Nulogy Corp. and Formic Technologies Inc. this month announced a strategic partnership to jointly offer Nulogy's software-as-a-service and Formic's robotics-as-a-service, or SaaS and RaaS, products. The companies claimed that their technologies will enable customers to implement digital shop-floor systems “with speed, agility, and flexibility – without requiring outsized capital investment.”
“As manufacturers and their supply chain partners continue to grapple with labor shortages, intense competition, and shifting customer demands, many businesses are turning to technology for a competitive advantage in cost, efficiency, and customer service,” they said.
“Manufacturing cannot survive without automation, whether it's automated data flow or physical automation on the production floor,” stated Misa Ilkhechi, co-founder and vice president of sales at Formic, in a release.
“At Formic, we're focused on finding ways to make it 10 times faster, easier, and cheaper to deploy a robot and increase productivity,” he said. “We are excited to work with Nulogy, whose real-time data visibility and dynamic collaboration will add time to value for our customers.”
Formic says RaaS makes adoption accessible
Founded in 2020, Formic claimed that its RaaS model removes the risk, the complexity, and the need for upfront capital and expertise that are typically barriers to adopting automation. The Chicago-based company said it delivers robots at a rate as low as $8 per hour with guaranteed uptime, boosting productivity for small to midsize U.S. manufacturers.
Formic said its services include everything from planning and deployment to maintenance and upgrades. It provides engineering expertise, on-site customer support, and monitoring technology.
In addition, Formic said it programs, installs, and maintains all its systems at its own cost, so “manufacturers receive unlimited, 24/7 service and do not pay anything until and unless their operational output meets performance guarantees.”
The company, which raised Series A funding in January 2022, said its partnership with Nulogy will give contract logistics providers, contract packagers and manufacturers, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands with a cohesive suite of automation capabilities. They will include physical production-floor automation through Formic's robots and shop-floor data and workflow automation through Nulogy's platform.
Nulogy provides multi-enterprise platform
Toronto-based Nulogy said it is a leading supplier of digital supply chain systems enabling FMCG companies and their suppliers to collaborate on a multi-enterprise platform to serve an ever-changing consumer market.
The company said its cloud-based platform optimizes upstream supply ecosystems composed of brand manufacturers, manufacturers and packagers, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), and raw material and packaging suppliers. The data-driven AI platform is intended to facilitate supply chain responsiveness and centralized collaboration, said Nulogy.
Nulogy said its systems run within the supply networks of global FMCG leaders such as L'Oréal, Colgate-Palmolive, and Church & Dwight, as well as hundreds of supplier sites around the world.
“Manufacturers and packagers in today's consumer market can no longer afford to ignore the agility and competitive edge that data automation offers,” said Jason Tham, co-founder and CEO of Nulogy. “The shop-floor efficiencies gained by Formic's robotics technology combined with Nulogy's collaborative platform present a powerful, scalable solution for companies to operate with greater efficiency, accuracy, and flexibility.”