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ForwardX Robotics has joined hands with the world’s largest cosmetics company to open a new era of person-to-goods smart warehouses.
The world’s largest cosmetics company faced many business challenges at its Suzhou warehouse in China before it upgraded its operations.
In a time when consumers’ expectations of quick and accurate deliveries are rising, technology is undoubtedly one of the most effective means at meeting their demands.
In recent years, due to COVID-19 and other variables, eCommerce has grown faster than ever and put extra strain on peak seasons and shopping holidays such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Fast deliveries, sometimes as quick as next-day or even same-day, are becoming the norm for consumers. Companies that can’t deliver at this rate risk losing market share to their competition that can. If a business wants to stay competitive in today’s climate, continuous improvements in its warehousing and logistics workflows need to be implemented.
The world’s largest cosmetics company, with more than 20 brands and sales channels all over the world, has always maintained a leading position in the beauty and cosmetics industry. Its Suzhou warehouse in China was facing many business challenges before it upgraded its operations.
Pain Points
1. Low picking efficiency
The previous workflows of this warehouse were traditional manual picking and sorting. Personnel needed to walk the length of the warehouse to fulfill orders while hauling carts that weighed between 1,100–1,322 lbs. This design was labor-intensive and physically exhausting for employees. Naturally, movement speed was slow and consisted of many “empty walks” resulting in a low picking efficiency that couldn’t support the volume of orders and shipments this warehouse needed to meet.
2. High labor intensity
The laborious nature of the manual picking not only resulted in inefficient order fulfillment, but it also caused a high rate of employee turnover. This makes for labor costs and recruitment costs that are too high to be sustainable for the business.
3. Complicated picking processes
The warehouse mainly deals in B2B fulfillment. Different from the B2C practices which result in generally small orders that many automation solutions can be applied, this warehouse was dealing with large pallets and case-picking to fulfill orders. Most flexible solutions available couldn’t support these kinds of workflows. In addition, the warehouse ships out a daily average of over 25,000 boxes.
In order to solve these business pain points, the beauty group decided to collaborate with Asia’s No. 1 person-to-goods solution provider, ForwardX Robotics.
Results
ForwardX successfully deployed over 10 AMRs in the group’s Suzhou warehouse to realize an intelligent person-to-goods picking solution. The picking area is about 53,800 square feet. After 1 month of on-site POC operations, the flexibility and efficiency were obvious. Processing over 20,000 orders per day, the UPH has increased by more than 40%, delivery accuracy reached 99.99%, and 100% of orders went out on time.
How These Results Were Achieved
Picking processes are at the base of warehousing and logistics, and the efficiency at which the process runs directly effects operating costs and the overall workflows through the entire logistics of any distribution center.
By introducing ForwardX’s AMRs and f(x) Fleet Manager, optimizing the cluster scheduling system, this cosmetics giant transformed its original traditional manual methods into a flexible automated person-to-goods solution through AMR collaboration.
When an order is received, an AMR automatically takes an empty pallet to the picking zones to work with employees on the floor fulfilling the order. After the picking is complete for that order, the AMR brings the full pallet to the shipping area while the employees remain in their zones fulfilling other orders with other AMRs continuously going through the process.
The f(x) Fleet Manager optimizes routes through an AI algorithm and directs the workflows. Picking rates drastically improve by having each person work with multiple AMRs and each AMR work with multiple people. An employee’s time is no longer spent on traversing the warehouse, and instead is spent cooperating with AMRs that meet them in their respective picking zones.
The AMRs are also incredibly flexible and scalable to cope with order surges brought on by shopping holidays or product promotions. The size of an order in regards to weight, doesn’t slow down operations when an AMR is the one hauling an order through the warehouse.
Through human-machine collaboration, production has increased by more than 40%, and the labor intensity has been significantly reduced resulting in about 43% savings in labor costs and a large reduction in personnel turnover.
Safety
AMRs must work in the same environment with people, carts, pallets, and manual forklifts while hauling thousands of pounds. In most warehouses, several operation methods exist simultaneously, and paths are often crossed. Safety is of the upmost importance when considering an automation solution.
