Loadstar Sensors

In the frigid January pre-dawn of Springfield, Massachusetts, the area manager at an aerospace parts distributor is hurriedly preparing delivery for a customer factory near Albany, which is running short of critical parts. As he worries about a winter storm in the forecast, he starts receiving frantic texts from a customer in New Hampshire: It is almost out of several key components, two days before a scheduled delivery, and demands the parts before the next shift. Our manager is torn—should he proceed to Albany or make a mad dash to New Hampshire? Should he risk driving at all, given the approaching storm? In the middle of his dilemma, he thinks, “If only there were an easier way to offer Vendor Managed Inventory services. If only we could remotely monitor customer inventory, generate replenishment orders from a smartphone and schedule deliveries before potential stock-outs. There has to be a better way!”

There is, thanks to Fremont, CA-based Loadstar Sensors. Its StockVUE IoT solution for inventory management provides distributors remote visibility into inventory levels and automatically generates alerts and replenishment lists using networked digital weight scales. “It’s not humanly possible to track hundreds of items manually to make sure they are in stock, and that’s where we come in with StockVUE, our patented weight-based inventory management solution,” says Div Harish, the CEO of Loadstar Sensors.

StockVUE uses cloud-connected digital weight sensors to upload data to a secure database. This data is then analyzed to compute item counts with 99 percent accuracy and can be accessed from anywhere, anytime on any Internet-connected device. Users can set max/min/critical levels to receive alerts about low inventory or sudden changes in inventory indicating theft or pilferage. Through StockVUE, Loadstar offers a practical, easy to use solution to manage inventory over wide distances and make Just-in-Time and Lean Inventory management a reality.

Its pioneering role in digital weight sensing differentiates Loadstar from its competition. Founded in 2003 as a digital load cell manufacturer, Loadstar Sensors was the first company to build USB load cells for aerospace, automotive, medical device and consumer applications. Loadstar has over 10,000 customers across eighty countries and holds twenty patents globally covering various aspects of digital sensors and IoT connectivity.

Loadstar’s technology has also caught the eye of aerospace leaders such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman and NASA, as well as innovative startups such as Terrafugia and Blue Origin for applications requiring highly accurate digital sensors. “Our digital force sensors have been used by NASA to measure forces acting on a parachute and by Lawrence Livermore to test the aerodynamics of trucks in wind tunnels,” says Harish. “Building on this underlying technology, we came up with a solution for inventory management to make our customers’ operations more efficient and improve their bottom lines.” Today, StockVUE’s IoT solution allows users to eliminate stockouts, reduce inventory carrying costs and lower the risk of theft and pilferage.

Harish points out that StockVUE has applications beyond inventory management. For instance, Loadstar has adapted StockVUE to monitor IV bags in hospitals to reduce workload for nurses and improve patient care. Other applications include route optimization, manufacturing assembly line monitoring and autonomous retailing. “StockVUE has been operating successfully at multiple customer sites for the past three years, and we see tremendous growth opportunities ahead,” concludes Harish.