Gather AI, a Pittsburgh-based provider of automated inventory intelligence drones and automation offerings, announced its expansion into freezer and cold storage warehouse environments.
The company says the move represents an industry-first for inventory monitoring automation.
Cold storage, e-commerce growth fuel Gather AI expansion
Gather AI’s expansion to freezer and cold storage environments is based on the anticipated growth of the U.S. cold storage market and the rise of e-commerce with accelerated delivery timelines. Both elements rely on accurate warehouse inventories and technological advancements across temperature-sensitive item packaging, processing and storage.
Gather AI computer vision technology enables drones to fly autonomously through warehouses with no GPS, WiFi, or infrastructure changes needed. The machine learning algorithm analyzes inventory pictures and reads and interprets far beyond the barcode including lot codes, text, expiration dates, case counts and occupancy information.
Warehouse operators can compare their real-time physical inventory with the warehouse management system (WMS) data. Gather AI says its platform scans 10 times faster than traditional means in the freezer environment - up to 900 pallets per hour - and improves inventory accuracy by up to 70%.
“Our automated solutions are designed to enhance both employee experience and operational efficiency, helping businesses achieve greater productivity in their facilities,” said Sankalp Arora, Ph.D, CEO & co-founder of Gather AI. “Our commitment to building flexible, scalable technology has led to this industry-first: automated inventory monitoring in cold storage and freezer environments. With this technical challenge solved, we’re excited to support businesses in meeting heightened inventory counting and accuracy standards, while enabling employees to spend less time on manual tasks in these demanding conditions.”
Traditionally, staff across food and beverage, pharmaceutical, health and beauty, chemical and technology industries had to physically cycle count in harsh freezer and other CRT environments.
Gather AI says that with its industry-first freezer and cold storage capability, drones do the counting, and employees can comfortably view the results from a dashboard away from the cold.
“We use business intelligence solutions like Gather AI to give our life sciences customers total inventory visibility, control, and compliance,” said Cathy Langham, CEO of Langham Logistics. “After engaging Gather AI in 2022, we went from a 97% accuracy rate to over 99% accuracy. With the expansion into cold storage and freezer locations, we expect the same accuracy gains and up to 10 times faster cycle counts. This will improve results for our clients and ultimately get product into the hands of people who need it most - quickly, accurately, and in peak condition.”
Some other benefits of Gather AI’s expansion into freezer and cold storage warehouses, according to the company, include:
- Reduce the time staff spends in challenging conditions
- Ensure FIFO compliance to guarantee inventory freshness
- Monitor inventory age and expiration dates to reduce waste
- Prevent shrink and reduce mispicks, fulfillment delays and partial shipments
- Realize the full benefits of traceability and digital twin visualization
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