ForwardX AMRs use a variety of sensors and cameras to realize 360° obstacle detection and avoidance while also being able to perceive the environment and identify moving and static objects or people. The AMR control system can instruct the AMRs to use different obstacle avoidance strategies based on the type of obstacles encountered.
The internal safety department of the cosmetics company conducted several comprehensive safety tests on the software and hardware behind the solution. In addition, a professional third-party safety certification body came onsite to test the AMRs. ForwardX’s AMRs successfully passed the various internal and third-party tests to ensure safe operations where humans and machines work together.
Fast Deployment and Cost Savings
ForwardX’s flexible person-to-goods picking solution adapts to its environment, instead of the other way around. For most automation solutions, a warehouse needs to rearrange, rebuild, or even build a new warehouse around the automation design. With ForwardX AMRs, no remodeling is required. This makes for rapid deployment with zero downtime in operations and zero hidden costs to consumers. Opting for the Robots as a Service (RaaS) model has an ROI of just 5–9 months.
In addition, ForwardX’s solution is scalable to meet demand spikes in peak seasons or during product promotions. The warehouse can increase or decrease the number of AMRs quickly to match the daily order volume at any given time.
Precision and Accuracy
ForwardX’s software and hardware seamlessly connect with existing APR/WMS/MES systems in the warehouse. f(x) Fleet Manager’s cluster scheduling organizes orders according to multiple different strategies and intelligently assigns tasks to the AMR fleet with the capability of commanding up to 200 AMRs at once.
Prompts are given to pickers via handhelds and/or on the AMR screen to guide workflows and simplify the process for employees. A picker selects the nearest AMR to receive a task and complete each pick. At the same time, they print and paste the label and confirm each pick on the spot, leading to much higher accuracy.
f(x) Fleet Manager also generates digital reports based on KPIs that the customer is most interested in. With a user-friendly UI, decision makers can monitor every aspect of the process from the progress of an on-site order, UPH per picker, top performing personnel, to an electronic map of the floor and real-time AMR location information. These digital displays provide reliable, actionable information for further improvement of production efficiency.
Post-Project
Based on the results of the pilot project with ForwardX and the well-known cosmetics company, both sides are getting ready to start follow-up projects and significantly scale up the current project.
The cooperation with the world’s largest cosmetics company has given ForwardX even more credibility and proof of the results that can be achieved. This scenario is not limited to the beauty industry as it can be easily replicated in other industries using similar storage and picking workflows on beam shelves.
Conclusion
Whether due to COVID-19 or other factors, the warehousing industry is facing a variety of substantial challenges in today’s market. From inventory records and labor costs to employee retention rate, customer experience, and more, it’s imperative for companies to find solutions in order to stay relevant. Market demand has accelerated technological innovation, and AMRs are the latest, most flexible solution available, addressing multiple pain points at once.
ForwardX’s flexible person-to-goods solution has been the light at the end of the tunnel for many of the world’s leading companies such as TCL; JD.com; DHL partner, SF Supply Chain China; Toyoda Gosei; and more. Asia’s No. 1 person-to-goods solution provider will continue innovating and helping customers gain a new momentum in the market while providing better performance and a better value.
About ForwardX Robotics
ForwardX Robotics is a global technology leader in the fields of AI and Robotics. Through its flexible automation platform comprising of intelligent mobile robots and AI-enabled software, ForwardX delivers material handling solutions for warehousing and manufacturing facilities that offer better performance at better value. The company is comprised of over 250 members hailing from top universities and leading enterprises around the world. As shown by its 100+ patents granted, along with its award-winning research work, such as 2 1st-Place Prizes at TRECVID and the 1st-Place Prize at IEEE’s VOT-RT, ForwardX’s team boasts some of the world’s top computer vision scientists and robotics experts.
With offices in China, Japan, and the US, along with partnerships around the globe, ForwardX is expanding and applying its proven solutions to warehouses and manufacturers worldwide. For more information, visit www.forwardx.com.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Averitt has promoted David Fussell to vice president of dedicated sales, following the retirement of Walt Gray.
