How Pick By Vision Is Revolutionizing Warehouse Productivity Worldwide

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Johanna Bellenberg, director of marketing for Picavi, shares with us how pick by vision is revolutionizing warehouse productivity worldwide.

Danny:

Okay, so let’s jump into today’s episode! I have Picavi here, I have Johanna Bellenberg, who is the director of marketing and communications. Johanna, thank you so much for joining me today on IndustrialSage.

Johanna:

Thanks for having me.

Danny:

Excellent, well we’re excited to have you here, so this is a… you guys are a German company, so you’re joining me from Germany this morning, is that correct?

Johanna:

It’s actually the evening in Germany right now, so.

Danny:

Well evening in Germany, morning here, yeah. That’s… we were just talking about, it’s a little chilly there this morning, or this evening, over there, so, we’ll get the timezone thing down. But for those who aren’t familiar with Picavi, just key us in, let us know a little bit about who you guys are, and what you do.

Johanna:

Okay so, as you said, we’re a German company and we developed a solution for intralogistics which incorporates smart glasses. So it’s actually called pick by vision, or a lot of people might know it by vision picking, so we use the smart glasses to guide the worker visually through the warehouse, and bring a lot of benefits with it.

Danny:

Absolutely. So how long has the company been around for, when did you guys start?

Johanna:

So it was founded in 2013, and since the end of 2015 the product launched on the market, and since then we’ve been selling, and have right now over 70 customers worldwide, and recently, last year, in February, we started our Picavi US Inc in the states as well.

Danny:

Great, so can you walk me through a little but of the background of how and why Picavi started?

Johanna:

Sure. So our founder was always in the logistics sector, so before Picavi he was at a different company that sold pick to light solutions, and one day he was like, “Well that should be easier somehow, we have so many new products, and digitization is rolling in, so there must be something else.” So he, I think he traveled the world where the main countries that are involved in this technology for a couple of weeks, and then he came across the Google Glass, and he was like, “Okay, we are ready.” So this was actually how the idea was born, that he combined the VR benefits of pick to light, which is initially the visual guidance, with the flexibility of, for example, pick by voice system, and put them into the glasses, now we have a display to go, and this is how everything started back in the day.

Danny:

Yeah, well it wasn’t too long ago… So you guys have, there is obviously a lot of change, a lot of transformation that’s happening, and obviously technology’s a huge part of it. We’re seeing a lot of movement thanks to a lot of ecommerce, we’ll talk the big Amazonification, if you will, moving, so it’s creating obviously a bit of a strain on getting things better, faster, cheaper, and really tightening your supply chain. How are you guys differentiated between other service providers, other technologies that are in your space that are in pick to light, or using Google Glass, these different types of technologies?

Johanna:

So what our main focus actually is is the human being, the person who has to get the job done. I mean we all have these high demands: I want it fast, and I want all the information, it has to be all perfect. In the end, somebody in the warehouse has to put that together, and we are actually focusing on that person, and how we can support him or her in this great busy, dynamic, and fast moving world of logistics, to actually keep the complexity of the whole process in the background, and just make it a very nice and easy working experience?

Danny:

Okay, so could you maybe walk through a little bit, like how do you guys think from a product design, from a development standpoint on how, keeping the worker in mind, how have you kind of reverse-engineered if you will, your products and your solutions?

Johanna:

So I would say that the main interesting point would be that if we look at the natural mechanism of transferring information from the outside world into ourselves, we actually process 80% of the daily information via the optical nerve. So this is one very important fact to keep in mind when we talk about smart glasses, because let me just show you, we have a little display right here, it’s comparable to a heads up display in a car, so you have all the information you need at any minute, any second, right at the edge of your field of view.

So, compared to other systems like, let’s talk about a pick by voice system, where somebody is constantly talking to you for nine hours straight: there are studies that the productivity in the first two hours is just great, but after that it just decreases, and we are trying to figure out how to use actually this natural mechanism, and leverage it for productivity, for error reduction, and also quality, which are essentially the main points in a logistics operation. So we kind of have a display to go, which lets me be very flexible in my movements, without having to concentrate on a voice constantly, or have to do a movement when I have an arm terminal, so it’s very focused also on my ergonomics.

