Inventry management and stock security has evolved in the last couple of years that it seems possible that human intervention will not be needeed anymore.
This is slowly happening in 73 Ikea distribution centers in nine countries, where more than 250 drones are operating. These flying array of sensitive machineries take stock of inventory and capture images of missing or misplaced items for detailed inventory reports — and they can do it all in completely dark warehouses.
For the past few decades, investors and large retailers like Amazon and Walmart have invested substantially in the adoption of an efficient system using drone technology. Companies in the future-air-mobility industry — including firms that sell technology like surveillance and delivery drones and electric aircraft — have raised US$ 22.4 billion from investors since 2004, according to a report published by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
Lately, the drone hype cycle has cooled. McKinsey data found that total funding for the sector dropped in 2023, largely because retailers struggled with using drones to reliably and affordably deliver packages to people's homes.
Meanwhile, Ikea's largest franchisee, Ingka Group, has stood out for its steady progress in drone deployment.
Ikea's narrower application of the technology has focused on the company's internal supply chain, avoiding aviation regulations and production-related expenses that have ensnared its competitors over the years.
In 2021, Ikea partnered with Verity, a Swiss startup founded a decade ago that makes self-flying drones that scan inventory in large warehouses.
Verity's other clients include the Danish shipping and logistics company Maersk and the tech giant Samsung Group, though the Dutch-based home-furnishings retailer Ikea was its first customer.
"We wouldn't be here, where we are today, without their commitment to seeing this being an actual, working product," Raffaello D'Andrea, Verity's CEO and founder, told Business Insider.
Earlier iterations of Verity's drones weren't as accurate as they needed to be and could be too large for the needs of a warehouse. By working with Ikea, Verity advanced its technology and built drones that can more easily avoid other objects and perform warehouse inventory checks for out-of-stock items. The fleet of drones performs its tasks autonomously, meaning they can scan inventory and capture data without human control. They're more self-sufficient, too: For every 10 minutes that a Verity drone is in flight, it charges for 20 minutes.
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