Deltrian, ID2Move and Proximus NXT play a collaborative game of Tetris
Automating stock management using AI, 5G and drones is only possible with a solid partnership and unfailing motivation. Deltrian, ID2Move and Proximus NXT have all experienced this. And they have no intention of stopping there!
How can you bring about efficient warehouse inventory management? By mixing Computer Vision, punchy AI, high-performance 5G and a fleet of state-of-the-art drones. Add some partnership with potential and you'll end up with the Use Case at Deltrian, an air filter manufacturer in Fleurus. We asked Alexis Wuyts, Advanced Analytics Strategist at Proximus ADA, the AI & Cybersecurity competence center of Proximus NXT, and Yanneck Adolphe, Head of Research and Development at Deltrian, to tell us more.
Alexis: "We went into this project thanks to a grant from the Agence du Numérique to promote 5G application cases. ID2Move acted as project coordinator. To optimize inventories, ID2Move wanted to use the drones, 5G and AI. Proximus NXT was participating in the project and involved us to provide the AI expertise needed. Yanneck and his team brought along their knowledge as logisticians, explaining the functionalities that would be interesting to develop."
We worked step-by-step and hand-in-hand with our partners to complete their requests.
Alexis Wuyts, Advanced Analytics Strategist at Proximus ADA
Yanneck: "At Deltrian, our warehousing covers 15,000 m² and 40,000 products. But all warehouses share one major problem: optimizing the space fully is almost impossible. We were looking for a solution, but needed help to realize it. After our initial discussions with the partners, I made an Excel file listing a whole host of data about the warehouses such as the type of goods or the volume of the locations. That data could then be used for all our life-size Tetris games. This was made particularly easy with the help of the algorithms that Proximus ADA developed."
Alexis: "The algorithms come from Computer Vision, an area of AI that focuses on image processing. We worked step-by-step, hand-in-hand, drawing on the expertise of each partner and realizing all their requirements. Yanneck and his team had three types of algorithm that they needed in order to optimize inventories: identifying boxes on shelves by reading references and decoding QR codes, detecting the volume of space and checking for damaged boxes. More specifically, the drone flies in front of the racks, records a video stream, analyzes it and sends the data to a cloud environment via 5G. The algorithm then analyzes the data and gives the logistician the output."
Yanneck: "This is a Proof-of-Concept project, but it’s already making a difference at Deltrian. We are a company with 100 employees. Asking a team of five to take inventory twice a year requires us to suspend work for 10 days. That would mean a productivity loss of 100,000 euro. The tailor-made solution deployed jointly in the consortium saves us an enormous amount of time, with inventory discrepancies dropping from 12% to 0.5%. And the utilization rate for our warehouses is up 30%. The project would never have been possible without Proximus ADA, their algorithms and the tests they set up. Proximus NXT, in turn, gave us access to the right technology with 5G. For us, the PoC has been a great success and the real fruit of a co-creation between us all. We’re not stopping there. Now we’re aiming for industrial validation."
For all the projects we set up, the difference is made by the people involved. At Proximus NXT, Frédéric Renette acts as a true conductor.
Yanneck Adolphe, Head of Research and Development at Deltrian
Alexis: "From the outset, we felt that we were working with serious, sincere partners who wanted to do a good job. Numerous meetings and meals together are proof of this. It took a few months, but we want to continue working together. We have already make our algorithms available. In the future, it will also be possible to customize AI for other uses and needs."
Yanneck: "I always say: for all the projects we set up, the difference is made by people involved. At Proximus NXT, we’re lucky enough to work with Frédéric Renette, who acts as a true conductor of commercial relations. He made very fluid and educational communication possible. This is not always easy given the technical terms around AI. The relationship has grown from strength to strength and, in the end, what we took away from all our dealings with Proximus NXT was the motivation of all those involved. This is not always easy given the technical terms around AI."
