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Headquarters:	Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Annualised revenue run rate:	Rs 300 crore
Industry:	Foodgrain Warehousing
Storage Capacity:	5.0 million tonnes
Size:	11,000 warehouses
Presence:	21 Indian states

Overview

Arya.ag, the largest grain trading network in India, connects farmers with consumers of agricultural products while offering total assurance about quantity, quality, and payments. Arya.ag has built a solid groundwork while developing reasonable alternatives for boosting the market dominance of smallholders and their organizations. They have 11,000 warehouses, are dispersed throughout 425 districts in 21 states, own grain valued at USD 2 billion, and their platform facilitates approximately USD 600 Mn of finance each year.

Through Aryadhan, a fully owned NBFC subsidiary, Arya also provides finance for warehouse receipts and allows loan facilities for farmers, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), financial institutions, SME agricultural processors, commodities traders, and corporate agricultural businesses.

Case Summary

This case study is about Arya.ag, the largest grain trading network in India, which faced security and operational challenges in managing its remote grain warehouses, including theft, intrusion, security guard inefficiency, and human error in inventory count. The company owns 11,000 warehouses, is dispersed throughout 425 districts in 21 states, and has grain valued at USD 2 billion, with its platform facilitating approximately USD 600 Mn of finance each year. To address these challenges, Assert AI developed an AI-based solution that leveraged advanced computer vision and machine learning technologies to detect and prevent theft, intrusion, and other security threats in real-time. The solution included features such as vehicle detection, attendance tracking, and shutter monitoring to ensure greater accountability and transparency in the warehouse operations. It also automated the inventory counting process, which eliminated the human error that had previously plagued the warehouse management process. Overall, the solution provided Arya.ag with a comprehensive and reliable security and inventory management system that helped to improve the efficiency and profitability of their warehouse operations. The use cases included vehicle detection, loading/unloading counting and monitoring, intrusion detection, attendance tracking, and shutter monitoring, which helped reduce intrusion, theft, and improved security guard attendance monitoring, leading to cost reduction achieved by optimizing 250 warehouses, resulting in an annual savings of INR3,60,00,000, 3 real-time pilferage detection and alerts, and a 5% increase in revenue.

The Problem

Arya.ag faced security and operational challenges, including theft, intrusion, security guard inefficiency, and human error in inventory count in their remote grain warehouses.

Arya.ag faced multiple challenges in managing its grain warehouses, including theft, security guard inefficiency, intrusion, and human error in inventory count. Due to the remote location of the warehouses, they were often subject to theft and intrusion, with inadequate security measures in place to prevent these incidents. Additionally, the security guards who were employed to monitor the warehouses were often found to be inefficient, leading to a lack of accountability and further exacerbating the security concerns. Human error in inventory count was also a significant problem, with manual counting often leading to inaccuracies and discrepancies in the inventory records. These issues created significant operational and financial challenges for Arya.ag, as they struggled to ensure the security and integrity of their inventory while also managing the logistical challenges of operating in a remote and poorly connected region.

Assert AI’s security, pilferage detection, and resource tracking solutions have been essential in safeguarding our warehouses. Their real-time alerts for pilferage, loitering and unprecedented theft situations enables us to take immediate action and prevent losses. Their AI technology has been a game-changer for our warehouse management and security.

Navneet Rai

Chief Digital Officer (CDO) – Arya.ag

Challenges

Overcoming Challenges in the Arya.ag Project

The Arya.ag project presented us with a unique set of challenges that required a creative and innovative approach to problem-solving. One of the most significant challenges was the remote location of the grain warehouses, which posed a serious problem due to poor power and internet connectivity. Farmers needed to have access to the warehouses, hence the warehouses are mostly located in areas where infrastructural connectivity was a major issue.

To tackle this issue, our team came up with a solution that involved installing local servers at each warehouse location. This allowed us to run the AI system without relying on external power or network connectivity. The local servers also served as data storage points, which helped to reduce the amount of data that needed to be transmitted over the internet.

We worked closely with the local community to ensure that the servers were installed in secure and accessible locations. This meant that the farmers could easily access the warehouses and use the AI system to manage their crops, even when power and network connectivity were unreliable.

Despite the challenges presented by the remote location and poor connectivity, we were able to successfully implement the AI system and provide farmers with the tools they needed to manage their crops effectively. The local servers have proved to be a vital component of the system, allowing us to overcome the limitations of poor connectivity and provide a reliable and efficient service to the farming community.

