Sometimes the most difficult part of implementing automation is getting it to play nicely with your other technology solutions.
Hagen Group, a multinational manufacturer and distributor of pet products, is a case in point. In a bid to reduce its dependence on temporary labor at its Las Vegas distribution facility, Hagen had decided to implement 6 River Systems’ (6RS) “Chuck” autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)—a solution it hoped would prove easy to install as it would require no major changes to the DC’s layout. However, when Hagen tried to integrate the robots with its existing warehouse management system (WMS), it ran into a problem: The WMS lacked the built-in application programming interface (API) needed to leverage the AMRs’ full capabilities.
UPGRADING INFRASTRUCTURE
Hagen explored a number of options for solving this problem, but most of them proved unsatisfactory. For instance, the company could have integrated an API into its existing WMS or upgraded to an entirely new WMS—but both of those options would have been quite costly. Alternatively, it could have asked 6RS to change the AMRs’ standard APIs to integrate with the company’s existing WMS, but that would have reduced the AMRs’ functionality and meant additional costs in the future.
The fourth choice proved to be the most promising for Hagen—incorporating SVT Robotics’ Softbot platform. This tech-agnostic software program would be able to take Hagen’s WMS flat files (simple data files presented in table form), standardize them, and then orchestrate orders for the Chuck AMRs. The solution would require no changes to the 6RS APIs, and Hagen wouldn’t have to sacrifice any AMR functionality. Furthermore, when Hagen is ready to upgrade its WMS to a full API version, SVT Robotics will be able to seamlessly switch the AMRs over to the new system in a matter of hours.
With the Softbot platform, implementation proved to be relatively painless, according to the two companies. The few hiccups that arose during the standard integration testing shortly before the system went live were promptly resolved by SVT’s deployment team.
SOLID RESULTS
By all accounts, the integration has been an unqualified success. “The biggest milestone is that our AMRs are communicating with our WMS,” Arash Shahreva, director of operations at Hagen Group, said in a case study. “That is a bridge that was not existent before, and SVT was able to create this custom bridge for us [that] allows [for communication] between our WMS and 6 River Systems.”
The benefits didn’t end there. For instance, once the robots went live, Hagen saw a whopping 295% increase in order picking productivity. On top of that, it has seen a significant reduction in the time needed to train new-hires and a marked improvement in employee retention, as warehouse associates have found working with the AMRs to be less physically taxing than their previous jobs.
And finally, when the time comes for Hagen to make further upgrades—say, transitioning to a new WMS or implementing Chucks at additional facilities—the process promises to be quick and easy, as the integration groundwork is already in place.
