Pilot Operation: Process Redesign & TrackAware Testing
Drone manufacturer recently relocated from a small pilot lab to a 40,000 sq ft production plant and adjacent warehouse after securing a multi‑year Department of Defence contract. Over the following three years, the company’s manufacturing volume grew thirtyfold, making it the largest drone producer in the United States. However, this rapid expansion exposed severe operational constraints: all warehouse functions—including receiving, put‑away, part picking, shipping, and repairs—were performed manually, driving up labour costs, causing frequent processing delays, and resulting in fulfilment errors that operations staff had to “fire‑fight.” Warehouse operators spent excessive time locating parts, and physical‑count audits routinely revealed significant variances between recorded and actual inventory levels. At the same time, a weekly centralized planning process could not react quickly enough to real‑time demand changes, leading to recurring line‑side shortages and production line stoppages that threatened the drone manufacturer’s ability to meet its delivery commitments.
The Gamechanger: eKanban Implementation
As part of this technology pilot service to improve warehouse and production efficiency, Sensitel conducted a deep dive into the drone manufacturer’s processes and tested its TrackAware scanning platform in picking and receiving operations. We first mapped and redesigned key workflows, then ran a two‑week pilot of mobile scanner‑based transactions: warehouse staff scanned inbound receipts and outbound picks using handheld guns, feeding real‑time updates into TrackAware. Concurrently, we rolled out a simplified labelling scheme for rack-and-bin locations—e.g. “04‑02‑1‑A” (Aisle‑Bay‑Position‑Level)—to ensure consistency and adaptability as volumes grew (Figure 1).
Figure 1: eKanban Implementation
Note: This was exclusively a pilot test of TrackAware. Drone manufacturers ultimately selected another system for their full-scale software rollout, but our process redesigns and technology pilots alone delivered significant efficiency gains and proved to be a valuable proposition.
Sensitel then analysed part‑picking sequences and flow‑time measurements to redesign the warehouse layout, grouping high‑velocity components closer to packing areas, thereby reducing picker travel distances and speeding up order fulfilment. Sensitel integrated the manufacturer’s Bill of Materials data into its backorder planning process to better align production with actual stock levels, constraining procurement and production plans by real‑time warehouse capacity and work-in-progress inventory to prevent over‑ordering and stockouts. Finally, at the assembly lines, Sensitel introduced a two‑bin Kanban system enhanced with RFID technology (Figure 1: eKanban Implementation). Whenever a line‑side bin was emptied, the system automatically triggered a replenishment request to the warehouse, creating a closed‑loop, just‑in‑time supply mechanism that eliminated line‑side shortages and kept production running smoothly.
Pilot Results & Next Steps
Within weeks of launching the pilot, our process redesigns drove measurable improvements: physical‑audit variance fell by over 40%, average part‑locating time dropped by 30%, and assembly‑line stoppages due to missing components were eliminated. Although the drone manufacturer proceeded with another enterprise system for their software implementation, this pilot validated the power of targeted process changes and demonstrated the upside potential of a digital tracking system in warehouse operations, at a low financial and operational risk to the drone manufacturer.