GOOGLE GLASS: WEARABLE TECH IN THE WAREHOUSE
How Google Glass may transform digital supply chains.
You just received a delivery confirmation after browsing a consumer website of your choice. Within the next 24 hours, the product will reach your door.聽But what really happens on the supplier鈥檚 side? To answer this question, we need to look at the advances in digital supply chains. Today鈥檚 customers, both in B2C and in B2B, want unique experiences that are delivered 鈥渙n demand鈥� and at hyper speed. [1] The greatest concern for the supplier is managing all the information at competitive prices while staying cost effective. This means that data that arrives from many different sources (warehouses, transporters, and distributors) needs to be perfectly synchronized within this time frame. Quality of the data is crucial, and thus it is still a significant technological barrier that many companies are working on. [2] A recent study by the Center for Global Enterprise (CGE) suggests that 鈥榓 digital supply chains can lower procurement costs by 20% and reduce supply chain process costs by 50%鈥�. [3]
According to SAP鈥檚 CEO 鈥淭he digital supply chain holds the promise of real-time data to sense demand, drive innovation, reduce cost, and deliver the customer the right product at the right time and price鈥�. [3] A McKinsey & Company research conducted on digital reinvention concluded that 鈥淭he biggest future impact on revenue and EBIT growth, is set to occur through the digitization of supply chains.鈥漑4] And so, suppliers are actively looking to improve their performance while taking advantage of various technological advances.
In early 2013, Google Glass was named 鈥渂est invention of the year鈥� by Time Magazine and was even dedicated a 12 page spread in Vogue magazine. Despite all the hype, Google Glass did not live up to its expectations. High price and privacy concerns were raised as tech enthusiasts referred to the product as 鈥渢he worst product of all times鈥�. [6] Trying to 鈥榮ave鈥� the product, Google Glass partnered with various companies to demonstrate its possible transformation to the industry and so, Google Glass made an interesting stir to the world of supply chain management. [7]
Google partnered with 鈥淎ctive Ants鈥�,聽 a Dutch logistics fulfillment company which ships products for 50 different online stores. It gave stock pickers Google Glasses for one week to check possible productivity increase. The results were impressive: Google Glass led to a 15% increase in stock picking speed and a 12% decrease in worker errors as it provided stock pickers with detailed information on certain products鈥� locations. Jeroen Dekker, a managing partner at the Active Ants said: 鈥淭raditionally, the pickers would walk around with pick lists specifying products, locations and quantities; now this information is displayed on Google Glass.鈥� [8-10]
Predicting that Google Glass will be worn more by a retailer than by a customer, Google customized its technology. The聽WSJ聽wrote 鈥淭he new model has a faster Intel processor, improved battery life of as long as two hours and improved wireless connectivity, it can be moved vertically as well as horizontally, while the first version offered only horizontal adjustment鈥�. [11]
Google Glass is partnering with more companies with hopes of replacing the ageing handheld terminals (HHTs) which are in use across most warehouses across the world. Likely applications will include pick, pack and dispatch as well as workforce management for store associates in the years to come. [12]
Looking into the future through Google Glass
Google Glass must take advantage of this amazing opportunity for it to rebuild its lost reputation. There is potential to generate annual savings of millions of dollars if bigger fulfillment companies such as Amazon will implement this technology. First, Google Glass needs to acknowledge that although great improvements have been made, the technology isn’t ready yet. Currently, the battery life is聽only two hours, which is not long enough to last a full workday even if an additional battery were to be added. Second, consumers would like to hear how practical Google Glass is in an environment that is not as controlled as 鈥淎ctive Ants鈥�, therefore Goggle Glass must actively engage and generate feedback from more and bigger trail companies, thus making the skeptics believe in the new value of their product.
Do you think that wearable tech can really transform the warehouse? If so, can Google Glass revolutionize the way supply chains operate? Conversely, is this trail only a gimmick and a means to revive and justify a product that did not sell?
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References
[1] 聽Hanifan, G.; Crosnier, S.; Timmermans, K. “Digital Trendsetters: Secrets Of The Most Successful Digital Supply Chains”.聽Accenture聽2016,聽Strategy.
