Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 4.19
…guest speaker Dave Williams, director of software and solution delivery at Westfalia, recently hosted a webinar titled “Considering Automation? Analyze how your warehouse can be transformed with automation.” This webinar discussed how to analyze your warehouse data and how automation technology can be a solution for growing companies with more SKUs. During the webinar, Corcoran explained how to optimize space and increase efficiency for continued growth. He also analyzed three main challenges that manufacturers are facing today and provided solutions. Challenge: Higher consumer demand for product more frequently with more diverse SKUs Solution: Increase productivity and improve accuracy rates by…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.77
…the robot can choose the best option for each delivery. Software and hard changes Providing an operational view to each AGV is where increasingly intelligent software comes into play. When integrated with the enterprise resource planning system, the warehouse management system (WMS) or execution software, the AGV becomes the physical extension of the ambitions of the WMS, according to Bill Torrens, sales director for OTTO Motors. However, the “brains” inside each self-driving vehicle interpret real-time conditions to dynamically change its behavior, solving for all the potential variables between the A to B movement that was requested. Instead of a single,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 13.79
Amazon has been working on getting a drone delivery program off the ground for a while now, but some new patents show the company isn't out of wild ideas. As TechCrunch reports, Zoe Leavitt, an analyst for CB Insights, has discovered a recent Amazon patent for an “airborne fulfillment center utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles for item delivery” - i.e., a giant flying drone mothership zeppelin warehouse. The patent envisions the airborne fulfillment center (AFC) in the form of a giant airship, that would fly at high altitudes of around 45,000 feet in the air, and would then deploy individual drones…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.90
…of all manufacturing supply chains will have the capability, either in-house or outsourced, to enable direct-to-consumption shipments and home delivery.
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 7.25
…this year). Ecommerce’s popularity is upping the ante, with delivery playing out as one of the major battlegrounds. A full 50% of customers admit that delivery factors, like delays or costs, are enough to tank a purchase. As a result, two day, same day and then two hour delivery have gradually rolled out across the ecosystem, first as a benefit and increasingly as a bare minimum. Drone delivery is the next frontier, whether by air or land. Amazon first announced the concept of Amazon Prime Air leading up to 2013’s holiday season. While it seemed years away, this week the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 21.57
…is pushing forward with its plans for a drone delivery fleet. Today it announced that it’s begun deliveries to two customers in the UK, and will be expanding that to dozens, possibly hundreds, in the coming months. The service is restricted to small items for now, focusing on delivering packages up to five pounds in 30 minutes or less. On December 7th, 2016, Prime Air delivered its first order - an Amazon Fire TV and bag of popcorn - using a highly automated drone. According to a press release, it took 13 minutes from customer click to package delivery at…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 5.52
…on the roads in Munich and Leipzig, making local deliveries. The initial aim is to get to better know the different drive technologies and gain experience. Over the long term, the BMW Group is striving for cost-efficient use of alternative drive technologies. “Logistics is the heart of the BMW production system - and the use of innovative and digital technologies will become a key factor in our complex logistics processes,” according to Jürgen Maidl, head of Logistics for the BMW Group production network. “At the same time, sustainable, resource-efficient solutions are also important to us. We are already testing the…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 2.53
…established routes. The containers were right-sized so that a delivery occurred every 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the route. “A lot of work went into creating the kitting operation and establishing the routes to deliver just what we needed before we could even think of automation,” Keppler says. Once the manual process was in place, the next step was to look for a technology that could take operators out of the process by automating delivery. Keppler says that labor is always a consideration, but that in this instance, safety and throughput were the key drivers. “We have a commitment…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 18.39
…the company has automated many kilometers of production floor deliveries, allowing workers to remain productive and producing a return on investment within one year. Previously, an employee had to push a trolley from place to place throughout the facility, a monotonous chore for highly paid manual laborers. “It is costly when internal transport costs man-hours,” says René Hannibaldsen, production manager at Scan A/S. “It challenges a company like ours because we are based in a country with high labor costs. Automation of internal transport is therefore an obvious way for us to improve throughput and boost our competitiveness.” Capable of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 10.93
Last-mile delivery, especially of parcels, has recently received lots of attention in the media and from investors. The cost of global parcel delivery, excluding pickup, line-haul, and sorting, amounts to about €70 billion, with China, Germany, and the United States accounting for more than 40 percent of the market. And not only is the market large, but it’s also highly dynamic, with growth rates in 2015 of between 7 and 10 percent in mature markets (such as Germany and the United States) and more than 100 percent in developing markets. The biggest driver of this growth, not surprisingly, is e-commerce,…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 31.52
…U.S. is set to double by 2025, with Same-day delivery and instant delivery to accounting for one-fifth of the demand. Furthermore, a new study reveals that one in two customers is willing to pay extra for faster delivery. These are the research findings contained in “Parcel delivery. The Future of Last Mile.” The analyses surveyed over 4,700 consumers in the U.S., Germany, and China. As the trend toward buying goods online increases, so too does the desire to receive the ordered products as soon as possible. The market for same-day and instant delivery will account for around 20 percent of…
Found in Robotics News & Content, with a score of 29.21
…U.S. is set to double by 2025, with Same-day delivery and instant delivery to accounting for one-fifth of the demand. Furthermore, a new study reveals that one in two customers is willing to pay extra for faster delivery. These are the research findings contained in “Parcel delivery. The Future of Last Mile.” The analyses surveyed over 4,700 consumers in the U.S., Germany, and China. As the trend toward buying goods online increases, so too does the desire to receive the ordered products as soon as possible. The market for same-day and instant delivery will account for around 20 percent of…