Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.12
Supply chain disruptions have increased demand for automation, and warehouse robot providers are busy scaling up to meet that demand. Exotec Solutions today announced $335 million in Series D funding, bringing its valuation to $2 billion. The Lille, France-based company said it plans to use the funding for large deployments worldwide and to hire 500 engineers by 2025 to accelerate development of its technology. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to inventory delays and port congestion, and industry analysts expect these challenges to increase in frequency and severity, noted Exotec, which has opened a U.S. office in Atlanta. Supply chain disruptions…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.12
What does it take to put together an award winning supply chain utilizing NextGen supply chain technologies? That’s one of the questions that will be answered at the NextGen Supply Chain Technology Conference, April 27 – 29, 2020 at the Chicago Athletic Association hotel in Chicago. The conference is sponsored by Supply Chain Management Review. You can click here to view the agenda. Click here to register. All too often, new technologies are a tough sell. And it’s no different, in fact it may be even tougher, with NextGen Technologies from AI to blockchain, robotics , analytics and the big…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.10
Editor’s note: The following column by Luther Webb, vice president of data science for TREW, is part of Modern’s Other Voices column, a series featuring ideas, opinions and insights from end-users, analysts, systems integrators and OEMs. Click here to learn about submitting a column for consideration. ————- The ramp-up is almost gone, with only weeks remaining to tell how well your operation is prepared. Now is the time for near-term actions that will leverage those long-range plans and make the difference in throughput and performance. Below are 10 operational steps you can take to ensure every play is well-made and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.07
While the majority of warehouses worldwide have yet to take full advantage of mobile robots, that number is shrinking. Transport and logistics provider GEODIS SA and Locus Robotics Inc. today announced a new expansion agreement. The companies plan to deploy a total of 1,000 LocusBots at GEODIS warehouse locations worldwide over the next 24 months. This represents one of the industry's largest mobile robot deals to date, they said. “As we continue to navigate industry-wide challenges such as skyrocketing e-commerce demand and labor constraints, it is crucial we remain committed to implementing the most innovative and effective robotics automation solutions…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.05
OSARO Inc. today announced the OSARO Robotic Kitting System, which uses artificial intelligence and end effectors to pick and place products into kits. The e-commerce robot addresses the growing market for subscription kits, which bundle items into a customized bundle shipped as a single stock-keeping unit, or SKU. “Demand for subscription packages and kits is surging, but people are in short supply. And they can’t always work graveyard shifts on short notice during unpredictable surges in business,” stated Derik Pridmore, CEO of OSARO, in a press release. “Our new kitting solution is ideal for e-commerce businesses and the 3PLs [third-party…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.05
Order Fulfillment During Covid-19 Before the coronavirus pandemic, e-commerce was said to be the fastest growing segment in the world. To some extent, the pandemic even catalyzed that growth while consumers rushed to online shopping. Meanwhile, individual warehouses ended up exposed on high volatility and unpredictability. Swisslog experts remained in liaison with customers during the pandemic. We had an opportunity to learn from these unprecedented times. Therefore, we share a list of issues that appeared to be common pitfalls during recent turbulence, accompanied with suggestions on how to avoid them in the future. 1. PERSONNEL SHORTAGE ON SITE Personnel planning…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.05
American mobile robot providers are on the move. Locus Robotics Corp. today announced the opening of its European headquarters in Amsterdam. The Wilmington, Mass.-based company said its new facility will support existing EU and U.K. customers and develop new opportunities within the fast-growing European warehouse fulfillment and distribution markets. “Our decision to expand our presence in the European market was a logical step in our business growth strategy,” stated Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Choosing Amsterdam gives us a central location that is ideal for serving our customer base, as well as giving us access to a vibrant and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.04
WINIT is a Shanghai-based, cross-border warehouse operator. It has deployed about 100 robots in one of its facilities in Birmingham, U.K. The logistics robots move around the 30,000-sq.-ft. warehouse without any confusion, helping workers pick and sort goods. The HAIPICK A42 systems from HAI Robotics helped improve the efficiency with which goods are handled by nearly fourfold compared with manual work. The robots handle nearly 50,000 pieces daily, said the company. Such gains are becoming more common as more warehouses and logistics settings adopt automation. Along with e-commerce fulfillment centers and huge distribution centers, warehouses are busier than ever since…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.01
RightHand Robotics Inc. today announced the launch of its Partner Integrator program, which it said establishes an ecosystem of robotic piece-picking products and complementary warehouse technologies for order fulfillment. Element Logic, a leading European intralogistics company, has joined the program as a charter member. The companies said they will jointly create automation for predictable, resilient, and cost-effective handling of goods at scale. “At RightHand Robotics, we’ve learned that customers absolutely need two things: streamlined integration and overall system reliability,” stated Leif Jentoft, co-founder and chief strategy officer of RightHand Robotics. “That’s why we have enjoyed developing this relationship with the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.00
Warehouses and distribution centers are looking to optimize efficiency while responding to labor shortages and the boom in e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic. New tools are helping to orchestrate people, robots, and critical software for greater productivity. Lucas Systems today said it is partnering with Fetch Robotics Inc. to offer tailored systems for harmonizing warehouse workers with Fetch's autonomous mobile robots, or AMRs. “The future environment of warehouses and distribution centers will be a mix of people, robots, machines, and systems all working together,” stated Ken Ramoutar, chief marketing officer at Lucas Systems. “The precise orchestration of all the pieces…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.00
Retailers lose $45B worth of inventory every year due to misplaced packages, stolen merchandise, and returned goods. In 2013, Walmart lost up to $3B due to discrepancies between inventory records and actual stock, according to Forbes. Now drone-based package-tracking tech could finally help solve this problem. Read: Walmart Testing Warehouse Drones to Catalog and Manage Inventory New research from MIT proposes lightweight drones that can help track and manage inventory in large-scale environments by allowing passive, long-range radio frequency identification (RFID) scanning. RFID tags have long provided a potential solution to the problem of effective package tracking through digital cataloging.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.00
As digital commerce and the on-demand economy grow rapidly worldwide, enterprises need help tackling labor challenges and expanding consumer expectations. Mobile logistics robots have emerged to enhance the efficiency of operations. Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) can include multiple sensors, control systems, and power supplies, as well as different configurations of software and manipulators. Such smart devices are serving a widening range of applications, from materials handling in manufacturing to customer service in retail. Online and offline retailers adopt AMRs Amazon.com Inc.'s Kiva robots have helped it speed the e-commerce order-fulfillment process from distribution centers to drop-off locations. Mobile robots also…