Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.22
July 25, 2023
…he has heard from Covariant’s retail and third-party logistics (3PL) customers, Fry said worker shortages are the main impetus for automating put wall. “Workers for these roles are still hard to find—and even more difficult to keep—thus creating a throughput bottleneck in e-commerce operations,” said Fry. He cited artificial intelligence as one of the most promising technologies right now for advancing put wall capabilities. “Robotic put walls are able to sort millions of SKUs out of the box and handle them deftly with a level of precision that wasn’t possible even just a year or two ago,” Fry said. “With…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.22
July 28, 2023
…latest automation? Is it all e-commerce? Buena-Franco: We're seeing 3PLs [third-party logistics providers] that would like to have remote capabilities and have labor constraints. We can increase the autonomy level of a fleet by assigning an experienced operator to manage it. He or she can respond to an AGV calling for help and manually operate it, then switch it back to automatic mode after the assist. But we don't stop there; we're also investigating remote operation, so a robot can be rescued from a remote station. We're also hearing more from general industry. Unloading trucks is something we're investigating. Another…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.22
September 16, 2020
…different manual warehouses in Northern Europe, all operated by 3PLs. While the supply chain had evolved over the years, it had become too complex and inefficient to address Varner’s changing needs. What’s more, Varner did not have the level of control it wanted over its supply chain. “Fashion retailing is a highly competitive business, so you have to constantly cut costs and improve your quality and control in the supply chain,” Eriksson notes. The idea, then, for the new facility was to bring all of Varner’s distribution, including e-commerce order fulfillment, under one centrally located roof that would enable efficient…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.21
February 01, 2018
…more mergers and acquisitions activity in the parcel and 3PL sectors, as the major players seek to consolidate their position in the market and push into specialized—and more lucrative—niches such as global perishables and pharmaceuticals. Beware of technological promises Analysts for the global management consultancy McKinsey & Company have also weighed in on what they believe is the current state of global logistics. Their body of research comes to many of the same observations: Certain logistics-related technologies don’t always live up to their promise either here in the United States or around the world. Indeed, Ali Sankur, an expert based…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.21
December 27, 2021
…our Chucks on multiple warehouse floor levels at a 3PL [third-party logistics provider] site in the U.K. Adjusting to unique challenges like this and adapting to site layouts are efforts that will continue into 2022 to meet the demands for our customers with high-volume needs. Elazary: I'm looking forward to seeing the further maturation of e-commerce unfold. We've created su an amazing process where you can press a button and have a package delivered to your doorstep, and we're only in the beginning stages. It's going to get further refined every year as we apply technology to make it better.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.20
March 28, 2023
…when adding more products or a third-party logistics provider (3PL) make space for new clients. With this blending of AMRs, vision technology, and digital twin software, operations can have an accurate view of what is really in their facilities, open positions, and even monitor distances between goods in reserve and forward pick areas, said Jinga. “With this solution, you can embrace what we call the 'real-time digital twin,' which is the future for managing warehouses,” she said. Multiple other exhibitors highlighted digital twin capabilities. Most blend modeling with analytics to make their software useful for operational “what-ifs” and insights, rather…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.18
November 14, 2022
…of innovation with Kenco Group, a third-party logistics provider (3PL), agreed that proper solution scoping is a key first step to any automation project, AMRs included. At some of its distribution centers (DCs), Kenco uses Locus AMRs to accelerate each picking, which Montgomery said has increased the lines per hour picked in those DCs from roughly 30 to 40 lines per hour to 120 to 150 lines per hour. “We were very deliberate about establishing the success metrics prior to the implementation,” she said. A phased approach to AMRs can be a good idea, added Montgomery, because it’s a learning…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.17
July 10, 2019
…highly productive. Users of GreyOrange’s solutions include third-party logistics (3PL) provider XPO Logistics, which has deployed the bots in multiple DCs. It’s now possible to pair up a good-to-person AMR solution with a collaborative picking arm at a pick/put station to augment human associates at the pick station, says Barber. For the associates, it becomes a better work assignment because rather than walking miles per shift, they can stay at a more comfortable work cell and gain experience working with AMRs. “When you put robots into warehouses it’s typically a better working environment for the human workers,” says Barber. Not…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.17
March 03, 2020
…freight management challenges by C.H. Robinson, a third-party logistics (3PL) provider, according to Tim Gagnon, VP of analytics and data science for the company. “We have effective AI solutions embedded in our pricing, tender acceptance, freight matching and visibility services,” says Gagnon, who heads up C.H. Robinson Labs, an innovation incubator for the company. Gagnon explains that AI capability can learn from the data and processes it analyzes, and be used within a control tower. “What excites us most about these solutions is that they can effectively learn from millions of decisions and outcomes to develop more effective judgements of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.16
March 11, 2021
…research and development with Kenco, a major third-party logistics (3PL) provider, also sees factors such as C-level focus on logistics execution, and rapid evolution of technology as core reasons for all the startup activity as well as the ongoing labor availability issue. “The labor availability issue has become more pronounced as the years have progressed, which is another key factor that makes supply chains ripe for disruption through automation solutions that can help overcome that labor shortage, and also, to make the associates you do have more productive,” says Montgomery. Tom Galluzzo, CEO and founder of IAM Robotics, founded in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.15
July 12, 2019
…You can learn more at nextgensupplychainconference.com. Robotics: GEODIS When 3PL GEODIS piloted mobile collaborative robots in its Indianapolis DC, it wanted to double the picking productivity of women’s apparel by its workforce. And that’s exactly what happened. But as Kevin Stock, senior vice president of engineering, explains, the benefits didn’t stop there. The initial 30-robot installation also included: working collaboratively with the existing workforce; simplifying the job, reducing travel distances, increasing job satisfaction, and reducing training times. The overall success of the 90-day pilot was so impressive that GEODIS plans to roll out a total of 175 robots from Locus…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 0.14
December 22, 2021
…funding and more consolidation in this space. Brands and 3PLs [third-party logistics providers] have had to face a perfect storm since the pandemic—fulfill a lot more e-commerce orders with a lot less labor. This created pressures that permanently shifted the landscape, and automation is the only answer for them to keep up. It accelerated both the need for robots and the level of uncertainty they'll face over the next decade. Mobile robots help on both fronts, because they're so much more flexible than traditional fixed automation. All of that will lead to more mobile robotics companies being built, as well…