Danny:

Yeah, that makes sense. That’s really interesting, so you said, I think the stat was somewhere around 80%, you said, is through our eyes, we’re basically consuming information that way. So, does it work in the sense, you said it’s got like a heads up display in… so is it picking up, are you able to scan the different products, or it’s picking up and just from a like, almost from an augmented reality type thing, where you say, “Hey the product that we need to get is over there,” and you’re able to look around and it’s able to help to identify that? Versus a pick to light, where you’ve got to have lights all over the place, and that area actually lights up, is that more or less how it works?

Johanna:

More or less. So when we talk about pick by vision, or vision picking, we talk about assisted reality, which is comparable to a heads up display in a car, so it gives you additional information you need to fulfill a task, other than virtual reality, where you’re completely cut off, or augmented reality, where the computer generated reality melds with your real reality. So we are essentially giving additional information, but the two realities do make sense without each other, so they’re not melded.

And what we do is, actually we don’t see that we really need real augmented reality in a warehouse, because the human being, the worker still wants to work a little bit themselves, and doesn’t want to be handed to every task they have to do. And we are concentrating a lot on pictures and icons, we always say they’re kind of like the universal language. We have customers that actually have like 30 different nations in their warehouse, so language is always a big topic, but we are trying to solve every issue, and provide the best solution we can.

Danny:

Interesting, so as far as a rollout period, so we’re talking about how we’re able to integrate this with an ERP or WMS, what does that look like, just from an obviously… I know that’s kind of, I’m sure the answer could be, depending on the number of SKUs and everything can vastly vary, but just from a, just an integration standpoint, what does that look like?

Johanna:

Okay, so a lot of people are always scared, like, “Oh my God, we have to involve IT, and it’s going to be a huge project.” But we have actually very smart interfacing technologies, and have customers that went from kickoff to go live in about five to seven weeks.

Danny:

Wow.

Johanna:

So we can be fairly quick. Of course the customer has to do a part as well, but the main hard work is on our side because we have to create the interface to do the system.

Danny:

Well, it sounds like a pretty cool technology. What are the different ranges, I know you’ve got some products and some things behind you, is it all just Google Glass or do you have a wider range of products and solutions?

Johanna:

Of course we test all the smart glasses that are on the market, but as I said in the beginning, we have a strong focus on the human being, and also the ergonomics, and Google Glass as of today is still the most ergonomic device that is out there. We will be happy if there are other wearable smart glasses coming out, but we always look on the ergonomics of the product.

Danny:

Okay, I have actually have a really just simple question, and I was curious about this. Obviously, you wear glasses. How does it work with somebody that is in the environment there that already wears glasses for the, just to see normally? How does that work?

Johanna:

Well, you know, they just have to work blind.

Danny:

Okay, all right, that works.

Johanna:

No, I’m just kidding! Of course we have solutions for all kinds of scenarios. If people wear prescription lenses or have to wear safety lenses, for example. So I can just try to show it, we have a little button right here, and we just– let me, I have to turn it around. We disconnect the smart part of the smart glasses, and then there is an additional frame that has the same connection, and then we just clip it onto there, and put the individual prescription in there, and they’re good to go.

Danny:

Perfect, so it’s very easy to adapt. Okay, excellent, so obviously there’s a lot going on in the industry, and there’s a rapid change as we’ve talked about. You guys are addressing that, certainly looking at it from the perspective of the worker and the workforce. What are some of the challenges that you are seeing in the industry, particularly as we roll out in 2020 from your standpoint?

Johanna:

Well there’s all sorts of different challenges. For example, in Europe we are a little ahead of the states, so over here we actually have already the rollout scenarios where people have like 80 to, I don’t know, 150 glasses in the warehouse. We are experiencing this with the US as well, but only with a small number of customers. So there’s a lot of customers that are still looking in other technologies. But of course, the whole topic of digitization, where is it leading, is a big challenge. And then the topics where buzzwords that come with it, like IT security. Or in Germany for example, we have very strong unions, so they are always part of the discussion. Of course we have a lot of material for all the concerns, but I think a worldwide challenge that we can help solve is actually the lack of skilled workers.

