Automotive tool and equipment company ISN significantly improved picking quality, accuracy, and speed from 30 to 110 picks per hour—a productivity increase of 266%—by implementing AMR solution from Körber and Locus Robotics.
increase at the Atlanta facility to consolidating all slower moving products into those two hubs and not trying to stock everything everywhere. Neese considers the 266% productivity increase at ISN’s Atlanta location to be a good metric of all AMR integration has and can achieve. As pick rates soared, it led to a need for other jobs to be created in the warehouse. “Improved throughput means we have to do things differently—for instance, there has been a change in how we build boxes and we’ve laid our manifest area out in a new way,” he says. “We’ve moved people to other tasks. Any time you’re able to increase human productivity, it’s just fantastic. ALL CAN BENEFIT “In today’s labor environments, bots are a great solution,” Neese says. “They’re far easier to get up and running than many other solutions that require a lot of ‘moving the furniture.’ Bots are a much lighter implementation but provide the same or a similar impact. “This productivity solution is something
handoffs constantly occurring between AMRs and Körber software maximize warehouse throughput, according to Leavitt. It has been determined that robots suit ve of ISN’s nine U.S.-based distribution centers. “Square footage and volume determine where robots are best deployed,” says Neese. Successful integration at the company’s Atlanta area facility has been quickly followed by deployment at their Fresno warehouse. At press time, ISN’s Indianapolis warehouse was slated to be equipped by the end of 2021 or in early 2022 with New Jersey and Dallas soon to follow. “Our facilities in the UK and in Canada aren’t on the list currently, but we do have them in the works,” Neese says. ISN has grown exponentially over the past few years. Small package shipments increased from 50% pre-pandemic to 80%, which explains ful llment strains. Neese attributes ISN’s 15 to 20% annual growth to its move to a two-hub strategy. “We went to a West and East Coast hub strategy so all of our A, B, and D SKUs are stocked in those two facilities,” he says. Neese credits part of the business
It didn’t take long for any of the parties involved—Körber, Locus, or ISN— to assess the positive impact robots would have on the automotive tool and equipment specialist and its distribution centers. “Doing the analytics, it was easy to determine AMRs would be a great t,” says Santagate. “Return on investment occurred within months.” UNDENIABLE SCALABILITY Locus Robotics is a subscription-based business; customers pay a subscription fee for each robot. “As needs change, we can adapt quickly and add or subtract robots to handle their requirements,” says Leavitt. Scalability is undeniable. Robots are responsible for verifying the correct item has been picked, making sure everything is cross checked and gets to the right dispatch or packing station. “We also constantly optimize the ful llment routes,” adds Leavitt. “When we team up with a company like Körber, which makes the WMS software, it’s an active partnership on both sides.” Robot software (robots are approximately 80% software) is always interacting with WMS software. The great
other companies need to take into consideration,” Neese suggests.
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January 2022 • Inbound Logistics 259
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