ASICS Cuts Inventory Discovery Time 60% With Autonomous Drones

ASICS has implemented Corvus Robotics autonomous inventory drones at its Byhalia, Mississippi distribution center, achieving a 60% reduction in the time required to locate misplaced products. The system conducts seven nightly flights through high-risk storage areas, increasing counting frequency from twice annually to monthly while freeing up 200 hours of labor monthly for higher-value tasks like root cause analysis and exception management.

The deployment directly addresses a critical operational challenge: under the previous semi-annual counting cycle, misplaced inventory could remain hidden for six months, resulting in customer order cancellations and forced liquidation of excess stock at discounts. By detecting discrepancies within weeks rather than months, ASICS now maintains higher inventory availability confidence, allowing the company to publish its full product feed to online marketplaces rather than holding back 12-15% of inventory as a safety buffer.

This case demonstrates how targeted automation in warehouse operations can unlock dual value streams: improved order fulfillment and revenue recovery. The technology also reduces energy consumption by decreasing lift equipment usage, presenting both operational and sustainability benefits that position drone-based inventory management as an emerging best practice in large-scale distribution operations.