GreyOrange Multiagent Orchestration Platform Aligns with Prediction Research from Gartner®
Research from Gartner® predicts companies will need an orchestration platform for assigning work to specific-functioning robots based on near-real-time information
A recent Gartner® report predicts that “by 2026, over 50% of companies deploying intralogistics robots in the warehouse will have a multiagent orchestration platform.” Multiagent orchestration platforms act like intelligent middleware that integrate and orchestrate work between various business applications, heterogenous fleets of operational robots, and other automated agents like doors or elevators within the four walls of a warehouse or distribution center operation.
GreyMatter™, from automated robotic fulfillment leader GreyOrange, coordinates and assigns the work activities of warehouse robots to maximize productivity, speed, accuracy and safety in end-to-end inventory fulfillment operations. GreyMatter matches robot agents according to work needs, including capacity and demand peaks, for seamless inventory orchestration. GreyOrange recently announced an open API (application programming interface) to GreyMatter that enables any certified vendor’s robotic solution to seamlessly connect to the fulfillment orchestration platform, giving customers the freedom to choose the technology that best fits their warehouse environment.
The open API integration to GreyMatter echoes research from the Gartner report, “Predicts 2023: Supply Chain Technology,” published by Dwight Klappich, Christian Titze, Tim Payne, Amber Salley and Simon Tunstall:
“As a company’s fleet of robots grows, simple point-to-point API integration will not be enough. Companies will need an orchestration capability that can assign work to the right robots based on near-real-time information and the characteristics of the activity. This will reduce the time, effort and cost to onboard new robots and will reduce support cost, ultimately making organizations more efficient because work will be assigned to the robot best-suited for the task. Consequently, these companies will need a platform that can help integrate with and orchestrate the work assigned to their heterogeneous fleet of robots.”
Read the full report, compliments of GreyOrange by visiting the company's website.
Under the API, hardware manufacturers can easily incorporate GreyMatter to orchestrate their autonomous mobile robots (AMR) fleets and other execution agents at the customer’s site by joining leading hardware vendors such as HAI Robotics, Fetch Robotics (now Zebra), Mushiny Intelligence, Technica International, Vicarious and Youi Robotics, and others who are already part of GreyOrange’s Certified RangerTM Network (CRN) ecosystem.
In the report, Dwight Klappich details that:
In a survey done with Peerless Research Group, when current users of robots were asked if they intended to expand their robot fleets, 86% of respondents said they will.
Also, 96% of current robot users said that they planned to expand their use of robotics to new use cases.
For companies that have already invested in robotics, the vast majority said they will expand their robotics fleets and look for new use cases.
“Research from this Gartner report mentions the growing trend towards multiagent orchestration. Multiagent orchestration is a core part of GreyOrange’s value proposition and our GreyMatter platform offers a unique solution by giving customers the freedom to choose the ‘best-of-breed’ fulfillment technology that fits their needs, no matter the vendor,” said Samay Kohli, co-founder and CEO, GreyOrange. “At GreyOrange, we’ve been solving challenges for the world’s leading brands for more than a decade. Preparing for both upcoming obstacles and scaling needs keeps our customers agile and pivot-ready when circumstances change.”
1. Gartner “Predicts 2023: Supply Chain Technology” Dwight Klappich, Christian Titze, Tim Payne, Amber Salley, Simon Tunstall; 28 November 2022.
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The “CMA CGM Startup Awards”—created in collaboration with BFM Business and La Tribune—will identify the best innovations to accelerate its transformation, the French company said.
Specifically, the company will select the best startup among the applicants, with clear industry transformation objectives focused on environmental performance, competitiveness, and quality of life at work in each of the three areas:
Shipping: Enabling safer, more efficient, and sustainable navigation through innovative technological solutions.
Logistics: Reinventing the global supply chain with smart and sustainable logistics solutions.
Media: Transform content creation, and customer engagement with innovative media technologies and strategies.
Three winners will be selected during a final event organized on November 15 at the Orange Vélodrome Stadium in Marseille, during the 2nd Artificial Intelligence Marseille (AIM) forum organized by La Tribune and BFM Business. The selection will be made by a jury chaired by Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the Group, and including members of the executive committee representing the various sectors of CMA CGM.
The global air cargo market’s hot summer of double-digit demand growth continued in August with average spot rates showing their largest year-on-year jump with a 24% increase, according to the latest weekly analysis by Xeneta.
Xeneta cited two reasons to explain the increase. First, Global average air cargo spot rates reached $2.68 per kg in August due to continuing supply and demand imbalance. That came as August's global cargo supply grew at its slowest ratio in 2024 to-date at 2% year-on-year, while global cargo demand continued its double-digit growth, rising +11%.
The second reason for higher rates was an ocean-to-air shift in freight volumes due to Red Sea disruptions and e-commerce demand.