[2] 聽Stefan S.; Philipp B. “How digitization makes the supply chain more efficient, agile, and customer-focused” (Sep 7th, 2016) https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/reports/industry4.0
[3] Digitalist “Supply Chain Futurists Predict The Impact Of Digital Transformation”聽 (Nov 3rd, 2016) http://www.digitalistmag.com/digital-supply-networks/2016/11/03/supply-chain-futurists-predict-impact-of-digital-transformation-04617201
[4] Digital McKinsey “The case for digital reinvention”聽(Feb 2017) https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/the-case-for-digital-reinvention.
[5] Deloitte US,聽“Digital supply networks” (2017) |听丑迟迟辫蝉://飞飞飞2.诲别濒辞颈迟迟别.肠辞尘/耻蝉/别苍/辫补驳别蝉/辞辫别谤补迟颈辞苍蝉/蝉辞濒耻迟颈辞苍蝉/诲颈驳颈迟补濒-蝉耻辫辫濒测-苍别迟飞辞谤办蝉.丑迟尘濒?颈诲=耻蝉::3驳濒:肠辞苍蹿颈诲别苍肠别:别苍驳:肠辞苍蝉::::搁诲锄辞1蹿迟虫::229772169289:产:::苍产
[6] Bilton, N. “Why Google Glass Broke”聽, Forbes (Feb 4th, 2015) https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/style/why-google-glass-broke.html
[7] “Wearable Tech Comes to the Warehouse” – National Fulfillment Services https://www.nfsrv.com/blog/wearable-tech-comes-to-the-warehouse/
[8]Orange Business Services “Five real world Google Glass applications” (May 30th, 2014) https://www.orange-business.com/en/magazine/five-real-world-google-glass-applications
[9] Official聽Active Ants YouTube; 2017.
[10] 聽Taylor, C. “Finally, a Real Business Use for Google Glass”聽(May 7th, 2014) http://mashable.com/2014/05/07/business-google-glass/#AB9_DBkrOgqO
[11]聽E. Morphy,聽聽“Finally, Goggle Gets Glass, We Hope” (July 30, 2015) https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikamorphy/2015/07/30/finally-google-gets-glass-we-hope/#5636c600bbae
[12] Retail Innovation, “Using Google Glass in a Warehouse”聽(Nov 21, 2014) http://retail-innovation.com/using-google-glass-in-a-warehouse
I agree that Google glass needs much improvement in terms of battery life, and it needs more trials in more complex working environment.
I also agree Google glass will bring changes to warehouse, while I think it is just the interim step for warehouse transformation. I think of two dimensions for the management of the warehouse-information flow and product movement. Google glass can solve the first problem-how to get real-time information of each product in the warehouse quickly and accurately. But it is still dependent on human’s effort, which means workers need to move around in the warehouse and check information. I believe in the future, the robots and automation can completely replace this. Automation will combine two work together: collect information and move products.
Besides, I think google glass’s end goal will still be entering consumer market, especially when VR and AR is developed so fast nowadays. Google glass is the perfect intermediate to experience AR and VR for consumers’ daily life. I expect it will replace mobile phone to further simplify people’s communication.
I really like your summary on the potential implication of the usage of Google Glass, and the independent opinion listing both its advantages and disadvantages.
Reading your summary on the potential drawbacks of using Google Glass, I thought about the significant development effort currently going into robotizing complete warehouse systems. I was wondering whether the improvement of Google Glass to fit the logistics environment will be faster than the time when robots will take over most of the activities within a warehouse system. I believe that Google can focus its efforts on improving the Google Glass exclusively on metrics that are essential to be able to integrate into a more automatized, robotics-lead logistics system.
Fascinating article! Your question about whether Google Glass is a gimmick or can really transform the warehouse is an interesting one. I do worry that the technology is not there and does not offer a large enough improvement to the warehouses with HHTs. As you point out, the battery life is really a major issue that despite some improvements in picking speed, would not really hit the bottom line. More importantly, I worry about how workers will process the information on Google Glass over time, growing to ignore information of the glass when it is purely provided, as opposed to actively seeking out information in the HHTs. I do not see this as the transformative intervention that Google may have hoped for.