Nokia hopes to boost warehouse efficiency with what it claims is the industry’s first truly automated inventory counting capability.

The inventory counting service is an add-on to its Aims autonomous inventory monitoring drone service and enables warehouses to automate inventory counting with higher accuracy and increased efficiency than manual counting.

This means warehouse operators can use autonomous drones to count items individually, such as cases or cartons, in any racked inventory location accurately and efficiently.

Warehouse shrinkage can account for three to five per cent of a company’s revenue, and a quarter of shrinkage is due to administrative errors. This, combined with continued pressure to fulfil orders rapidly, has pushed warehouse operators to a tipping point of futureproofing and automating operations to gain a business edge.

The inventory counting capability adds to Nokia Aims’ current features of finding misplaced and lost inventory, as well as empty bin detection. If a human worker can count inventory from the aisle, the Aims drone can count it too. Identified inventory counts are then compared with warehouses’ existing WMS or ERP systems to identify any quantity mismatches.

Whereas typical cycle counts use the ABC method, where inventory is counted based on varying frequency, Aims efficiently checks every location much more frequently to ensure users get a more accurate, reliable and complete picture of their inventory.

It is delivered as a service comprising drones, software and a cloud-based user interface. A drone can complete cycle counts approximately seven to ten times faster than human workers or around 300 inventory locations per hour. Aims (www.nokia.com/industries/manufacturing-and-logistics/aims) can provide users with a 40% or greater RoI and deliver immediate value on the day it is launched.

The inventory counting capability is now available to customers in the USA. Existing Aims customers will automatically gain access to this capability via a software update with no additional costs. New users who sign up in 2024 will receive this capability for free, for one year.

“Empowering warehouse operators with a competitive edge and keeping them at the forefront of automation is at the heart of what Nokia Aims does,” said Paul Heitlinger, general manager for Aims at Nokia (www.nokia.com). “We are excited to launch an industry-first, true inventory counting capability for new and existing customers, wherever and whenever. With it, customers can not only gain peace of mind as our drones are designed to work while customers sleep but also free up human workers for high-value tasks that make a difference for their businesses.”