Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.14
September 16, 2020
From the start of the project, we declared that we wanted to build the best warehouse in the world.” So says Anders Eriksson, the supply chain director for Varner AS, one of Scandinavia’s largest retailers. Eriksson oversaw the design and implementation of a new 500,000-square-foot, omni-channel distribution center in Vänersborg, Sweden. “Of course, it’s impossible to know or measure if it is the best warehouse in the world,” he adds, “but it was important for us to challenge ourselves and our partner.” Did they succeed? As Eriksson notes, it’s tough to say. But the final design, developed in conjunction with…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.22
September 11, 2020
Few would argue that robots, especially autonomous mobile robots (AMR), are moving from an emerging technology to another tool in the materials handling tool kit. That is especially true in the third-party logistics (3PL) industry, where Modern has featured AMR implementations at industry leaders like DHL, GEODIS, Rakuten Super Logistics and, in the July issue, UPS. See a detailed inside look at the moving parts of the NorthShore Care distribution center. Those articles highlighted some of the leading AMR solution providers that are now becoming household names, including Locus Robotics, inVia Robotics and 6 River Systems. While each of those…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.81
August 27, 2020
This top 10 list, taken from Modern Materials Handling’s 23rd-annual Top 20 Systems Suppliers list illustrates an industry at the top of its game, clearing previous records with ease. When we revisit the list next year, the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic will likely be evident. However, since the crisis has made the supply chain’s critical importance abundantly clear, these companies have every chance to continue to perform well. The art and science of managing disruption have driven the last decade of innovation, and the industry must now lean into the biggest disruption in generations. Before Covid-19, the materials handling…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.51
August 25, 2020
Editor's note: This article originally appeared in LM's sister publication, Supply Chain Management Review. DHL Supply Chain, is preparing for an anticipated surge in demand in the fourth quarter of 2020 by hiring additional workers and leveraging its investments in technology and infrastructure to support shippers. The third party logistics provider today announced that it will hire 7,000 associates through the end of 2020 to meet demand fueled both by the peak holiday shopping season and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “’Peak season’ for contract logistics providers typically takes place in the late summer months and is driven principally…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 11.52
August 21, 2020
Attabotics, a provider of a “3D” robotic order fulfillment system, announced $50 million (U.S.) in Series C funding. The funding, announced Aug. 18 and led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board through its Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP), along with existing investor Honeywell, brings the company’s total funding to $82.7 million. The funds will be used to further accelerate Attabotics’ commercial deployment, invest in new technologies, scale manufacturing operations, and more. Inspired by ant colonies, Attabotics’ system condenses a traditional warehouse into a single, vertical storage structure. Inside the structure, robotic shuttles move in three-dimensional space (X, Y, and Z axes)…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.60
August 21, 2020
Warehouse Execution Systems Warehouse execution system software (WES) grew out of the need for automated distribution centers to throttle the release of order fulfillment through automation in a way that met customer delivery windows while keeping utilization high and steady. The first WES suppliers got a foothold in Distribution Centers (DCs) that were installing high-end, fixed automation like sortation systems. These operations needed a nimbler way of releasing work to the floor versus the “waves” of work that most warehouse management system solutions of the time batched together for processing. Today, that core purpose for WES still remains, but the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.63
August 10, 2020
The COVID-19 outbreak has brought new realities to light that, just a few months ago, seemed unimaginable. Stay-at-home orders are keeping many people close to home. And social distancing – along with frequent cleaning of technology devices, hands, and surfaces – is widely accepted as the new norm. That doesn’t mean that adopting these new precautionary measures has been easy, though. Social distancing is not just about avoiding gatherings with friends and family, closing schools, or working from home. A strict physical distance must be kept in order to prevent the spread of contagions. Yet, front-line workers in healthcare, public…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 11.77
July 31, 2020
GreyOrange, a global software and mobile robotics provider that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to optimize fulfillment operations, announced that one of its autonomous mobile robots, Ranger GTP, is the first Automated Mobile Platforms (AMP) robot of its kind to be UL Certified to UL 3100, Second Edition for use in commercial and industrial environments. Ranger GTP is a goods-to-person autonomous mobile robot that can transport inventory from 220 to 3,500 pounds to workers for picking and packing, while working in collaborative performance with other robots and the human workforce. “This highly sought-after certification demonstrates GreyOrange’s leadership in setting…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 6.03
July 29, 2020
Waypoint Robotics and AHS (Advanced Handling Systems) LLC, announce a new systems integrator partnership. As a select Waypoint Certified Systems Integrator, AHS will be able to offer Waypoint’s full fleet of industrial-strength, omnidirectional AMRs to its valued customer base as part of a fully integrated automated material handling solution. AHS combines the power of creative design with a strategic selection of equipment manufacturers to create best-in-class fulfillment and distribution solutions for a wide variety of industries and clients. Waypoint Robotics develops and manufactures fully autonomous mobile robot platforms that are easy to use, industrial-strength, and designed to be setup and…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.28
July 23, 2020
A year that brought with it a whirlwind of uncertainty has also put a bigger spotlight on the use of automation in warehouses and DCs worldwide. Whether they’re adapting to new social distancing rules, under pressure to distribute a higher volume of essential goods, or trying to add more remote work capabilities, companies are leaning on technology and automation to help them achieve some or all of these goals. Of course, the push to automate the warehouses was in full force before the buzzwords COVID-19 and global pandemic became a part of our everyday language. At Modex 2020 in Atlanta,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.83
July 22, 2020
…has been some discussion about leveraging those facilities as micro-fulfillment centers for same-day and next-day e-commerce fulfillment, but, Clements points out, “We have to find a balance between speed of delivery and a model that spreads inventory across dozens of locations.” That balance helps merchants control inventory carrying costs while providing fast access to customers. “Speed of delivery is important, but so are predictability, reliability, and visibility,” Clements says; “That’s why we are linking our distribution network to our transportation network.” A great example of this is UPS eFulfillment, which can reach almost all of the United States in two…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 43.49
July 21, 2020
America Makes and Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials & Manufacturing Directorate Structural Materials, Metals Branch (AFRL/RXCM), announce the awardees of the additive manufacturing (AM) Modeling Challenge Series with $235K to be divided among the awardees. Launched in November 2019 and comprised of four individual challenges, the AFRL AM Modeling Challenge Series represented another innovative approach America Makes and AFRL are taking to advance the AM industry, the organizations note. The goal of the Challenge Series was to improve the accuracy of model predictions for metal AM, using INCONEL® nickel-chromium alloy 625 (IN625). Challenge participants were provided calibration and validation data…
