The rapid rise of e-commerce, the adoption of tote to person mobile robots, and the proliferation of artificial intelligence were the few topics discussed in a recent white paper Geekplus Technology Co. published in partnership with market research firm Interact Analysis.
Beijing-based Geek+ said the 19-page paper, titled “The Future of Warehouse Robotics,” examines where the warehouse industry is at in the beginning of 2022 and the new approaches made possible by AMR technology.
Founded 2015, Geek+ said it is trusted by over 500 global industry leaders and has been recognized as a world leader in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) by Interact Analysis. The company said it has deployed more than 200,000 robots worldwide.
Geek+ added that it applies robotics and artificial intelligence to realize flexible, reliable, and highly efficient solutions for warehouses and supply chain management.
Raunds, U.K.-based Interact Analysis said it was founded in 2017 and provides research on global technology.
The growth of e-commerce, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has pushed the logistics and supply chain sectors into overdrive and brought forward the timeline of automation, the research firm said.
More than 75% of warehouses don’t have automation
The report cites data from the research firm that reported that in 2020 there were more than 150,000 warehouses worldwide. By 2028, it is projected that there will be about 180,000.
“Much of this growth is driven by e-commerce, with a rough rule being that, for every $1 billion in additional online sales, an additional 1 million square feet of warehousing is needed to support it,” said the report. “And over half of these new warehouses 57% will be in five countries: China, the USA, Japan, India, and Germany. Moreover, 75% of the current warehouse stock has no automation at all, so the market potential for warehouse automation is huge.”
As more and more companies look for answers to challenges such as labor shortages and space constraints, Geek+ is said it is providing AMR-based services and working to innovate and develop new, ever more specialized approaches.
Highlights of the white paper include:
- How the world of warehousing has changed
- Totes-to-person (T2P) AMRs and mobile automation
- Real-world case studies
- The evolution of goods-to-person (G2P)
- AI-powered systems
AMRs aren’t the future; they are now
The white paper states that AMRs are not solutions of the future but are the reality on the ground today and will continue to shape and drive warehousing solutions tomorrow, according to Geek+.
The company claimed that AMRs are more flexible, more cost-effective, and easier to scale than traditional, fixed infrastructure. “If a team of well-managed mobile robots can pick and carry any item to any location in a warehouse, why would anybody ever install a fixed conveyor belt ever again?” it asked.
At the SITL 2022 logistics conference in Paris next month, Geek+ will provide experts on site to discuss this paper with attendees.