DC s LEVEL UP
A global logistics provider turned to Locus Robotics to improve its customers’ supply chains and boost efficiency and fulfillment. After observing the productivity improvements generated by a six-robot pilot, the company deployed 56 LocusBots. Worker productivity doubled, while cycle time was cut in half. Robotics, and the company time was cut half.
they’d need to invest enough to meet their peak season, even if the equipment remains underutilized much of the time. “Robots-as-a-service allows clients to right-size for their business fluctuations,” Bentley says. As important, companies don’t need to re-do their distribution centers to implement Locus solutions, Peterson says. Instead, they can incorporate LocusBots within their existing infrastructure. Real-time Locus dashboards provide actionable insight. For instance, they can identify areas of congestion within a distribution center, so management can assign associates to work through the bottlenecks. The reports can also provide longer-term data that companies can use to analyze performance across multiple systems. Through its sustainability initiative, Locus refurbishes its robots. While LocusBots already are durable and long- lasting, this further extends their lives.
and getting it packaged correctly— that’s where associates really add value,” Bentley says.
ROBOTICS-AS-A-SERVICE: SCALABLE, DATA-HEAVY
In working with customers, Locus’s engineering team seeks to understand their workflows and replenishment needs. For example, if a healthcare company needs to capture certain data to comply with regulations, Locus will work with the organization to develop an efficient, automated process that accomplishes this. Because customers lease solutions through Locus’s robots-as-a-service (RaaS) model, they gain ongoing service and maintenance expertise, as well as immediate access to software updates. These are key capabilities in today’s dynamic warehouse environment. Clients can quickly scale Locus solutions to meet peak seasons, and then scale down once the season is over. In contrast, with many other solutions,
particularly Locus, are no longer baby steps to automation, nor a nice-to- have technology. “We’re proven,” Peterson says. “If you’re looking for a highly automated, no longer baby to automation, nice-to- technology.
highly efficient facility, Locus is that solution.” solution.”
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November 2022 • Inbound Logistics 53
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