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Success Story
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For GXO Logistics, the world’s largest pure-play contract logistics provider, staying at the forefront of the industry means constant evolution. However, the transition to fully autonomous warehouse environments presents a unique technical hurdle: how do you give vehicles the “senses” they need to navigate the unpredictability of a busy inbound area?
The Challenge: Beyond Basic Automation
As GXO embarked on a sophisticated Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) project for their Inbound operations, they encountered a common industry bottleneck. While AGVs excel at following predetermined routes from Point A to Point B, they often struggle with the “last inch” of the process – identifying the specific characteristics of a pallet before picking it up.
Traditional automation often fails when faced with real-world variables:
Is the pallet a standard EUR or an industrial size?
Are the pallets stacked?
Where exactly is the SSCC barcode located on this specific load?
Without these answers, a vehicle is “blind,” requiring human intervention to “babysit” the process – defeating the purpose of an AGV.
The Solution: Vision Intelligence with Digivision & Digigate
GXO partnered with Digilo to implement a specialized vision-intelligence layer for their AGV fleet. Rather than relying solely on standard magnetic strips or laser guidance paths, GXO utilized a combination of the Digivision and Digigate solutions to act as the “brain and eyes” of the operation.
Digilo supplied two critical camera-based systems for the project:
Digivision for AGV Intelligence: Specialized cameras were installed to detect pallets, analyze their dimensions, and determine if they were stacked. This provides the AGV with the spatial data required for a safe and accurate pick-up, transforming a “blind” machine into an intelligent operator.
Digigate for Automated SSCC Reading: By utilizing Digigate (automated scan gates), the process of reading SSCC barcodes became entirely automated. As the goods flow towards the storage area, the gate captures and validates the barcode data instantly. This ensures that the digital flow in the WMS remains perfectly synchronized with the physical movement of the AGVs.
The Results: Data-Driven Autonomy
In a complex integration environment, these vision systems became the “sensors” that made the entire AGV project viable. By converting visual data into actionable intelligence, GXO achieved a seamless Inbound flow where the AGVs know exactly where pallets should be picked up and put away.
The project highlight wasn’t just the technology, but the collaborative approach to innovation. As GXO’s project lead Edwin van der Plas noted: “Digilo wants to create the right solution together with their client.”
What’s Next: Expanding the Digital Frontier
The success of this project is only the beginning. Based on the results of the AGV project, GXO is already looking toward the next phase of their digital journey: improving their manual picking process with Digipick.
By moving from barcode scanning to beacon-based validation, GXO continues to lead the shift toward a “scanless” warehouse – where technology doesn’t just assist the workers, but disappears into the workflow itself.
About GXO
GXO is a global contract logistics provider offering pure-play supply chain solutions worldwide: https://www.gxo.com