Fussell joined Averitt in 1991 and has held several key positions throughout his career. He served as a transportation sales specialist in Decatur and Nashville, later becoming service center director in Little Rock. In 2018, he transitioned to director of dedicated sales, working closely with Gray to expand the company’s dedicated accounts and deliver customized solutions to customers.
“David’s extensive experience and leadership have been instrumental in expanding our dedicated services,” said Kent Williams, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Averitt. “We look forward to seeing continued growth under his leadership in this role.” For more information about Averitt’s Dedicated solutions, visit Averitt.com/Dedicated.
About Averitt
Serving shippers for over 50 years, Averitt is a leading provider of freight transportation and supply chain management solutions with an international reach of over 100 countries. Averitt's “Power of One” service structure provides shippers access to LTL, Truckload, Dedicated, Distribution & Fulfillment, and Integrated services that cover every link in the supply chain. Averitt’s team has been awarded the highest honors in the industry in the past year, including three Quest for Quality Awards, numerous customer awards, and a top ranking in MASTIO & Company’s shipper survey. Averitt's 8,500+ associates are dedicated to delivering the most reliable services within the industry and promoting a company culture centered around people, communities, sustainability, and giving back. For more information, call 1-800-AVERITT (283-7488) or visit Averitt.com.
GREEN BAY, Wis.-- Schneider National, Inc. (NYSE: SNDR), a premier multimodal provider of transportation, intermodal and logistics services, is marking another significant milestone as its battery electric vehicle (BEV) fleet has surpassed six million zero emission miles, highlighting its commitment to reducing carbon emissions and advancing cleaner transportation.
“Reaching six million zero emission miles is a testament to our steadfast dedication to sustainability and innovation,” said Schneider President and CEO Mark Rourke. “Leading the way in adopting electric vehicle technology not only benefits the environment but also serves as an example of the broad service capabilities and flexibility we can offer to customers.”
This latest achievement means Schneider has had an impressive reduction of 20 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions since the company started using BEVs — equivalent to removing over 2,100 gas-powered passenger vehicles from the road for one year.
Schneider operates one of the largest BEV fleets in North America, which includes nearly 100 Freightliner eCascadias from manufacturer Daimler Truck North America LLC (DTNA). To power its electric fleet, the company operates a large charging depot at its Southern California Operations Center in South El Monte. The depot features 16 350 kW dual-corded dispensers, allowing the company to charge 32 trucks simultaneously.
“Schneider is a great example of the kind of forward-thinking entrepreneurship our industry needs,” said David Carson, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at DTNA. “They’ve achieved over 6 million zero emission miles, which is a reminder for us all to keep working on overcoming challenges together on the path to zero emissions. At DTNA, we're committed to the shift to zero emissions, alongside pioneers like Schneider, who are showing us what's possible.”
Schneider’s BEV leadership benefits customers
As a responsible company, Schneider has established aggressive sustainability goals and invests in energy-efficient equipment. These efforts also support customers in meeting their own sustainability ambitions, and the BEV fleet has been a key differentiator for customers looking for more efficient transportation solutions. In 2023, Schneider was the first third-party carrier to haul zero emission shipments for PepsiCo globally, traveling more than 31,000 zero emission miles in a few short months.
"PepsiCo is proud to celebrate this milestone driven by Schneider in California. As the first partner using their electric fleet, we’ve demonstrated the power of cross-industry collaboration in reducing emissions. Together, we are working towards a cleaner, healthier environment," said David Allen, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, PepsiCo Foods North America.
Drivers also feel the benefits of the BEV fleet
In addition to customers, Schneider drivers have also embraced the electric trucks because of the excellent on-road experience they create. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with drivers appreciating the smooth ride, reduced engine noise and ease of steering.
“Once you drive an electric truck, you won’t want to go back to a diesel truck,” shared longtime Schneider driver Marty Boots. “The ride quality and the quietness make a huge difference in our daily operations.”