Those factors could soon be amplified as e-commerce shows continued strong growth approaching the hotly anticipated winter peak season. E-commerce and low-value goods exports from China in the first seven months of 2024 increased 30% year-on-year, including shipments to Europe and the US rising 38% and 30% growth respectively, Xeneta said.
“Typically, air cargo market performance in August tends to follow the July trend. But another month of double-digit demand growth and the strongest rate growths of the year means there was definitely no summer slack season in 2024,” Niall van de Wouw, Xeneta’s chief airfreight officer, said in a release.
“Rates we saw bottoming out in late July started picking up again in mid-August. This is too short a period to call a season. This has been a busy summer, and now we’re at the threshold of Q4, it will be interesting to see what will happen and if all the anticipation of a red-hot peak season materializes,” van de Wouw said.
The report cites data showing that there are approximately 1.7 million workers missing from the post-pandemic workforce and that 38% of small firms are unable to fill open positions. At the same time, the “skills gap” in the workforce is accelerating as automation and AI create significant shifts in how work is performed.
That information comes from the “2024 Labor Day Report” released by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), the firm’s government relations and public policy arm.
“We continue to see a labor shortage and an urgent need to upskill the current workforce to adapt to the new world of work,” said Michael Lotito, Littler shareholder and co-chair of WPI. “As corporate executives and business leaders look to the future, they are focused on realizing the many benefits of AI to streamline operations and guide strategic decision-making, while cultivating a talent pipeline that can support this growth.”
But while the need is clear, solutions may be complicated by public policy changes such as the upcoming U.S. general election and the proliferation of employment-related legislation at the state and local levels amid Congressional gridlock.
“We are heading into a contentious election that has already proven to be unpredictable and is poised to create even more uncertainty for employers, no matter the outcome,” Shannon Meade, WPI’s executive director, said in a release. “At the same time, the growing patchwork of state and local requirements across the U.S. is exacerbating compliance challenges for companies. That, coupled with looming changes following several Supreme Court decisions that have the potential to upend rulemaking, gives C-suite executives much to contend with in planning their workforce-related strategies.”
Stax Engineering, the venture-backed startup that provides smokestack emissions reduction services for maritime ships, will service all vessels from Toyota Motor North America Inc. visiting the Toyota Berth at the Port of Long Beach, according to a new five-year deal announced today.
Beginning in 2025 to coincide with new California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, STAX will become the first and only emissions control provider to service roll-on/roll-off (ro-ros) vessels in the state of California, the company said.
Stax has rapidly grown since its launch in the first quarter of this year, supported in part by a $40 million funding round from investors, announced in July. It now holds exclusive service agreements at California ports including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hueneme, Benicia, Richmond, and Oakland. The firm has also partnered with individual companies like NYK Line, Hyundai GLOVIS, Equilon Enterprises LLC d/b/a Shell Oil Products US (Shell), and now Toyota.
Stax says it offers an alternative to shore power with land- and barge-based, mobile emissions capture and control technology for shipping terminal and fleet operators without the need for retrofits.
In the case of this latest deal, the Toyota Long Beach Vehicle Distribution Center imports about 200,000 vehicles each year on ro-ro vessels. Stax will keep those ships green with its flexible exhaust capture system, which attaches to all vessel classes without modification to remove 99% of emitted particulate matter (PM) and 95% of emitted oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Over the lifetime of this new agreement with Toyota, Stax estimated the service will account for approximately 3,700 hours and more than 47 tons of emissions controlled.
“We set out to provide an emissions capture and control solution that was reliable, easily accessible, and cost-effective. As we begin to service Toyota, we’re confident that we can meet the needs of the full breadth of the maritime industry, furthering our impact on the local air quality, public health, and environment,” Mike Walker, CEO of Stax, said in a release. “Continuing to establish strong partnerships will help build momentum for and trust in our technology as we expand beyond the state of California.”
That result showed that driver wages across the industry continue to increase post-pandemic, despite a challenging freight market for motor carriers. The data comes from ATA’s “Driver Compensation Study,” which asked 120 fleets, more than 150,000 employee drivers, and 14,000 independent contractors about their wage and benefit information.
Drilling into specific categories, linehaul less-than-truckload (LTL) drivers earned a median annual amount of $94,525 in 2023, while local LTL drivers earned a median of $80,680. The median annual compensation for drivers at private carriers has risen 12% since 2021, reaching $95,114 in 2023. And leased-on independent contractors for truckload carriers were paid an annual median amount of $186,016 in 2023.
The results also showed how the demographics of the industry are changing, as carriers offered smaller referral and fewer sign-on bonuses for new drivers in 2023 compared to 2021 but more frequently offered tenure bonuses to their current drivers and with a greater median value.
"While our last study, conducted in 2021, illustrated how drivers benefitted from the strongest freight environment in a generation, this latest report shows professional drivers' earnings are still rising—even in a weaker freight economy," ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a release. "By offering greater tenure bonuses to their current driver force, many fleets appear to be shifting their workforce priorities from recruitment to retention."