barcode symbology in any orientation placed anywhere on the front of cartons or pallets, said Mountain View, Calif.-based Corvus.
Success leads to expanded MSI deployment
MSI said it now experiences zero operational disruption, and customer satisfaction has improved with faster and more accurate order fulfillment.
Inventory accuracy improved from 80% to 99% after deploying the drones, reported the company. Product inventory frequency improved from annually to weekly, cycle counting is now 20 times faster than manual methods.
MSI also recovered more than $1.25 million in lost inventory in its warehouse. It has reallocated $110,000 in labor.
After successfully deploying Corvus One in California, MSI has expanded its use to the four largest and busiest distribution centers in the U.S., located in Texas, Georgia, and New Jersey.
Editors note: This article is syndicated from Corvus Robotics’ blog.
