Boxbot, a startup that pivoted from autonomous vehicle technology to automated parcel storage and retrieval for last-mile delivery applications, announced a $12 million Series A round that will help the company deploy its “three-dimensional conveyor belt” that handles sequenced sortation.
Danish global shipping and logistics giant A.P Moller-Maersk is jumping into ecommerce fulfillment, opening a micro fulfillment center in Dallas powered by technology from Israeli firm Fabric that will initially serve one client in health and wellness but could be expanded to a multi-tenant operation. The 38,000-square-foot facility will utilize Fabric’s automated storage and retrieval (AS/RS).
CaPow, an Israeli company with a continuous power supply for warehouse robots eliminating charging downtime, has struck a U.S. partnership to expand here, selling into robot makers, 3PLs and companies with fulfillment/distribution networks. CaPow delivers power continuously via a system using copper foil transmitters mounted on fixed points, paired with similar receivers on the robots.
Ecommerce demand may not be exploding like 2020 and 2021, but retailers are increasingly looking at automated solutions like goods-to-person (GTP) systems to help future-proof their operations as conditions fluctuate. Automated storage and retrieval (AS/RS) and autonomous mobile robots (AMR) are gaining serious traction, with rapid market expansion projected between now and 2030.
Savvy shippers are introducing automated intralogistics to deliver an enhanced customer experience to gain competitive advantage. They’re also streamlining their business and making warehouse operations as profitable as possible. A multi-agent orchestration platform that is device and technology agnostic switches things up, bringing more uniformity to your fulfillment operations.
Despite all the advances in warehouse automation for ecommerce fulfillment, enabling greater efficiency and addressing the common difficulty of finding enough workers to perform the highly repetitive, physical tasks, most organizations are not looking to jump in with both feet. The COO of 3PL Boxzooka explains why the company is taking a more measured approach.
Shopify has pulled the plug on its ambitious in-house logistics business built up in recent years, selling Deliverr to global supply chain provider Flexport and warehouse robotics firm 6 River Systems to UK-based fulfillment automation firm Ocado. “We are changing the shape of Shopify significantly today to pay unshared attention to our mission,” said Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke in a letter to employees.
Warehouse automation enables today’s retailers and brands to keep growing and preparing for the future, while being flexible and agile enough to adjust to sudden shifts in demand. There are many different flavors of advanced technology to help you get to where you need to be to remain competitive. Here’s a primer on them.
Israeli startup 1MRobotics, just 18 months old, is leapfrogging micro fulfillment to nano fulfillment, using automated robotic systems within containers that can be dropped in suburban locations or fit into an urban building, fulfilling orders in lights-out fashion for delivery in as little as 15 minutes.
This special report from Multichannel Merchant explores the issue of automation and robotics through the lens of project timelines, lead times on equipment, ROI and performance gains. Industry experts provide perspectives on the business case, implementation and integration considerations, shelf life and future proofing and what’s next.