Our team’s innovative approach to problem-solving and close community collaboration has enabled us to overcome the challenges presented by the remote location and poor connectivity in the Arya.ag project. We are proud to have played a part in improving the lives of farmers in this region and helping to create a more sustainable and efficient agricultural sector.

The Solution

Assert AI developed an innovative AI-based solution for Arya.ag to address the security and operational challenges faced by their remote grain warehouses. The solution leveraged advanced computer vision and machine learning technologies to detect and prevent theft, intrusion, and other security threats in real-time. It also included features such as vehicle detection, attendance tracking, and shutter monitoring to ensure greater accountability and transparency in the warehouse operations. By automating the inventory counting process, the solution eliminated the human error that had previously plagued the warehouse management process. Overall, the solution provided Arya.ag with a comprehensive and reliable security and inventory management system that helped to improve the efficiency and profitability of their warehouse operations.

Use Cases

A) Vehicle detection – Our AI system detects vehicles entering or leaving the warehouse premises, enabling Arya.ag to monitor and manage their inventory more efficiently.

B) Loading/unloading counting and monitoring – Our AI system counts the number of sacks loaded and unloaded from the warehouse, helping Arya.ag to track their inventory in real-time.

C) Intrusion detection – Our AI system can detect suspicious activity at the warehouse when the shutters are down. The system sends real-time alerts to the control room and the police when it detects someone trying to open the shutter or engage in suspicious activity.

D) Attendance tracking – Our AI system takes attendance five times a day by capturing photos of security guards at a select place, ensuring that the guards are present and on duty when they are supposed to be.

E) Shutter monitoring – Our AI system monitors the shutters of the warehouse from 8pm onwards, sending real-time alerts to the control room when all the shutters of a warehouse aren’t down after 8pm, which helps to prevent theft and improve security.

All these use cases lead to the reduction of intrusion, theft and monitoring of security guard attendance, which helps the client to improve the security and efficiency of their warehouse operations.

Accomplishments:

Cost reduction

Cost reduction achieved by reducing the number of security guards in warehouses, resulting in an annual savings of INR3,60,00,000 by optimizing 250 warehouses.

Shrinkage check

Our algorithm has been instrumental in identifying and addressing shrinkage concerns in two of the client’s warehouses. Through our analysis, we detected a shrinkage rate of 1% in these locations. With this insight and real-time alerts, we were able to take corrective measures to stop the shrinkage, thereby ensuring the client’s inventory and assets are secure.

Pilferage Detection

Our algorithm’s real-time alerts have been critical in detecting pilferage concerns in the client’s warehouses. Our algorithm detected a pilferage in real-time, and our system sent out alerts to the client’s security team three times, enabling them to take immediate action every time. The incidents have been reported to the authorities, and FIR has been filed. Our algorithm’s vigilant monitoring has helped prevent further losses for the client and ensure the safety and security of their assets.

Client’s Accountability

Our AI based security protocol has increased the overall accountability of our client resulted in greater confidence from farmers to engage with the client, leading to a 5% increase in revenue.

Streamlined Warehouse Operations

Implementation of a facial recognition-based security guard attendance system has significantly increased the efficiency of warehouse operations. The automated system accurately records and tracks the attendance of security guards, eliminating the need for manual recording and reducing the possibility of errors. This has resulted in streamlined operations and improved time management, allowing the client to focus on their core business activities while ensuring the security of their assets.

Smooth Transition

The optimization process was executed efficiently and with minimal disruption to warehouse operations, ensuring a smooth transition to the new security protocol.

The Result

Making a Difference with Our Innovative Solutions

Real-time AI at remote location

Our team’s innovative solutions have enabled us to achieve significant accomplishments in the Arya.ag project. Despite the challenges posed by the remote setting of the warehouses, we have been able to provide reliable power backup and network connectivity on-premise, using GPU technology. This has enabled us to overcome the challenges presented by unreliable power and network connectivity and provide farmers with a reliable and efficient service.

Quick Deployment

Our quick deployment of the computer vision system has impressed the client, and we are now covering 270 warehouses.

Outperformance

Another most significant accomplishments has been our ability to outperform the competition. The client initially hired two AI companies, but they are gradually moving more warehouses from the other vendor to us. This is a testament to the quality of our service and our commitment to providing the best possible solution to our clients.

Real-time security alerts

Our AI system has already made three theft alerts, with real-time alerts to the control room, and police cases being filed for intrusion. This has helped to improve the security of the warehouses and protect the crops of the farmers.

Edge Computing

We have also implemented an innovative data storage solution that involves storing data on the Local GPU and backing it up on internet availability. This ensures that the data is always available when needed, even in areas with poor network connectivity.

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