Virtual Warehousing and Augmented Reality (AR) are making an impact in logistics and supply chain management. All of this is due to the need for fast and accurate delivery in the age of global trade and internet purchasing. According to MarketsandMarkets, the AR market is expected to increase from $4.21 billion in 2020 to $18.8 billion by 2025, at a compound annual growth rate of 34.8% (CAGR). Its expansion is driving logistics and supply chain management companies to invest heavily in AR technology.
What is Augmented Reality?
AR technology transforms the way we see the world by merging digital and physical elements, resulting in an interactive experience for the user. AR apps, which can overlay digital information on the actual environment, can be accessed via smartphones, tablets, AR headsets, or smart glasses. AR technology uses sensors, cameras, and algorithms to identify and track real-world items before superimposing digital material on top of them, allowing users to interact with the digital content in real-time. AR technology is beneficial in a variety of areas, including entertainment, education, manufacturing, and logistics, and it is continually evolving to give more complex and spectacular experiences.
Examples of Augmented Reality
- Assume you’re going down the street with your smartphone equipped with AR capabilities. When you point your phone’s camera towards a building, the AR app adds information about its history, ratings, and reviews, making the overall experience more interesting and educational.
- A logistics business that employs augmented reality to display to workers the exact position of a box in the warehouse, allowing them to identify and collect it more easily.
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How AR is transforming logistics and supply chain management
1. Augmented Reality will enable “virtual showrooming” of fashion products at home, allowing customers to “try on” garments using digital devices. This might enhance online shopping conversion rates while reducing the number of customers seeking returns, which currently stands at 30% for online clothing shopping.
2. Customers would be able to undertake “virtual projections” of home products, enabling them to see what furniture or appliances might look like in their homes using augmented reality.
3. eCommerce transformed retail by allowing customers to be more customized based on data. By providing an additional layer of information and customization, augmented reality will make brick-and-mortar retail shopping resemble online purchasing. AR may display information such as product ratings and “people also bought” goods to improve the in-store experience and bring it closer to syncing with eCommerce.
4. Augmented Reality opens up new possibilities for supply chain and operations planning, such as displaying workflow changes, delivering additional information during the pick-and-pack process, and accelerating last-mile delivery. It will enable them to identify products more quickly and accurately, as well as the sequence in which they should be loaded and unloaded.
The Major Hurdles to Integrating Augmented Reality in the Supply Chain
1. The hurdles to using augmented reality in the supply chain are numerous. One of the most significant barriers is cost, as investing in this technology may be costly. Due to the changing nature of AR, there are also technical constraints that might be difficult to overcome.
2. Another hurdle is convincing clients or staff to use augmented reality technology, as not all are aware of it. Producing high-quality AR content requires specific skills and resources, which might take time.
3. Lastly, privacy and security hurdles, especially the possibility of cyber-attacks or the collecting of personal data, should be addressed.
Conclusion
The logistics and supply chain management industries are undergoing a rapid transformation due to augmented reality technology, making it an important moment to be involved in this creative development. Productivity, effectiveness, and profitability will all rise as a result of AR.
