Virtual Reality (VR) in the Supply Chain
Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to significantly impact Supply Chain management in a number of ways.
- Real-time Business Scenarios
VR can enable real-time visualization and simulation of various Supply Chain scenarios, allowing managers to make informed decisions and optimize operations. This can include visualizing warehouse layouts, optimizing transportation routes, or simulating production processes.
- Training & Education
VR can be used for training purposes, allowing employees to practice complex tasks and procedures in a virtual environment. This can be particularly useful for training warehouse workers, forklift operators, or assembly line workers.
- Remote Collaboration
VR can facilitate remote collaboration and communication among Supply Chain teams located in different geographical locations. It can enable virtual meetings, virtual site visits, and real-time collaboration on design and planning tasks.
- Warehouse Optimization
VR can help optimize warehouse operations by providing a virtual representation of the warehouse layout and inventory. This can assist in improving storage efficiency, reducing picking errors, and optimizing the flow of goods within the warehouse.
- Product Visualization
VR can enhance product visualization and design processes in Supply Chain management. It can enable stakeholders to view and interact with virtual prototypes, allowing for better design evaluation and feedback.
- Improved Safety & Ergonomics
VR can be used to simulate hazardous or complex work environments, allowing employees to practice safety procedures and identify potential risks. It can also help design ergonomic workstations and optimize workflows to reduce physical strain and injuries.
- Customer Experience Enhancement
VR can be utilized to provide immersive and personalized customer experiences in the Supply Chain, such as virtual showrooms or virtual product demonstrations. This can enhance customer engagement and decision-making.
Use Examples
In operational process design VR can be used to create a virtual reality warehouse, or DC fulfillment center, and instantly locate where the product is, show the closest route to get there, and even simulate the movement of products through the facility. This can help companies optimize their warehouse layout and reduce the time it takes to locate products.
For data visualization VR can be used to visualize data in a more immersive way, allowing Supply Chain Managers to better understand complex data sets and identify patterns that may not be visible in traditional 2D charts and graphs. Combine this with AI assistive support and you have an extraordinarily powerful tool to use.
Employee collaboration VR can be used to facilitate collaboration between employees who are working remotely or in different locations. For example, VR can be used to simulate a virtual meeting room where employees can collaborate on projects and share ideas. This is especially relevant with the growth of hybrid work (office/home), and remote/WFH. It can also be very useful with multi-country project management scenarios.
When it comes to training VR can be used to provide immersive training experiences for employees. For example, VR can be used to simulate dangerous or complex scenarios that employees may encounter in the workplace, allowing them to practice their skills in a realistic but safe VR environment.
Vehicle teleoperation for forklifts/trucks for example is an interesting twist on VR, remote operation that allows operators to control forklifts from a remote location using cameras and other sensors that feed information to the operator in a separate building. Teleoperation can be used to remotely operate unmanned autonomous or semi-autonomous forklifts/trucks.
While the adoption of VR in Supply Chain management is still evolving, it holds significant potential to optimize operations, improve decision-making, and enhance collaboration within the Supply Chain. We are seeing VR being mentioned in Supply Chain more and more, here are some examples;
- Foxerp
Foxerp highlights the potential of VR in Supply Chain Management, including real-time business scenarios, remote collaboration, and warehouse optimization.
- ISM World
ISM World reports that manufacturers are exploring VR integration to optimize Supply Chain analysis, production, hiring, training, and spending.
- ARPost
ARPost reports that warehouses, production facilities, shipping companies, and retail stores are relying on immersive technologies like VR to work faster, safer, and more efficiently.
- Soluparts
Soluparts mentions the use of VR in tracking goods within stocks, using glasses with “inside-out” technology.
- Immersive Learning News
Immersive Learning News highlights the potential of VR and AR in providing real-time information on manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, and warehouse operations, improving Supply Chain Management.
- Allerin
Allerin reports that VR can increase product efficiency, lower security incidents, and increase employee commitment in logistics and Supply Chain operations.
These companies mention how VR can be applied in Supply Chain Management to optimize operations, improve training, and facilitate collaboration. The adoption of VR in Supply Chain Management is growing, and more companies are exploring the potential of immersive technologies to enhance their operations in a variety of ways.
The global virtual reality market size was valued at $19.44 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from $25.11 billion in 2023 to $165.91 billion by 2030. This strongly suggests that we’re going to see VR used in a Supply Chain context much more in the coming years.
