Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.85
August 02, 2018
…the scaling e-commerce market. “To compete with behemoths like Amazon, warehouse automation is critical for e-commerce companies; but the overhead cost of purchasing a fleet of robots is often beyond reach,” said Lior Elazary, founder and CEO of inVia Robotics. “We’re excited to have this funding to fuel the growth of our subscription-based RaaS technology to optimize warehouse performance and increase productivity for our customers.” The inVia Picker robot works collaboratively alongside human workers to completely eliminate the need for operators to walk around the warehouse. This allows human workers to concentrate on more complex tasks like picking and quality…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.68
July 13, 2018
…his production team “into a mystery room at the Amazon offices and revealed a secret R&D project: ‘Octocopter’ drones that will fly packages directly to your doorstep in 30 minutes.” Faster than you can say “same day delivery,” drones were the buzzword du jour at supply chain conferences, much like RFID following the infamous Walmart mandate about a decade earlier. Given the number of e-commerce deliveries every day in my neighborhood in a small town in New Hampshire, I sometimes imagined the sky blackened with Amazon drones, like a scene out of Hitchcock’s The Birds. And then? Well, at least…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.05
July 09, 2018
…a pioneer in goods-to-person robotics that was acquired by Amazon). “We are a drop-in replacement for cart picking that is a full-system solution,” explains Jerome Dubois, co-founder of 6 River Systems. “We not only do the transport, we are the pick station, we are the put-to-light, we are the scanner, and the aisle manager functions. Everything is contained within our robot.” 6 River’s software can integrate with a warehouse management system to get order information, and with that data, it figures out the most efficient work assignments for each robot or “Chuck” as they are called. The software then sends…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.81
July 09, 2018
…their bad habits.” Jindel adds that demographics, e-commerce and Amazon have permanently changed LTL market dynamics, which aren’t going back to the old days any time soon. “The LTL sector will continue to remain tight and favorable to carriers until autonomous vehicles are embraced by society and lawmakers,” he says. “Until then, it’s Christmas time for the LTL industry.” Indeed, LTL carriers can already hear Christmas bells ringing in data of their financial charts. Revenue per hundredweight jumped 3.7% year-over-year in the first quarter with tonnage up a whopping 4.7%. That would indicate a shifting of heavier freight shipments from…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.27
June 08, 2018
…and do it more efficiently than ever. Walmart and Amazon can afford to develop these capabilities internally. Other companies’ primary focus is on getting orders out the door. They need to bring knowledge, expertise and innovation from the outside to help them apply technologies and systems that optimize operations. We believe companies need to have a program in place that provides 10% classroom training, 20% coaching and mentoring and 70% experience-based learning. People have to be life-long students who continuously improve. The future of distribution depends on developing a talent pool that can apply decision science and technology to the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.50
May 17, 2018
…at Kiva Systems before the company was sold to Amazon in 2012. “When we founded the company in 2015, we decided that innovation means nothing unless it brings value to the customer,” Dubois says. “So, we asked: What’s the application that can be improved in the warehouse and that was pick-to-cart? Ultimately, our ah-ha moment was that it’s really a labor and a training issue. We decided not to go after the picking arm and replace the human, but create a solution that integrates the transport vehicle, the scanner, the WMS system, put-to-light and conveyor into one system that leads…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.35
April 11, 2018
…training inexperienced or unskilled employees is costly. Companies like Amazon have used automated systems to reduce the time it takes to train employees, bringing new hires up to speed in as little as two days using technology like touch screens and robots. Adopting automated transportation solutions like robotic lift trucks can help simplify tasks reserved for employees. For example, in goods-to-operator fulfillment workflows, employees do not need to know the storage location for inventory required for each order; rather, they can focus on picking and packing orders as quickly as possible from the inventory brought to them by a robotic…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 18.28
February 09, 2018
As reported by The Verge, Amazon will finally launch its shipping service for businesses in Los Angeles in the “coming weeks,” according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. The service, dubbed Shipping with Amazon or SWA, will directly compete with companies like United Parcel Service Inc. and Fed Ex Corp. However, it will be initially restricted to companies selling goods on Amazon’s own marketplace. No doubt executives at companies FedEx (NYSE: FDX) and UPS (NYSE: UPS) are no doubt waking up to frantic phone calls about what their industry might look like in five years. Read: Amazon's…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.07
January 25, 2018
…this year in the Houston Chronicle read, “In Houston, Amazon’s Robots Mean More Work for Humans, Not Less.” The article went on to state that Amazon expects to hire 2,500 full-time employees to staff its massive warehouse – more than double the number of jobs it announced the prior year at the outset of the project. Amazon isn’t the only company finding common ground for humans and robots in its warehouses. Earlier this year in Tennessee, DHL began testing robots to assist its pickers in order fulfillment. Rather than pushing a bin or cart, the robots work alongside workers, helping…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.29
November 28, 2017
…on average than brick-and-mortar retail in the same area. Amazon has famously stated its intention to add 150,000 seasonal workers to its fulfillment centers this year and you can bet that many of those jobs will become permanent. Even the most highly automated fulfillment centers require workers with a good mix of physical and cognitive skills. Increased automation, says Mandel, “will bring down the cost of distribution, which now amounts to 50% or more of the final purchase price of many consumer goods. That would drive down prices, helping consumers.” The growth of e-commerce fulfillment centers and the rising adoption…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.00
November 10, 2017
…will Change the World of Design. Related Article: Is Amazon Creating Self-Driving Cars for Delivery? Related White Papers The Future Isn’t What It Used To Be According to predictions made a few decades ago, current travel should involve self-driving automobiles, jetpacks and flying cars, with space transport a common occurrence. Download Now! Parcel Delivery: The Future of Last Mile Currently subject to significant disruption, last-mile delivery, especially of parcels, is getting a great deal of attention in the media and from investors, and rightfully so. Download Now! Drone Technology: Clarity from Above According PwC's study on the commercial applications of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.21
November 03, 2017
…have slowed their ability to move forward. Companies including Amazon and Alphabet’s Project Wing have at times had to test their drone-delivery systems in other countries. Key dates after publication of Federal Register Notice (FRN) UAS Integration Pilot Program Resources Presidential Memo Presidential direction to establish a pilot program to enable public/private partnerships to test and evaluate the integration of civil and public UAS operations into the National Airspace System. Federal Register Notice The official public announcement of the program. Screening Information Request Step-by-step instructions on how to submit an application, including what kind of information you need to provide…
