Urbx Robotic Inventory System Maximizes Density Urbx launched a robotic inventory stor- age and retrieval system capable of ful lling complex, multi-SKU orders at high speeds. The system builds on traditional automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) and uses a combination of robotics, software, and storage racking to offer advantages in speed, height, density, and scalability in goods-to-person order ful llment work ows. to offer density, order Designed for ecommerce warehouses, retail and grocery ful llment, the system uses a eet of proprietary Urbx TowerBots driven by AI to nd the shortest 3D path through a dense storage grid to retrieve totes and bring them out to a pick station. TowerBots move across the top of the racking and drop down through strategically located columns to access inventory. This storage grid design requires no navigating aisles or digging to access totes below top storage layers, enabling access to inventory at all levels—stacked up to 75 totes high—in seconds. age ful lling high automated (AS/RS) robotics, retail uses driven through totes
TowerBots then move totes down through those same columns to built-in conveyor tiles for transport to order ful llment and consolidation. The Urbx system can support accelerated ful llment speeds; it is capable of ful lling a 50-line order in less than 2.5 minutes. Apparel Distributor S&S Fashions More Robot Solutions S&S Activewear, an apparel distributor, increased the deployment of Geekplus robotics solutions and expanded its partnership with Körber Supply Chain at three warehouse sites across the Americas. The partnership starts with the deployment of 340 Geekplus robots at a single 750,000-square-foot S&S site in Lockport, Illinois, marking the largest collaboration in Körber’s robotics portfolio. Geekplus’s PopPick robotics solutions optimize warehouse processes, moving inventory stored in totes to pick stations. The system incorporates autonomous mobility and slotting of inventory for an ef cient work ow. The system is designed to support more than 4,500 lines per hour through 24 picking stations. Since the inception of the partnership, S&S Activewear has logged increased speed and ef ciency in warehouse operations, order ful llment, and quality assurance. Arvato Augments Automation and Shoots for Warehouse Autonomy Supply chain and ecommerce service provider Arvato is increasing the targeted use of robots in its logistics centers, with plans to scale automation in the near future and even more ambitiously, build an autonomous warehouse with self-im- proving capabilities. 1. justPick Fulfills Orders At its location in Dortmund, Germany, where it operates a distribution center for several fashion clients, Arvato deployed
$5.6 Billion The estimated global revenue of mobile robots in 2024, according to Ash Sharma, chief 2024, according chief
commercial ocer and VP of research – robotics and warehouse automation at Interact Analytics. The market intelligence research company cut its ocer research Analytics. research
forecast for 2024 due to a slowdown in China. Despite this deceleration, growth in the U.S. market is expected to help propel global revenues due China. deceleration, U.S. market
to reach $5.6 billion for the year. In 2023,
the mobile robot market grew by 27% to amass $4.5 billion globally.
Geekplus robotics solutions at S&S Activewear’s 750,000-square-foot warehouse
172 Inbound Logistics • July 2024
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