GeekPlus Technology Co. this week announced the successful deployment of its autonomous mobile robots in CEVA Logistics' warehouse in Truganina, Australia. Körber Supply Chain implemented the project to improve the efficiency and productivity of the facility and ensure smoother e-commerce order fulfillment for CEVA's customers.
“Today, an accelerated demand for fast order fulfillment has created a challenging scenario for businesses everywhere,” said Lit Fung, managing director for Asia-Pacific, the U.K., and the Americas at Geek+. “In Australia, a booming e-commerce landscape has made ‘delivery services’ the determining factor of who’s going to come out on top. Using smart robot automation, CEVA has turned a challenge into an opportunity that will allow them to set the standard and gain considerable advantages.”
Founded in 2015, Geek+ applies robotics and artificial intelligence to efficient warehouse systems and supply chain management. The Beijing-based business has 1,500 employees and 300 global customers and said it has deployed more than 20,000 autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) worldwide.
Geek+ recently won a 2021 Supply Chain Excellence Innovation Award for its robotic sorting system, alongside Asda Logistics Services and AMH Material Handling.
CEVA Logistics searched for solutions
CEVA Logistics is a global third-party logistics provider (3PL) with more than 78,000 employees working across 10 regional clusters around the world. The Marseille, France-based company serves sectors including automotive, retail, energy, healthcare, industrial, and aerospace. It has also worked with Locus Robotics and Berkshire Grey robots.
CEVA was looking for innovative automation to better serve its Australian clients. With upwards of 500,000 sq. m (5.3 million sq. ft.) of warehouse space and 1,350 employees, the logistics provider's site in Australia is one of the largest warehouses in the southern hemisphere. When a leading online shoe store experienced rapid growth, CEVA searched for ways to meet consumers’ demands for speed and cost-effective delivery.
Previously, CEVA would have had to add more employees to an already labor-intensive process, with 12 to 15 employees using radio-frequency picking devices to complete one order. Körber Supply Chain deployed the AMRs at the company's facility.
“CEVA felt that a number of its clients could benefit from AMR technology,” said Ravi Nath, Körber Supply Chain’s head of automated solutions for Australia and New Zealand. “As this was the first pilot project for the business, ;it was extremely important that we delivered on our predictions.”
Hamburg, Germany-based Körber AG is an international technology group with about 10,000 employees and more than 100 locations worldwide. It is organized into supply chain, digital, pharmaceuticals, tissue, and tobacco business areas. The Körber Supply Chain unit has an office in Minneapolis.
Geek+ delivered rapid results
Following the project’s seamless implementation, CEVA said it saw an immediate improvement in key performance indicators (KPIs), most notably a fourfold increase in picking efficiency. CEVA plans to use Geek+'s systems to support its wide customer base and secure its 3PL leadership position.
Today, Geek+ AMRs move mobile inventory racks and pallets to picking stations, saving employees time that would otherwise ;be spent walking around finding and picking inventory. The result is an overall improvement in employee comfort and logistical efficiency, as well as considerable savings, said the company.
“Thanks to Geek+’s AMR technology, we now have a very fast and efficient picking productivity and throughput solution,” said Milton Pimenta, CEVA Logistics’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand.
Geek+ said it will “continue to work closely with Körber to help scale operations across regions and support CEVA with efficient, accurate, and flexible AMRs” for the 3PL's network of global customers.
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