Contributing to our communities
The eCascadias primarily operate in Southern California, where they have significantly reduced emissions and contributed to cleaner air quality while transporting freight. Improving air quality in the Southern California community is important to mitigate the effects of smog and improve public health. Aligned with the goal of improving air quality, Schneider's fleet was made possible through a number of grants from organizations such as California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission’s Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative (JETSI), with additional support from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD).
Fifty of Schneider’s 92 eCascadias were made possible by the JETSI — a California-wide initiative working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen the economy, and improve public health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
Of the additional 42 trucks, five are jointly funded by the U.S. EPA FY18 Targeted Airshed Grant and Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program (HVIP), seven are funded by the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust and 30 trucks are funded by HVIP.
"Achieving six million zero emission miles is more than a milestone — it’s a clear demonstration of how innovation in transportation can lead to cleaner, healthier air for our communities,” said Wayne Nastri, South Coast AQMD’s Executive Officer. “By embracing battery electric vehicles, Schneider is setting a great example for the industry while directly contributing to improved air quality and public health in regions like Southern California.”
Commitments beyond BEVs
With a goal to reduce CO2 emissions by 7.5% per mile by 2025 and achieve a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions per mile by 2035, Schneider is paving the way for a more sustainable future in transportation by extending efforts beyond its electric fleet with a broader commitment throughout the industry.
As a responsible carrier, Schneider is exploring a variety of solutions to reduce carbon emissions in addition to the BEVs such as renewable natural gas and hydrogen internal combustion engines. Additionally, all of Schneider’s non-BEV tractors currently use a mixture of biodiesel — a renewable alternative derived from organic waste such as vegetable oil and animal fats — and conventional diesel, thereby reducing traditional diesel consumption.
Schneider has been safely delivering superior customer experiences and investing in innovation for nearly 90 years. The company’s digital marketplace, Schneider FreightPower®, is revolutionizing the industry giving shippers access to an expanded, highly flexible capacity network and provides carriers with unmatched access to quality drop-and-hook freight – Always Delivering, Always Ahead.
For more information about Schneider, visit Schneider.com or follow the company socially on Facebook,LinkedIn and X: @WeAreSchneider.
Roboteon, provider of a powerful software platform for warehouse robot enablement, announces breakthrough simulation capabilities in its platform for robotics and other warehouse automation. The new tool help companies make better decisions across multiple time horizons, from initial automation planning through real time execution on the floor.
Interest in Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and other robotics is high, but there remains much uncertainty about use cases, the number of AMRs and humans needed across different time horizons, expected operational improvements, and cost savings from the robotics investment.
Companies also lack tools to optimally balance and release work to the DC floor based on demand and available human and robotic resources.
The good news: Roboteon’s Warehouse Robotics Fulfillment platform addresses all these challenges and more in a way unique in the market , adding a new dimension to the Roboteon platform’s powerful capabilities to integrate, manage, orchestrate, and optimize robot-enabled warehouse processes.
Key features and capabilities of the new simulation tool include:
The ability to assess the number of robots and humans that will be needed for a potential robotics initiative.
After the initial deployment, the ability to test different operating plans, such as what is required for peak season success.
“Digital twin” functionality that enables real-time optimization of resource assignment and order release.
Native support for multi-client environments, as required by many 3PLs.
Ability to run simulation using actual past order history or generate synthetic demand based on profiling order patterns without the need to gather all that data.
Highly flexible configuration parameters for running the simulation, including the facility layout, speed of the robots, speed of human workers, time to complete picks and other work, use of other automation such as goods to person systems, and more.
More than two dozen metrics generated by the simulation, including cost per pick, lines or unit per hour, robot and human dwell times, and many more.
Extensive use of machine learning to improve the optimization results over time.
The combination of Roboteon’s simulation capabilities, ease of use, and robot vendor agnostic orchestration provides a breakthrough in the warehouse robotics sector.
Companies would typically work with Roboteon early in a robotics initiative to understand automation options, ROI, costs, as part of the solution design. Once robots have been deployed, the simulator supports short to mid-term planning for placement of robots and humans on the DC floor.
