3PL opts for pick-by-vision technology

Formed 30 years ago as the logistics arm of one of the world’s largest construction equipment manufacturers, Neovia Logistics is now a leading third-party logistics (3PL) provider. At its warehouse in Greenwood, Ind., the company has increased work efficiency by 15% after implementing smart glasses for order picking.

Neovia has been working with smart glasses (Picavi) since 2019, and now uses 85 pairs for order picking. The company has also purchased another 100 smart glasses and a worldwide location license for future global rollouts. According to the company, it’s now the world’s largest user of smart glasses in intralogistics. Workers wearing the solution handle the processing of motorcycle components and retail merchandise for an internationally renowned motorcycle client at the Greenwood facility.

A new smart application within the smart glasses’ ecosystem is helping Neovia achieve further efficiency gains. The new business intelligence solution has features to generate data and provide administration and maintenance of the pick-by-vision glasses. Among other things, the integrated mobile device management simplifies training for new employees.

A “screen cast” function allows the real-time display of the glasses to be projected onto a monitor or tablet. This allows trainers to illustrate work steps, especially for new employees. In addition, Neovia uses the software tool for analytics. Application parameters and KPIs are collected from sensors on the smart glasses and then optimized with the software.

“With the pick-by-vision solution, we have seen significant productivity improvements in our warehouse picking processes,” says Larry Olson, director of global business technology solutions. “The simplified visual guidance for users also saves us up to 60% of our training time and has helped improve our overall outbound order accuracy.”