Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.35
December 19, 2018
Honeywell announced a strategic collaboration with Fetch Robotics to provide distribution centers with autonomous mobile robots to help them more effectively fulfill growing volumes of e-commerce orders. The initiative enables Honeywell Intelligrated’s customers to increase productivity and boost labor efficiency by deploying Fetch Robotics’ autonomous mobile robotics, which operate safely alongside people to transport items through distribution centers without human guidance or fixed paths. By adding this offering to its smart robotics portfolio, Honeywell Intelligrated can provide customers with a range of flexible automation solutions that can be tailored to address current and future operational needs. Honeywell Intelligrated previously announced…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.95
December 10, 2018
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never thought of 3PLs as innovators or early adopters of technology. Given the short-term nature of their contracts, the industry players focused on taking the fat out of processes and being great operators with conventional processes. Based on a few stories I’ve published in the last year or so, I think that’s changing. In Germany, for instance, Arvato SCM Solutions is utilizing pouch sortation and 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…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.80
December 05, 2018
Robots and Humans Working Together In Robots in the Supply Chain: The Perfect Employee? Merril Douglas paints a picture of a time in the near future when robots and humans will work side-by-side to help companies gain speed, increase accuracy, cut costs, and handle the grunt work. “We're sitting in the middle of a perfect storm for robots in the supply chain. E-commerce sales continue to climb, forcing retailers to pick up the pace in their fulfillment and distribution centers,” Douglas writes. “But these days, it's hard to find workers to keep product moving in any kind of warehouse e-commerce…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.66
December 04, 2018
Vecna Robotics, a leader in autonomous material handling, recently separated from Vecna Technologies, creating distinct companies. As a standalone business, Vecna Robotics plans to play a major role in the coming transformation of industrial automation and robotics. Powering this transformation, Vecna Robotics finalized an investment led by Drive Capital this summer to chart a new direction that will maximize both robotics and human workflow in the industrial sector. The New Vecna Robotics The separation allows Vecna Robotics to focus on developing innovative, adaptive, future-proof hardware and software solutions in warehouse and industrial automation. Moving Vecna Robotics to a standalone business…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.22
November 13, 2018
A friend of mine is having a dickens of a time selling her home in Columbus, Ohio. It’s in a great neighborhood with one of the best school systems in the area. And, at over 4,000 square feet with a nice big yard it’s the kind of house people my age aspired to. What’s not to like? Apparently, it’s the size. The realtors have told her that the houses selling right now are smaller because today’s buyer doesn’t want to take care of all that property. Sometimes, it pays to think small. Something similar might be happening in the warehouse…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.77
November 12, 2018
It’s November, which means the holiday season is right around the corner. For most retailers, gearing up for peak is a matter of getting the right inventory in the right locations and hiring enough people to get the projected orders out the door. Those tasks are daunting enough. But, how do you recover when a facility you were counting on for the upcoming season catches fire roughly nine weeks before the first of November? Shawn Curran (left) is executive vice president of Global Supply Chain and Product Operations for Gap Inc. and Kevin Kuntz (right) is senior vice president of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 9.06
October 31, 2018
Challenge of Scalability in the Ecommerce Warehouse Perhaps no warehouse has to deal with a greater level of volatility and unpredictability as an ecommerce or omnichannel fulfillment center. When you look at a line chart of ecommerce growth over the last five years, it has been remarkably consistent. According to Statista, in the U.S. alone, retail ecommerce growth rose from $298 billion in 2014 to $342 billion in 2015 to $390 billion in 2016 to $452 billion in 2017. That’s an average growth rate of more than 13 percent per year. But, of course, growth in an individual warehouse often…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 3.94
October 19, 2018
With the goal of developing an increasingly productive, efficient, and fully flexible automated warehousing environment, global logistics provider DB Schenker is collaborating with IAM Robotics to blend leading-edge logistics technology into its operations. This new collaboration is intended to serve as a foundational platform for the use of automation and robotics technologies to help shippers work smarter, better, and faster. “This is an exciting time for the logistics industry, where a lot of great technologies and solutions are emerging,” said Joel Reed, CEO at IAM Robotics, a maker of mobile piece-picking robots that has been recognized by many organizations for…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.08
October 07, 2018
Intelligent Warehouse Automation Global transportation and logistics solutions provider XPO Logistics has announced plans to deploy 5,000 intelligent robots throughout its logistics sites in North America and Europe. The robots, which are designed to collaborate with humans, will supplement XPO's existing workforce and support future growth. XPO has a strategic partnership with robotics manufacturer GreyOrange Pte. Ltd. that makes XPO the exclusive logistics provider for use of its robots in North America, the United Kingdom, and eight European countries. XPO Logistics Chairman & CEO, Brad Jacobs said: “We've developed our logistics technology to integrate the latest intelligent automation and adapt…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 1.56
October 04, 2018
High inventory costs, constant stock-outs, low SKU turnover rates and getting stuck with too much obsolete inventory are just a handful of the challenges that companies run into when they don’t use good inventory management practices. In today’s fast-paced, e-commerce/omni-channel distribution world, any one of these challenges can have a negative impact on the bottom line. However, achieving optimal inventory levels requires a delicate balance. Procure too little of a product and you wind up with stock-outs, lost sales or unhappy customers. Buy too much and your carrying and storage costs go through the roof right along with the number…
Found in Robotics Companies & Businesses, with a score of 39.26
September 18, 2018
Synopsys Simpleware™ 3D image Processing Solutions Synopsys Simpleware™ software provides industry-leading solutions for the conversion of 3D scan data (MRI, CT, micro-CT…) into high quality design, simulation and 3D printing models. Synopsys Simpleware ™ Software is used in fields such as Life Sciences, Materials Science, Industrial Reverse Engineering, and NDE. Easy-to-learn and use, Synopsys Simpleware™ Software offers a robust bridge between the latest imaging technologies and multiple design and simulation applications. Learn more at www.synopsys.com/simpleware About Synopsys Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) is the Silicon to Software™ partner for innovative companies developing the electronic products and software applications we rely on…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.35
September 07, 2018
Warehouse automation has evolved over the past few decades - from the use of sortation systems to conveyors/AGV’s to RFID systems to complex WMS and WCS systems. In recent years, the focus on being able to profitably cater to customer’s preferences and omnichannel fulfillment strategies has led companies to aggressively seek advanced automation and robotics solutions. The pressure of managing labor shortages in concert with wage hikes while improving speed and accuracy of operations to increase productivity per square foot are driving organizations to look at advancements in technologies to help them control the three big costs—labor, time and real…