Benefits of Roboteon’s simulation tool include:
Support for testing and building the business case for automation
Improved visibility over flexible time-horizons
Enhanced decision-making based on real-time data
More consistent ability to meet service-level commitments and client scorecards
Higher productivity and throughput
“With the release of this simulation tool as part of our Robotics Fulfillment Platform , Roboteon has further enhanced our sector-leading capabilities for successful robotic enablement in the short and long term” said Dan Gilmore, chief marketing officer.
About Roboteon
Roboteon Inc.™ is a unique market innovator whose vision is to enable rapid deployment and efficient operation of robotics in distribution. Our software platform enables interoperability across robotic technologies and vendors. It also optimizes order planning, picking and other process execution while automatically considering dynamic conditions such as robot and human resource capacities on the floor. Combined with deep domain expertise, our technology speeds time-to-value and supports agile change. You can learn more at www.roboteon.com.
Media Contact Dan Gilmore Roboteon dgilmore@roboteon.com
Pittsburgh, PA – November 19, 2024 – Today inventory intelligence solution Gather AI announces its expansion into freezer and cold storage warehouse environments, an industry-first for inventory monitoring automation.
According to Grand View Research, the U.S. cold storage market size was valued at $40 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $97 billion by 2030. This can be attributed to technological advancements in packaging, processing, and storage of temperature-sensitive items.
In tandem, the rise of e-commerce has accelerated delivery timelines, and warehouse inventory accuracy is more crucial than ever. Traditionally, staff across food and beverage, pharma and healthcare, health and beauty, and chemicals and technology have had to physically cycle count in harsh freezer environments, but now with Gather AI’s industry-first freezer and cold storage capability, drones do the counting, and employees can comfortably view the results from a dashboard away from the cold.
Gather AI computer vision technology enables drones to fly autonomously through warehouses with no GPS, WiFi, or infrastructure changes needed. The machine learning algorithm analyzes inventory pictures and reads and interprets far beyond the barcode including lot codes, text, expiration dates, case counts, and occupancy information. Warehouse operators can compare their real-time physical inventory with the warehouse management system (WMS) data. Gather AI’s solution scans 10X faster than traditional means in the freezer environment - up to 900 pallets per hour - and improves inventory accuracy by up to 70%. See more here.
Key benefits of this expansion into freezer and cold storage warehouses:
Reduce the time staff spends in challenging conditions
Ensure FIFO compliance to guarantee inventory freshness
Monitor inventory age and expiration dates to reduce waste
Prevent shrink and reduce mispicks, fulfillment delays, and partial shipments
Realize the full benefits of traceability and digital twin visualization
“Our automated solutions are designed to enhance both employee experience and operational efficiency, helping businesses achieve greater productivity in their facilities,” said Gather AI CEO & Co-Founder, Sankalp Arora, Ph.D. “Our commitment to building flexible, scalable technology has led to this industry-first: automated inventory monitoring in cold storage and freezer environments. With this technical challenge solved, we’re excited to support businesses in meeting heightened inventory counting and accuracy standards, while enabling employees to spend less time on manual tasks in these demanding conditions.”
Langham Logistics CEO, Cathy Langham says “We use business intelligence solutions like Gather AI to give our life sciences customers total inventory visibility, control, and compliance. After engaging Gather AI in 2022, we went from a 97% accuracy rate to over 99% accuracy. With the expansion into cold storage and freezer locations, we expect the same accuracy gains and up to 10X faster cycle counts. This will improve results for our clients and ultimately get product into the hands of people who need it most - quickly, accurately, and in peak condition.” Hear more about Langham Logistics’s experience with Gather AI here.
To learn more about the Gather AI solution, please visit www.gather.ai, and meet their team at industry conferences including Manifest, HumanX, ProMat, and others.
