Cotecna and Tinamu partner to offer smarter digital warehouse inspections

Cotecna, a leading player in TIC industry, has partnered with Tinamu, a Swiss based robotics startup. The collaboration and usage of their technology will allow Cotecna to offer the next generation of smart warehouse inspection using drones. The companies were running a pilot program for past year with selected customers. We are now happy to expand this offering to a wider market.

The Pilot phase showed up to 50x faster turnaround times for stock inspection reports and improved inventory data accuracy up to 99%. We automated the data acquisition and volume calculation process, which:

• enables operational workflow optimization and
• provides a more accurate picture of inventory in the warehouse.

The solution addresses challenges from existing bulk inventory technology (weigh bridges, conveyor belts) such as a failure to adequately track inventories due to the dynamic nature of businesses. Additionally, it overcomes the problems of fixed sensors such as fine dust and blind spots. The new automated solution has proven to reliably work in such environments.

How does the next gen smart warehouse digital inspection work?

The solution is user-friendly and can be used for indoor and outdoor stockpiles, free standing and bunkered dry bulk and remote locations. Operation does not require technical expertise. To check the current inventory in the warehouse, the operations manager (OM) takes the drone and places it on a launch pad. The drone scans a QR code with the selected flight plan. Using an interactive mobile phone app, the OM can instruct the drone to conduct some basic checks. For instance, “no person standing in front of drone“ or “battery checks” etc. Once the checks are done, the drone starts the mission and scans the sector/area of the warehouse.

It takes the drone about 8-10 mins to complete a scan. After landing, the drone transmits the collected data for processing. Once processed, the data is matched to a box plan created by the client and represented in 3D, graphical and tabular format. These visual representations are available through Cotecna Digital Twin Portal.

As a result, customers stand to benefit from reduced risk, reduced anxiety, better operational planning thanks to clarity on stock tonnage and in some cases better fraud control.

To learn more about digital warehouse inspections or to book a demo, please contact us.