Augmented reality app boosts Gefco’s supply chain productivity

Gefco, a market leader in complex supply chain solutions, has developed an innovative augmented reality (AR) app in partnership with ArtiShock. The company’s freight forwarding department will use the new solution – called Gefco Enterprise AR – to improve quality checks and boost productivity in the cold-chain packaging process.

Gefco Enterprise AR makes use of Microsoft’s HoloLens and enables warehouse operatives to interact with spatial digital information such as user instructions and protocols. The app has been custom-designed to improve the company’s quality checks and achieve crucial time savings in the packaging process, especially in the case of essential medicines when both accuracy and efficiency are of major importance.

50% increase in productivity

Gefco Enterprise AR was successfully trialled in the Gefco warehouse at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. In some scenarios, the company not only achieved a 50% increase in productivity but also noticed various indirect benefits, such as shorter training periods for new employees. After the proof-of-concept phase, Gefco plans to roll out the solution in its global network. The company also intends to find new ways of using the technology to improve the efficiency and quality for customers in all sectors, and above all for those in the automotive sector.

“The packaging process is very important for Gefco’s freight forwarding department, in particular for critical medicines that we ship to customers all over the world by air. Such medicines require special packaging, including special instructions which must be followed precisely in order to safeguard the product integrity. Gefco Enterprise AR will play a crucial role in boosting the productivity of this process, minimizing mistakes and improving our training processes,” says Karin van den Brekel, Global Lead Life Sciences & Healthcare at Gefco.

Revolutionary augmented reality

“Augmented reality is revolutionizing how we interact with our surroundings and how we work. The impact of spatial computing can be compared to the evolution of the smartphone. It will gradually become a part of everyone’s lives, and it will be a commodity within the next five to ten years,” predicts Cristian Vorstius Kruijff, CEO of the Dutch full-service AR company ArtiShock. “This project demonstrates that it is realistic to not only expect but also achieve a positive ROI by investing in augmented reality.”