Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.90
July 12, 2019
…this summer. 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…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.78
June 05, 2019
…Chain Management Review NextGen Supply Chain Awards, representatives from Geodis, IBM, Johnson Controls, DHL, Cisco and IDC participated in a closing award panel that was moderated by Bob Trebilcock and touched on a host of topics of interest to senior-level supply chain executives. Day 2 highlights: Digitizing the supply chain “I feel like I’m living in a science fiction novel all of the time,” said Cisco’s Jack Allen, a veteran supply chain management expert whose second-day keynote focused on the digitization of the supply chain. “Things are happening now because we imagined them a long time ago,” he added. Jack…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.54
May 20, 2019
…a proportionate number of warehouse workers. XPO Logistics and Geodis have started using Cobots at several locations to mimic zone picking. Cobots minimize travel for warehouse workers by making the journey from pick zone to pack station, clustering picking and allowing hands-free scanning as workers don’t need to carry a scanner. Locus, 6 River Systems, Fetch Robotics, and NextShift Robotics are most active in this space. Autonomous Drones Autonomous Drones for stock counting have started finding their way into warehouses to automate the inventory management function. Drones require the use of RFID technology to track the data and feed it…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 37.46
February 12, 2019
GEODIS Indianapolis, Ind. Size: 250,000 square feet Products: Apparel and fashion Stock Keeping Units: 30,000 Throughput: 20,000 units per day Shifts: 1 shift per day/7 days a week Read more about the GEODIS e-fulfillment center in the feature article from February 2019 Modern Material Handling Magazine. GEODIS is one of a handful of third-party logistics (3PLs) providers that have embraced mobile collaborative robots to improve throughput and productivity and create a better working environment for their employees. Here’s how they’re deployed. At the present, GEODIS is using the cobots only in the picking process. Picking begins when a wave of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 21.24
February 12, 2019
More than 6.5 million. That’s how many units GEODIS, the global third-party logistics (3PL) provider, had picked to a fleet of mobile collaborative robots (Locus Robotics, locusrobotics.com) as of mid-December 2018. 175 and counting. That’s the number of cobots GEODIS had deployed across its North American facilities as of that date. 2x. That’s the productivity improvements that GEODIS realized since it first deployed a fleet of 21 bots in a facility outside of Indianapolis in January 2018 following a three-month pilot, according to Alan McDonald, senior director of continuous improvement, and Kevin Stock, the senior vice president of engineering. From…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.34
December 10, 2018
…automated packaging technologies to optimize e-fulfillment and managing returns. GEODIS is utilizing mobile collaborative robots in its fulfillment operations. Last fall, DB Schenker announced that it is partnering with IAM Robotics to develop the warehouse of the future, utilizing IAM’s mobile, piece-picking robotic technology. And, DHL Supply Chain is utilizing mobile collaborative robots and smart glass technology in its fulfillment operations. In fact, a week ago, I had a chance to interview three DHL executives about a $300 million technology investment the 3PL is making to create its next generation supply chain. According to senior VP Fred Takavitz, VP of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 14.49
September 10, 2018
…CFO that included executives from Michael Kors, Canadian Tire, Geodis and a former Amazon and Walmart executive. Finding that key partner in the organization who can be a champion for the project remains elusive, as does getting the attention of senior decision makers. But, the labor issue came up in this session as well. Brock Eckles, director of strategic solutions for the 3PL Geodis, noted that a large consumer electronics company that is one of his clients has made a decision to invest heavily in automation because they can no longer fight the war over associates. Ron Kyslinger, a former…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.21
April 09, 2018
…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 the tool kit. In the words of Stephen Stills, there’s something happening here. Last week, as I was getting ready for…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 19.31
March 12, 2018
…and Alan McDonald, senior director of continuous improvement, at GEODIS, another global 3PL giant like DHL, I have another data point. GEODIS recently implemented 30 mobile robots from Locus Robotics in a 139,000 square foot area reserved for apparel fulfillment in a shared tenant facility outside of Indianapolis. Stock and McDonald report impressive results – a 100% productivity improvement rate over their baseline. It’s not a fluke: DHL is reporting similar results in the facility where it is using Locus Robotics. The catalyst for the project was that convergence I referred to earlier. It starts with labor. DC operators tend…
