23/01/2019 | Hardis Group
L'Oréal Cosmetic Active International's logistics hub has deployed Hardis Group's Eyesee inventory-taking drone solution to handle part of its annual inventory audit.
Hardis Group, a consulting firm, digital services company and independent software vendor, announces that Cosmétique Active International (CAI), part of the L'Oréal group, has chosen its Eyesee inventory-taking drone solution to handle some of its inventory operations at its logistics hub near Vichy, France. The firm used Eyesee alongside uniform pallet categorization and labeling standards, shaving two-thirds off the time it previously took to complete the inventory. As well as covering all inventory locations, the solution also delivered improved safety and comfort for warehouse operatives.
The Cosmétique Active International logistics hub, near Vichy, France, is where L'Oréal stores all Active Cosmetics finished products (La Roche-Posay, Vichy, Sanoflore, Roger&Gallet SkinCeuticals and CeraVe brands) before shipping them to 50 subsidiaries worldwide. In the past, inventories at the hub—which has a capacity of 25,000 pallets—were completed manually using around a dozen cherry pickers.
In July 2018, CAI teamed up with Hardis Group to trial the Eyesee inventory-taking drone solution in real-life conditions in part of the warehouse. The system, which is overseen by a single operator stationed on the ground, delivered impressive efficiency savings, shaving two-thirds of the time it previously took to complete the inventory and allowing employees to focus on higher value-added tasks. "With this new solution, we’ll no longer have to close down the hub for three days to complete the annual inventory. What's more, we'll be able to better serve our customers while the inventory is happening, with no safety concerns", says Guillaume Bosselin, Logistics Hub Director. L'Oréal group's statutory auditors have also approved the drone system for accounting and financial audit purposes.
Following the successful trial, CAI will deploy the new solution across all areas of its business in 2019, conducting inventories on the fly and correcting stock errors all year round.
About the Eyesee inventory-taking drone solution
In warehouses, inventories require significant human and material resources. They involve renting cherry pickers and stopping operations to allow operators to scan all the components which make up the stock, one by one: pallets, boxes, items.
Hardis Group's Eyesee inventory-taking drone solution is designed to make it safer and easier to conduct stock and location checks in warehouses. At the entrance to each aisle, the operator drops off the drone. Then, using its sensors and indoor geolocation system, Eyesee flies around the warehouse according to a predetermined flight plan. Its cameras capture information from the relevant logistics labels for stock-taking. The operator views the captured data on the tablet in real time and can interact with the drone if it cannot find the bar code. The captured data are then sent to the warehouse management system (WMS) or the ERP solution, so that any stock or location errors can be identified.
About L'Oréal
L'Oréal has devoted itself to beauty for over 100 years. With its unique international portfolio of 34 diverse and complementary brands, the Group generated sales amounting to 26.02 billion euros in 2017 and employs 82 600 people worldwide. As the world's leading beauty company, L'Oréal is present across all distribution networks: mass market, department stores, pharmacies and drugstores, hair salons, travel retail, branded retail and e-commerce.
Research and innovation, and a dedicated research team of 3,885 people, are at the core of L'Oréal's strategy, working to meet beauty aspirations all over the world. L'Oréal's sustainability commitment for 2020 "Sharing Beauty With All" sets out ambitious sustainable development objectives across the Group's value chain.
For more information: https://mediaroom.loreal.com