Ecommerce fulfillment robots are trending up. The entry point for ecommerce companies is now in the hundreds of thousands of dollars instead of multiple millions, and can be scaled up as needed. This report from MCM examines the players, the state of the art, advancing capabilities and results being seen by ecommerce companies.
By 2025 there will be more than 4 million warehouse robots in use at 50,000 locations globally, up from 5,000 locations in 2018, according to a report from ABI Research, with much of the growth coming from ecommerce fulfillment including demand for same-day delivery. See what experts have to say about the growing trend.
Amazon may have raised the customer expectations bar, but the pressure has been kept up as merchants scramble to meet increased fulfillment demands. So how do you react and execute? Our MCM Outlook 2019 report gathers survey results and expert insights to help you focus your investments to compete and win.
Somerville, MA-based RightHand Robotics has raised $23 million in a Series B funding round led by Menlo Ventures, joined by GV (formerly Google Ventures) and existing investors Dream Incubator, Matrix Partners and Playground Global. The company, founded in 2014, has raised $34.2 million to date.
Amazon is reportedly experimenting with robotic arms that can visually identify items on a conveyor, pick them up using a compressed air vacuum gripper and place them on a table or shelf. At the same time the company says publicly the state of the art isn’t there yet to handle the wide variety of products it stores and sells.
Gap Inc. turned a disastrous event – a devastating August 2016 fire at its distribution center in Fishkill, NY – into an opportunity to improve its overall supply chain operations, an executive told attendees at Parcel Forum in Chicago.
inVia Robotics claims to be the first to market with a “goods-to-box” system that uses a pay-as-you-pick service model to make it scalable and affordable. See how this approach has benefited ink and toner cartridge maker LD Products, one of the first users of the system.
UPS executives said they will continue to place a $1 billion bet on new technology each year, including major investments in facility automation, robotics and even drones to conduct tasks such as aircraft inspections and inventory counts. See what else the company disclosed about its strategy and operations during media day at its Atlanta headquarters.
Fetch Robotics has partnered with SAP, incorporating the SAP Extended Warehouse Management application with the Fetch and Freight robots, as use of warehouse robotics continues to grow.
Ecommerce companies are seeing double-digit growth in a business that requires them to fulfill orders of low line numbers, often just a single item, compared to bulk orders for store fulfillment. To address these challenges, more companies are turning to a variety of order fulfillment automation solutions. But what level of automation is right? Find out what solutions are available, how they’re being implemented and what the future of automation looks like.