Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.85
December 09, 2022
…a tight time frame means more storage capacity. The micro-fulfillment trend is putting capacity closer to population centers and having a fast way of processing orders to consumers. The shift from brick and mortar has changed dramatically since COVID. I recently bought a couch, and I went to a store to see and feel it. I went to get rung up, and the associate mentioned a configuration tool on the store's website. I got on my phone and reconfigured the couch. The site told me to get some parts in store and others shipped. I got them bundled, which took…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.78
November 15, 2022
…Stern has a long legacy within the storage and micro-fulfillment industry. We are looking to learn from their experience and work together to offer creative solutions to their customers.” Addverb said it provides smart end-to-end warehouse and industrial automation and intralogistics solutions. The company said its extensive portfolio includes robots, material handling technologies, and software. It added that its fixed and flexible automation can help improve the performance and accuracy of warehouse and factory operations. Addverb's headquarters, manufacturing, and research and development facilities are in India, with global offices in Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands, the U.S., Germany, and the United…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.62
August 09, 2023
…are down from two days to hours, depending on micro-fulfillment centers and distribution networks. We want to take away as much manual intervention as we can, but there will always be some level of human support. The differentiation between “Can a robot make that decision?” and manual operation is real. I'll be speaking with [enVista] Senior Director Cal Petty at the Parcel Forum in September about the merger of automation and labor. Where would you like to see improvement? Andre: SLAM line automation is a blend of robotics and human labor. Several companies are trying to robotically palletize mixed cases.…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.20
December 22, 2022
…height and 100 lb. in payload capacity. “Attabotics’ scalable micro-fulfillment system condenses traditional warehouse aisles into a single, vertical storage structure,” the company said in a recent release announcing the newest version of its Attabot. “Inside the structure, robotic shuttles move in three-dimensional space to store and deliver goods to workers on the perimeter that pick, pack, and ship modern commerce orders.” Murphy said Attabotics' system also addresses labor challenges and increases efficiency using software and data. The company has partnered with AltaML and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute to better take advantage of AI and machine learning. Using these…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.18
April 06, 2021
…grocery, industrial, and healthcare in warehouse, retail locations, or micro-fulfillment centers. It recently unveiled an innovation hub in Norway and partnered with Asian-American grocer H Mart and Bastian Solutions. “We view AutoStore as a foundational technology that enables rapid and cost-effective logistics for companies around the globe,” stated Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group. “We look forward to working with AutoStore to aggressively expand across end markets and geographies.” “We are delighted for SoftBank to join the AutoStore team as we continue on our journey to automate all commerce and deliver best-in-class automation solutions to our customers,” said…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.90
January 08, 2020
…design and optimization of processes. The growing trend of micro-fulfillment could fundamentally change how we think about supply chains. Small and automated facilities close to customers are an enticing solution to last-mile challenges, but require enterprise-wide visibility and nimbleness. Software of all kinds increasingly leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to self-improve. It’s one thing to use this data to optimize the movement of goods, materials and assets, but it’s another to consider what a fully-automated facility could achieve when it is constantly teaching itself. The future is thrilling, but 2019 was no snooze. Here is a sampling of the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.51
May 20, 2019
…Flow Space | Flexe | STORD | Ware2Go | Micro-Fulfillment Centers: Commonsense Robotics | Takeoff | Autonomous Mobile Robots: Opex | Fetch Robotics | Clearpath Robotics | Box Packaging Automation: Rockwell Automation | ProShip | WestRock | Collaborative Robots (Cobots): Locus| NextShift Robotics | inVia Robotics | Fetch Robotics | 6 River Systems | Autonomous Drones: PINC | Vtrus | Eyesee Source: A.T. Kearney research Pop-Up Warehousing Start-Ups such as Flexe, Flow Space, Ware2Go have emerged in the market, first to support e-commerce business and peak season demand but also as a safety valve for large shippers and 3PLs seeking…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.75
February 27, 2023
…Francisco Fulfil opened its first automated dark store, or micro-fulfillment warehouse, a few months ago in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Mountain View, in partnership with The Save Mart Companies, to power a same-day grocery delivery and pick-up service called Lucky Now. The Save Mart Companies, a Kingswood Capital Management, LP portfolio company, and a California-based grocer, operates approximately 200 Save Mart, Lucky California, and FoodMaxx stores in the California Central Valley, Bay Area, and Northern Nevada. In addition to its retail operation, the Save Mart Companies also operates SMART Refrigerated Transport and is a partner in Super…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.61
April 29, 2023
…automation is acute in both large scale warehouses and micro-fulfillment centers. A new revolution in automation technology has arrived: the rapid adoption of 3-dimensional automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) machines. Every revolution requires attentive preparation with a competitive and survival mindset for those that want to win in the new environment. Despite torrid 3D ASRS adoption, many operators have not prepared for several looming down-the-road risks that might cause significant re-engineering, if not the failure of needed efficiency gains. Without careful preparation, operators will find it nearly impossible to manage unpredictable scale and throughput, achieve critical energy management for…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.31
February 19, 2021
…popularity for both traditional and D2C retailers is the micro-fulfillment center (also referred to as urban distribution centers). Buy Online, Pick-Up In-Store Buy online, pick-up in-store (BOPIS), and the more social distancing-friendly adaptations like “curbside pickup” have seen wider adoption in recent years, but particularly since the start of the pandemic. BOPIS is relatively inexpensive for traditional retailers as the last mile delivery cost is split with the customer. There are various ways to implement this approach. Some retailers like Walmart and Kroger use defined pickup windows to manage staffing and navigate peak hours, whereas Target fulfills an order within…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.02
December 27, 2021
…need to specialize beyond traditional warehouses to adapt to micro-fulfillment centers that might be located in office buildings or back-of-store. That's the specialization piece. But I think the specialized applications will be combined in a general platform. So instead of having hundreds of companies that address each specialization, we'll have a few companies that combine specialized applications into a cohesive automation solution. Looking forward to in-person events What are you looking forward to most in 2022? Bieller: Definitely in-person events. The past two years have proven that the development and introduction of new products and technologies is maintained—if not improved—in…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.49
November 28, 2022
…process in general can be automated, with connections to micro-fulfillment centers or long last-mile deliveries. Last-mile delivery is still exciting to solve—and we're doing it with customers right now—but the core problem of first mile is important to customers and helps with scale. We're not tied down to first mile or last mile. For us, the technology is the same. This use case is real and has its own challenges, such as transitions between indoors and outdoors. Gatik is attempting to go fully autonomous for the middle mile, and Nuro is going for local deliveries, despite recent setbacks. We have…
