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organizations that are looking for ways to reduce their
dependence on labor and boost throughput, according to
Monique Apter, Kindred’s vice president of sales. She says
the solution is currently best suited for applications in the
apparel industry but adds that
Kindred is working on expanding
into a wider array of general-mer-chandise items, such as shoes and
cosmetics.
Apter says artificial intelligence
and advanced algorithms are
allowing companies like Kindred
to apply robotics to more complex piece-picking operations—
and as a result, help their customers address some of the major
growth- and management-related issues of the day.
“The two challenges we consistently hear about from our
customers are dealing with massive labor shortages and the
demand for faster delivery,” she explains, pointing to the
explosive growth in online spending predicted over the next
several years and noting that in the U.S. alone, e-commerce
is seeing double-digit growth year after year. “With the
advanced AI algorithms that Kindred has developed, we are
able to teach robots to grasp and manipulate items of vary-
ing shapes and sizes in an environment that continuously
changes. This breakthrough has made it possible to easily
incorporate robotic solutions into fulfillment centers.”
ProGlove’s Brown adds that most organizations will con-
tinue to test and incorporate dif-
ferent kinds of picking technolo-
gies as they work to address omni-
channel demands, labor chal-
lenges, and other industry issues.
He emphasizes the evolution of
distribution center technologies
in general and the ongoing jour-
ney toward automation that most
organizations are navigating.
“Companies are using a lot of
different technologies. There is
a lot of interplay between solutions,” he says, noting that
customers often ask how they can eventually integrate
ProGlove’s solution with vision technology like Google
Glass, as one example. “We seem to be in a testing
phase, where companies are not just changing things [com-
pletely]. They don’t know what is going to be the ultimate
solution … so it seems like they don’t want to invest in only
one thing. Customers are saying, how do we take this to the
next level?”
