Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.40
…faced financial challenges after the e-commerce boom during the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, the largest AMR and ASRS providers still had a strong presence, such as Locus Robotics, Mobile Industrial Robots, and AutoStore. The trends toward heavy-duty mobile robots for palletizing, such as those from Zebra Technologies, and robots for reaching high storage, such as from Hai Robotics and Exotec, were also in evidence. “So much education still has to happen,” said Jennifer Samples, vice president at AMR provider ForwardX Robotics. “We have three levels of clients: people who know they need automation but don't know where to begin, others…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.38
…radio, movie theaters and even conventional television broadcasting. The COVID-19 pandemic gave a new meaning to disruption given the scale and scope of the global shutdown of supply chains. Previous supply chain disruptions were typically regionalized and time-limited: When a hurricane threatens to hit the Atlantic coast, manufacturers and distributors in the Carolinas may not be able to predict the storm damage, but they can predict more or less when they’ll be hit and know that if they’re still standing after the storms pass, how long it’ll take to get back up and running. This was not only different in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.23
…since that last live ProMat, dominated first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then followed by the war in Ukraine and rising geopolitical instability. Since last spring, rising inflation and interest rates have been on consumers' and businesses' minds. As a result, companies aren’t just out to automate select tasks; they are also after greater operational agility and real-time analytics to help contain costs while hitting service levels. And exhibitors all around ProMat talked up integrated robotics as a way to speed up material flow and improve order-fulfillment efficiencies in distribution centers (DCs). Mobile robots roll on For sure, the market…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.04
…on and use a vehicle. “In this time of Covid-19 challenges, checklists can be updated to reinforce and remind operators of the importance of following sanitation or protective mask standards, while with access control have digital control and traceability over who is using each vehicle,” says Paramore. In this era of social distancing, the pre-shift digital checklist function is definitely being tweaked to add questions about sanitation and use of protective gear, agrees Mark Stanton, general manager for PowerFleet, a provider of telematics and fleet management software. Additionally, says Stanton, telematics provides for access control and a digital record of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.97
…to visit to participate in the design; then came COVID-19. From then on, that work took place remotely using video chats. Finally, the team established milestones to audit the performance of the system, such as the ability to pick representative SKUs before going live. Addressing those issues during a pandemic, even with video chats, wasn’t easy, especially those related to quality. Along with the pandemic-induced separation, the SBR and Berkshire Grey teams had to contend with time differences, as well as language and cultural differences. Okabe said he believes the rapport his team established with the robotics supplier allowed them…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.94
…come. After nearly two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain snafus, and shifting demand, multiple industries are looking to robots and automation to improve efficiency and mitigate widespread labor shortages. Robotics 24/7 asked the following thought leaders among robotics associations, end users, and suppliers about their thoughts: Susanne Bieller, general secretary of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) Tom Ryden, executive director of MassRobotics Suzy Teele, vice president of strategic initiatives and outreach at the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute Aaron Prather, senior technical advisor at FedEx Express Fergal Glynn, vice president of marketing at 6…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.61
…observed the ubiquity of ecommerce brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. At this juncture, that is not news. Well, how about this: According to IBM’s U.S. Retail Index, the coronavirus accelerated the shift toward online shopping - and away from brick-and-mortar - by about five years. This news may be good for a company’s top line; however, many supply chain leaders are struggling to cope with the tremendous pressure this surge has put on their internal operations, customer service, and delivery partners. “Both manufacturers and retailers, faced with ecommerce volumes that no one anticipated until 2025, are trying to meet…