So, we have customers, in particular one I just visited a couple of months ago, and he actually has people that are in retirement coming back, working with the smart glasses because he needs more skilled workers, but today they are very hard to find. So, he brings them back to solve the problem, but they’re actually working with the smart glasses as well, and what we see is that we can help solve the problem because the product is so easy to work with, that we only have training times from 15 to 30 minutes, and the workers are ready to go.

And also, a very big challenge is the buzzword big data. We have a lot of sensors in the smart glasses as well, because essentially it is a computer, but gathering all the data doesn’t help us if we don’t understand it. So we just developed a solution, it’s called the Picavi Cockpit, that makes big data into smart data. So it has different features. For example, analytics which helps me understand where more potential in my warehouse could be, or how the wifi might be an issue for my productiveness. So there are a lot of products we are developing to address all those challenges in today’s and tomorrow’s world, actually.

Danny:

Oh that’s fantastic, so that sounds like a great solution to be able to optimize and just kind of figure out best practices and some better efficiencies. One last question that I’ve got is, just from, you mentioned earlier on that, obviously US was a little slow to adopt some of these technologies: whereas Europe is a lot more advanced. From an adoption standpoint in Europe, kind of a blanket statement, what would you say that is just in terms of the average warehousing fulfillment, like, what percentage rate do you think that they are using this technology, relative to where they could be?

Johanna:

That’s a tough question. I would say in 2020, we will see a very fast development in actually rolling out the technology even more. We have customers that have rolled out the technology over multiple locations, not only one warehouse. But of course, in every scenario they can do more, so for 2020 we’re hoping that the technology will become a standard, we have actually customers like DB Schenker, which is a very big profile, and they have the goal to set pick by vision as the new standard in picking, so we are very thrilled to see that development. But the US is not as far behind as you might think. We have actually a very big customer too that just ordered another 80 glasses, so they will be, I think, the biggest warehouse in the world using pick by vision.

Danny:

Oh wow, that’s crazy. So I’m just trying to get a sense of what the landscape looks like just in terms of, in Europe but obviously relative to the US. Over the next five years are you seeing that the adoption is going to be, we’re going to be seeing this all over the place, and it’s going to be an industry standard, versus, “Hey this is a nice-to-have.”

Johanna:

No I would say it will become a standard because we have seen so many great success stories with the product, and I’m not saying that because I’m in marketing. But we actually have customers that share their numbers with us, and we are thrilled that the technology is being accepted as well as it is. And maybe the US might even overtake Europe this year, because the mentality is very different. So in Germany we always say, “Okay let’s try this and once it’s good, we’ll see if we roll it out.” But in the US they tested a number of glasses for like two months, and they were like, “Okay, let’s do this.”

Danny:

“Okay, let’s go.”

Johanna:

Overall. So the US is faster in actually rolling out, but yeah, I would say this year is going to be great for all of us.

Danny:

Well that’s awesome! That sounds super exciting. I love hearing about the technology, and the solutions, how you got really thinking about the worker and the ergonomics, and just the designing… obviously the big data piece was very cool, the rollout, and how you guys are providing more value than just around that physical product. So, I really appreciate the time that you’ve spent with us here on IndustrialSage, if anybody would like to learn more about your products, I’m assuming go to your website. Is there any other, anything particular, is it picavi.com, what’s the address?

Johanna:

It’s picavi.com.

Danny:

Perfect.

Johanna:

Yeah, pretty easy. But you also have the chance to check out the product at MODEX. We’ll be there in March. You can work around our little warehouse and see yourself.

Danny:

All right, well that sounds good. Johanna, thank you very much, and I’ve really enjoyed it.

Johanna:

Yeah me too, thanks again.

Danny:

All right, thank you. Okay, all right, well great episode, I loved really, this is super exciting. I remember when Google Glass came out several years ago, and it was like the thing, and then it kind of went away, and now you’re seeing it come back with all these different applications. And like Johanna was talking about, this could really be the breakout year in 2020, and I thought it was interesting that she was saying that it’s possible that the US could actually outpace and outgrow Europe as far as adoption.

So, definitely something to look out for from a technology standpoint, and be sure to be, if it’s not something that you… if you guys’d like to learn more about it, go check it out, go to picavi.com. And we’ll have information and links in the show notes where you can check it out a little bit further.

So, thank you for watching this episode of IndustrialSage, we’ll be back next week with another episode here at IndustrialSage. I’m Danny, and I’m signing off.

 

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