Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 11.33
What is Hyperlocal Fulfillment? Inner-city congestion and rising delivery costs. Increasing demand for instant fulfillment. Skyrocketing prices for conventional distribution center real estate. The Rise of Ecommerce The four horsemen of the retail apocalypse have come together to give logistics managers a real nightmare. How do you fulfill customer orders in this environment while still maintaining an acceptable profit margin? Here's a hint. You don't always do it by continuing distribution operations out of remote, gigantic DCs. Over the past couple of years, logistics managers desperate to conquer the last-mile challenge have been trying out a new model that turns…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.46
…go mainstream. Already, companies have made fully autonomous beer deliveries and struck alliances to operate autonomous trucks (ATs) jointly. The rigs these companies are using are typically new medium- and heavy-duty trucks, outfitted with lidars, sensors, and other technology to allow the vehicle to operate without human intervention. Basic versions of the kit cost as little as $30,000; high-end packages might cost $100,000, McKinsey reports. However, most companies are in stealth mode. ZF revealed autonomous Terminal Yard Tractor to the world last year. Running defined lanes within a restricted area, the yard trucks present an easy use case for moving…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.17
…the entire production chain, from the warehouse to the delivery of goods. The MiR100, MiR200, MiR500 and MiR1000 (launched in April) are already installed in more than 50 countries at companies such as Toyota, Ford Motors, Raytheon, ABB and CABKA North America. The robots help manufacturers and other organizations keep up with ever-changing customer demands with flexible and easily adaptable production facilities. For example, Teamvantage, an injection molding and contract manufacturer, implemented a MiR100 robot with a hook (a MiRHook100) this summer at its warehouse in Forest Lake, Minnesota. “Teamvantage recently embarked on a warehouse optimization project, part of which…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.45
…fulfillment centers, coupled with machine learning to ensure timely deliveries and lower shipping costs, putting their brand and customer experience front and center. A Shopify spokesperson told LM that the Shopify Fulfillment Network is designed to provide timely deliveries, lower shipping costs, and superb customer experience for merchants and their customers, adding that this acquisition is a critical step to accelerate its growth. “Shopify and 6 River Systems have a shared vision to change the game in fulfillment, by applying the best technology to help companies of all sizes compete,” said the spokesperson. “Our plan is that logistics providers that…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.96
…expectations: Consumers want faster, cheaper shipping and accurate, on-time deliveries of an ever-expanding variety of products, and these rising service level agreements dictate order fulfilment process improvements. Pure-play e-tailers and omnichannel retailers alike are faced with escalating speeds, volumes and complexities in their DCs. Labor challenges: At the same time, rising labor costs and workforce shortages are shared hurdles faced by most, if not all, DC operations. Labor accounts for up to 70 percent of DC operational budgets, while industry growth is outpacing the labor pool by a ratio of six to one. The uptime imperative: Limiting unplanned downtime is…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 8.31
…Fulfillment Network, a fulfillment network intended to offer timely deliveries, lower shipping costs, and improve customer experience for merchants and their customers. According to a release, this acquisition is a critical step to accelerate the network’s growth, while 6 River Systems will also continue to build and sell their solution for warehouses. With the acquisition of 6 River Systems, Shopify will add a team with decades of experience in fulfillment software and robotics, including experienced leaders from Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics). Adding 6 River Systems’ cloud-based software and collaborative mobile robots called “Chuck” to the Shopify Fulfillment Network will…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.31
…packing orders received online and shipping them out for delivery. Many eCommerce merchants who don't have the physical space to store and ship products depend on this service as a lifeline for their growing businesses. Top Benefits of an Automated Distribution Center After several years of improvements in shipping and logistics technology, many businesses are now changing to automated storage and retrieval systems for the benefit-rich opportunities they provide to brands and customers everywhere. An automated fulfillment center significantly reduces order processing times by replacing human material-handling with a fully-automated system instead. Beyond lowering operational costs, updating from a manual…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.58
…Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin its on-demand, unmanned food delivery via commercial drones for local residents in Holly Springs, N.C. “Given the expediency of drones for food delivery, Flytrex requires no additional technology to preserve perishable cargo,” says Yariv Bash, CEO and co-founder of Flytrex. “Once up and running, flight time from pick up to drop off is within a few minutes, and faster than any alternative.” Pending the approved proposal, Flytrex drones will operate along one predetermined delivery route, connecting a distribution center at Holly Springs Towne Center, a shopping destination owned and operated by Kite Realty Group, with…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.22
…of RSL, a provider of e-commerce order fulfillment and delivery services to small and mid-sized companies. While Manzione notes that less than 20% of the client base is asking for same- and next-day delivery now, “we can see where the market is going, and we’re anticipating where we will need to be in the next five years.” He adds, “with the robots, we can continue to receive and pick orders continuously for delivery the next day.” To that end, RSL is in the process of building out a different kind of network, with a different style of fulfillment center. At…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.46
…that order and then loaded onto a truck for delivery. Rakuten Super Logistics Las Vegas, Nevada SQUARE FOOTAGE: RSL operates a total of 12 e-commerce fulfillment facilities, ranging in size from 50,000 to 75,000 square feet, with up to six more scheduled to go live by the end of the year. PRODUCTS HANDLED: Varies by facility, but represents the e-commerce marketplace. THROUGHPUT: Varies by facility and seasonality SKUs: Varies by facility from as few as 100 to as many as 1,000,000. PEOPLE/SHIFTS: Operations are 6 days per week and the number of shifts vary by the demands of the season…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 19.89
…from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin food deliveries by drone in Holly Springs, North Carolina. Flytrex will soon begin its on-demand, unmanned food delivery via commercial drones for local residents, says Yariv Bash, CEO and Co-Founder of Flytrex. “Given the expediency of drones for food delivery, Flytrex requires no additional technology to preserve perishable cargo,” he adds. “Once up and running, flight time from pick up to drop off is within a few minutes, faster than any alternative.” Pending the approved proposal, Flytrex drones will operate along one predetermined delivery route, connecting a distribution center at Holly Springs…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.21
…self-driving trucks and lorries would mean more cost-efficient last-mile delivery, allowing for shipping costs to be reduced. But we don’t have to wait around for self-driving vehicles for robotic technology to make a positive impact in the logistics industry. Robot-driven solutions are available for warehouses today. The positive impact in the warehouse Many people still have the mindset of robotics working only for a specific product or industry. In fact, over 2,000 global brands have already transformed their logistics automation with Swisslog solutions. Our portfolio of technologies consists of a wide range of systems to help businesses with different warehouse…