About Gather AI: Pittsburgh-based Gather AI is a market leader in supply chain AI to decrease the cost of inventory, improve productivity, and boost revenue. Gather AI was founded in 2017 by Carnegie Mellon University alumni Sankalp Arora, Ph.D., Daniel Maturana, Ph.D., and Geetesh Dubey. The Gather AI solution is currently deployed in warehouses across third-party logistics, retail distribution, manufacturing, food & beverage, and air cargo at companies including GEODIS, Langham Logistics, NFI Industries, Barrett Distribution, Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), and more. Gather AI was named a 2024 CB Insights AI 100 company and received several other awards from trade media outlets in the past year. Gather AI is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Tribeca Venture Partners, Xplorer Capital, Dundee Venture Capital, Expa, Bling Capital, and XRC Ventures. To learn more about Gather AI, visit www.gather.ai and on YouTube and LinkedIn.
Dublin, Ohio (November 19, 2024) — VARGO®, a leading provider of material-handling systems integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions, has announced several new vendor partnerships and customer advancements that are helping them to create efficiencies and empower fulfillment.
VARGO® and Tompkins Robotics have signed a mutual partnership, designating VARGO® as an authorized integrator of the technology. “Tompkins is an obvious choice in partner for us,” said Bart Cera, CEO. “Their robotics solutions are conducive to a weightless, continuous flow as well as being modular and quickly deployable. Their solutions have the ability to shrink or grow with the size of our customer’s operation which will allow us to utilize it often and in many different merchandise categories.”
Long standing customer, Micro Center recently upgraded the 20-year-old system at their Hilliard, Ohio facility. Initially installed in 2004, this system had an exceptionally long usable life for a line shaft conveyor. It is estimated that during 2020, more than $4B worth of goods were sorted and shipped using this system. VARGO® made recommendations for modernizing the aging technology and investing in the next phase to mitigate the associated maintenance cost that is often seen with sunsetting systems.
Ultimately, Micro Center opted to modernize the conveyor in phases by removing the existing line shaft conveyor and replacing it with the lower maintenance and operational cost option of an MDR conveyor, an upgraded saw tooth merge and a new narrow belt sorter to increase accuracy and throughput. VARGO® was able to add a temporary workaround and allow for remote monitoring to minimize operational impact during the equipment upgrades. Implementation was a success with an earlier than expected completion date due to additional efforts from the installation teams.
VARGO® also recently announced a pivotal partnership with URBX, making VARGO® an authorized integrator of their cutting-edge robotic solutions. “With the explosion of new fulfillment technologies and automation in our industry, we are able to deliver compelling returns for our customers when applying the URBX technologies correctly,” said Bart Cera, president and CEO of VARGO®. The partnership anticipates a prosperous future by combining URBX’s cube storage solutions for speed across SKUs with VARGO®’s expertise in waveless and omnichannel order fulfillment.
Additionally, VARGO® has expanded their partnership with TGW Systems with the installation of their goods-to-person technology to Gap Inc.’s Columbus facility coming in Q1 of 2025. The Columbus Gap Inc. facility is already home to a TGW automatic storage system, allowing for optimal utilization of volume while also ensuring easy maintenance and durability. “We are honored to have been a trusted partner forGap Inc. and their growth strategy. This recent addition to our partnership with TGW Systems is allowing us to bring Gap Inc. the benefits of a highly ergonomic and user-friendly design, allowing for minimal error rates and maximum efficiency,” said Cera.
The VARGO® team looks forward to finishing out a very successful 2024, full of many client expansions and updates, new and expanded vendor partnerships and internal team growth.
About VARGO®
VARGO® is a proven integrator to enable what's possible and empower automation and people. VARGO® provides the newest and smartest technologies with the intelligent design of its Continuous Order Fulfillment Engine (COFE®) - the first intelligent Warehouse Execution System (WES) - to develop game-changing fulfillment solutions across all work resources - machines, people and processes. VARGO® is a team of mechanical and software engineers with over five decades of experience, VARGO® has helped manufacturers, distributors, leading retailers, e-commerce providers, and 3PLs improve their fulfillment and material handling systems, increase processing capacities, and reduce order cycle times.
Learn more about VARGO® and their innovative solutions at www.vargosolutions.com.