DC Velocity - October 2019

14 DC VELOCITY OCTOBER 2019 www.dcvelocity.com newsworthy

Demand for fulfillment robots to be led by
goods-to-person model

The global market for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)— particularly those used for order-fulfillment applications— is expected to soar over the next five years, according to the

2019 Mobile Robot Market Report from Interact Analysis.

The U.K.-based researcher says the market is reaching a tipping point, driven in large part by Amazon.com Inc.’s heavy adoption of robotics and automation, and the resulting need for competing retailers and logistics companies to keep pace. The report predicts that, excluding Amazon, companies will have deployed more than 100,000 AMRs for order fulfillment by the end of

2020 and that 580,000 will be installed by 2023.

As a result, makers of goods-to-person mobile robots— which include companies like GreyOrange, Swisslog, and Geek+—will see the highest growth in revenues, according to Ash Sharma, research director at Interact Analysis.

“With Amazon deploying Kiva’s goods-to-person approach
for order fulfillment, it’s easy to see why others like
GreyOrange, Geek+, and Quicktron have followed in its
footsteps and arguably have seen [the] greatest success so
far,” Sharma said. “Despite this,
AMR vendors have emerged with
a variety of different approaches
and sub-approaches. The ques-
tion over which technology or
approach will ‘win’ is not an easy
one to answer.”
Sharma said makers of “per-
son-to-goods” robots will see the
second-highest revenue growth
over the next five years; these
include companies such as 6 River

Systems and Locus Robotics, which make robots that lead human workers through fulfillment centers to pick items off of shelves. Makers of piece-picking and sortation robots will experience lower, but still strong, revenue growth as well, Sharma said.

newsmakers

William J. “Bill” Shea Jr., CEO of Direct ChassisLink
Inc., received the 2019 Connie Award from the
Containerization and Intermodal Institute in September.
The group also presented J. Christopher Lytle, who
recently retired as executive director of the Port of
Oakland, with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and
inducted John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive director
of the Virginia Port Authority, into the International
Maritime Hall of Fame. … Dupré Logistics,
a privately held asset-based provider of
transportation and logistics services,
has named Mike Weindel president. …
Chris Burruss, former president of the
Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA),
has been named vice president of transpor-
tation relations for the blockchain-based
logistics platform provider dexFreight. … Humanitarian
organization American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN)
has added several executives to its board of directors. The
new board members are Mark Cabrera, CEO of Saddle
Creek Logistics Services; Brent Hutto, chief relationship
officer at Truckstop.com; Robert O. Martichenko, CEO
of LeanCor Supply Chain Group; Tim Osmulski, direc-
tor of the supply chain and logistics segment at The
Raymond Corp.; Natalie Putman, chief commercial offi-
cer at Verst Logistics; Elijah Ray, executive vice president
of customer solutions for Sunland Logistics Solutions;
and Roger W. Woody, founding partner of NaviChain
Consultants. … Motion Industries Inc., a
distributor of maintenance, repair, and
operations replacement parts, has named

John Watwood senior vice president of the company’s Southeast operating group. … Global logistics service provider DB Schenker has appointed Hessel Verhage chief executive officer for the Americas region. … Llamasoft, a provider of enterprise supply chain design and decision-making solutions, has appointed Karthik Mani executive vice president and chief product officer. … The American Transportation Research Institute, a not-for-profit research organization for the trucking industry, has promoted Dan Murray to senior vice president. … Tompkins International, a supply chain consulting and implementation firm, has named Bruce Tompkins president, Alex Baker chief operating officer, and Mike Pujda vice president.