From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report.

Sashnee Moodley:

Huawei South Africa has showcased its newly opened 14 000 m² artificial intelligence-powered, green intelligent warehouse in Johannesburg. Natasha Odendaal tells us more.

Natasha Odendaal:

This smart facility boasts advanced technologies and intelligent systems to enhance efficiency and security and reduce costs, which the company says marks a major step forward for the logistics and warehousing sectors.

Huawei South Africa CEO Will Meng…

Natasha Odendaal:

The warehouse is driven by Huawei’s green power solutions, e-security systems and modern logistics, called the GEM framework.

The GEM framework is delivered through a digital warehouse management system, which makes it possible to automate 60% of daily processes.

AI-led solutions allow the facility to achieve an overall increase in efficiency of between 70% and 80% when compared with traditional warehouses.

Huawei South Africa supply chain business logistics manager Stevin John du Plessis…

Natasha Odendaal:

In line with the green power solutions component of the GEM framework, the facility uses a PV system supported by an Huawei inverter on each building, which generates around 90% of the facility’s daytime energy needs.

It enables companies to meet their own energy needs and achieve further returns on investment by trading excess power back to the grid.

Under the e-security feature, an intelligent camera system provides 24/7 full-colour clear coverage and AI-enabled features to detect safety hazards and security incidents.

The modern logistics component ensures that the picking operation in the warehouse is 100% paperless, using PDA scanners for real-time operations.

The role of warehouse pickers at the smart facility has also evolved owing to the use of automated guided vehicles and automated guided forklifts, which increases efficiency by enabling pickers to process around 110 lines an hour compared with traditional warehouses that process only up to 60 lines an hour.

Sashnee Moodley:

That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy. Don’t forget to listen to the audio version of our Engineering News daily email newsletter.