Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.84
The food and beverage industry has historically faced challenges including high costs and thin profit margins, so the need for creative solutions is not new. Today, businesses face some of their biggest challenges yet in the form of chronic labor shortages, changing consumer preferences, and demands for more variety and faster production. “Both food and beverage, from a distribution and wholesale standpoint, are very low-margin contributors to overall profitability, so the slightest strain—whether that be labor costs, input costs, raw materials costs, transportation costs—all heavily affect the margins and the profitability of producers, wholesalers, and distributors,” noted Mark Koffarnus, director…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.84
Exotec SAS has gained recognition for its development of supply chain systems. Yesterday, its Tokyo-based subsidiary, Exotec Nihon Co., announced that Alps Logistics Co. will use the Skypod goods-to-person system in a new warehouse in Nagoya, Japan. The Croix, France-based company also said today that it has won the 2023 MVP Excellence Award in the Technology & Solution category award from Manhattan Associates. It was recognized for its work with Alliance Automotive Group France, France’s largest independent distributor of truck and automotive parts. “Being recognized by one of the world's foremost supply chain solution providers is a strong validation of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.82
It is no news that automation is transforming many industries, and retail is no exception—especially considering the e-commerce boom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Just as retail is a massive industry, so is the retail automation market. As is illustrated below, the global retail automation market is projected to show significant growth. The market was already valued at $11.22 billion back in 2018 and is now expected to reach a value of $23.42 billion by 2026, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7% between 2021 and 2026. Source: Statista, Meili Robots What is retail automation? Retail automation refers to…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.82
Last-mile logistics can be a costly but important component of the extended supply chain. Goods must move from restaurants, fulfillment centers, retail stores, and other points of origin before traveling to customers or users. They most go through a complex series of transitions to successfully reach their final destinations. These items are not just parcels—they could be perishables such as groceries or food for dinner that evening. Typically, last-mile delivery requires a fleet of vehicles as well as workers who must drive the vehicles and get out to bring orders right to the end users, wherever they may be. In…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.82
Not only is Rapid Robotics ready to work, but it is also quickly raising funding for its robotic machine operator. In its third fundraising in less than a year, the San Francisco startup today announced a $36.7 million Series B round. The company said its Rapid Machine Operator enables manufacturers to deploy a pretrained collaborative robot in hours without any specialized skills, systems integration, or programming. Since emerging from stealth in late 2020, Rapid Robotics said it has addressed the needs of American manufacturers as they face a labor shortage aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent study…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.81
Looking to expand outside of food processing, Soft Robotics Inc. this week announced it will begin to market its artificial intelligence-enabled picking system to the consumer goods, e-commerce, and logistics industries. The Bedford, Mass.-based company said its mGripAI solution combines 3D vision, artificial intelligence, and its compliant gripper to gives industrial robots the same dexterity and hand-eye coordination of human workers. That enables robots to work in unstructured environments and complete tasks such as order fulfillment, sortation, decanting, and kitting, it said. Moving beyond food processing Initially introduced to the food processing industry in 2021, mGripAI can reliably pick, place,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.78
“There’s something happening here, What it is ain’t exactly clear”….Stephen Stills A few weeks ago I published Robotics at a tipping point. The piece focused on how 3PLs like DHL, GEODIS and Quiet Logistics are deploying mobile collaborative robots in their e-commerce fulfillment operations. One of the things that struck me is that while the implementations we’re seeing are small, it feels as if the market for mobile collaborative robotics is at a tipping point in materials handling, and it feels as if the adoption rate, poised to become in the next three to five years just another tool in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.78
It’s November, which means the holiday season is right around the corner. For most retailers, gearing up for peak is a matter of getting the right inventory in the right locations and hiring enough people to get the projected orders out the door. Those tasks are daunting enough. But, how do you recover when a facility you were counting on for the upcoming season catches fire roughly nine weeks before the first of November? Shawn Curran (left) is executive vice president of Global Supply Chain and Product Operations for Gap Inc. and Kevin Kuntz (right) is senior vice president of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.76
Dexterous manipulation has been particularly challenging for robotics developers and suppliers. Advances in machine vision, machine learning, motion control, and end-of-arm tooling are allowing robots to more accurately pick mixed items in varied orientations. This has implications for e-commerce order fulfillment, parts inspection, recycling, and other supply chain and manufacturing applications. In this webcast, the expert panelists will discuss how automated piece picking can now meet industry needs. Date: Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 (Note new date!) Time: 2:00 p.m. EST From human guidance to AI and sensor fusion, this Robotics 24/7 Roundtable will look at the current state of the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.74
Yale Lift Truck Technologies announced the availability of its Reliant forklift operator assist offering on an additional 16 Yale models at MODEX 2024 in Atlanta. The new entrants to the Yale Reliant lineup are predominantly warehouse lift trucks. This expansion brings Reliant’s availability to 59 Yale models covering a wide range of applications, including those common in retail and e-commerce fulfillment, wholesale distribution and third-party logistics operations. Reliant expansion, ADS technology highlighted at MODEX The Reliant expansion includes several models that weren’t previously available for standard order with the technology, along with additional capacities or configurations of models for which…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.72
Late last month, CoEvolution announced that its CO-PICK smart warehouse system delivered substantial increases in warehouse efficiency for Lotte Group, a South Korean Fortune 500 retailer. The company said it raised throughput at Lotte's facility by 30% more SKUs per day. Lotte Group is a leading retailer in South Korea, with a significant presence in retail, food, electronics, and confectionery. Having considered and researched multiple options, it selected CoEvolution to work on a project to automate its entire warehouse transferring operations using a multi-vendor robot fleet. CoEvolution said the CO-PICK system uses orchestration software to deliver highly efficient picking, order…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.72
An ongoing question among supply chain stakeholders, when it comes to global e-commerce bellwether Amazon, continues to be just how far it will spread its wings in terms of expanding its logistics and supply chain operations and processes. Regardless of what people say or think, there are very real signs that Amazon is not going to sit on the sidelines and let logistics come to them, as, conversely, in many cases, it is really coming to logistics. Two quick examples of this include its 2012 $775 million acquisition of Kiva Systems, a developer of mobile-robotic solutions that automate e-Commerce order…