ate the system, which includes fleets of the small robots
and a Robotics Management System software application to
direct them. That approach is much less expensive than the
cost of purchasing traditional warehouse automation systems
like AS/RS, pick to light, or complex conveyors, which can
cost as much as 25 cents per pick, Elazary claimed.
“We don’t expect our customers to be robotics experts and
maintain a fleet of robots,” Elazary said. “That’s not their area
of expertise. Let us worry about moving items from point A
to point B.”
The strategy of expanding warehouse automation by rent-
ing robotic hardware has been gaining popularity because
users can expand their capacity by adding extra hardware in
peak seasons without committing to an expensive installation,
said Jeff Smith, a supply chain management and analytics
professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“Many companies prefer the lease-type option as it does
not constrain them financially to the degree that a purchase
option does,” Smith said.
Companies’ continuing struggle with the challenge of
attracting and retaining employees in the DC will drive
increasing demand for warehouse automation technologies
that offer flexible payment options, safe operation, and scalable capacity, Smith said.
A BOOM IN BOTS
InVia’s twin platforms include a “GrabIt” robot, which is
built with small suction cups that lift items weighing up to 30
pounds from racks as high as eight feet tall, and a “TransIt”
robot that accumulates those orders and carries them to the
nearest conveyor belt or packing station. In a video on the
company’s website, the GrabIt robot looks like a self-propelled Shop-Vac vacuum cleaner that deploys a scissor lift to
reach high shelves.
InVia’s robots are currently running in a number of pilot
projects with such companies as LD Products Inc., an online
printer cartridge and office-supplies retailer that has deployed
the robots in its Mountainville, Pa., fulfillment center.
The number of robots in warehouses and DCs has been rising steadily in recent years, ever since Kiva Systems Inc. showed
the logistics industry that its squat, rectangular wheeled carts
could truly automate fulfillment centers. Amazon soon took
Kiva off the market by acquiring the North Reading, Mass.,
firm for $775 million in 2012, renaming it Amazon Robotics
and dedicating its self-driving vehicles solely to Amazon’s
own e-commerce fulfillment warehouses.
But developers soon started testing similar alternatives, and
today it is increasingly common for DCs to deploy mobile
material handling robots from companies such as Boston-based 6 River Systems Inc., Billerica, Mass.-based Harvest
Automation Inc., Kitchener, Ont.-based Otto Motors, and
Andover, Mass.-based Locus Robotics Corp.
—B.A.
Global logistics service provider Alliance Shippers
Inc. has been named Transportation Provider of
the Year by Gorton’s Seafood. … Florida’s Port
Everglades has received a 2016 Overall Award of
Communications Excellence from the American
Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). …
Transplace, a provider of transportation management services and logistics technology, has honored 20 transportation service providers with its
annual Carrier of the Year awards. The complete
list can be found on
the company’s website. … Jack Copeland,
director of regional maintenance at
Schneider, was recently honored with the
prestigious Patriotic
Employer award from
the Employer Support
of the Guard and Reserve, a committee of the
Department of Defense. … Target Corp. has named
MOL (America) Inc. its International Logistics
Provider of the Year for 2015. … Intelligrated has
announced that Chris Cole, chief executive officer,
and Jim McCarthy, president and chief operating
officer, received Ernst & Young’s 2016 Masters
of Entrepreneurship awards for the Ohio Valley
region. … Knoll Inc. has honored Penske Logistics
with its 2015 Operational Excellence Award in recognition of the third-party logistics service provider’s strong performance in the areas of cost, quality, and service. … The International Warehouse
Logistics Association (IWLA) has presented its
Jock Menzies Distinguished Service & Leadership
Award to Paul T. Verst, president and chief
executive officer of Verst Group Logistics, and
honored Kenco Vice President & General Counsel
Ann Christopher with its Pinnacle Award. … Mark
Magill, OnTrac’s vice president of business development, was named 2016 Sales Executive of the
Year by the Transportation Marketing and Sales
Association (TMSA). … Kerry Logistics Network
Ltd. has received its first Best 3PL award and was
also given the Best Green Logistics Operator award
at the 2016 Asian Freight, Logistics & Supply Chain
Awards. … enVista, a global supply chain consulting and IT services firm, has been included in
Gartner Inc.’s “Market Guide for Freight Payment
Providers.”
accolades
COPELAND
