Robot Roundup - Volume 8

Rounding up the headlines and trends over the last week in the industry. What do you want to hear about?

Moderna Products Optimizes Operations with Mecalux Automation

Moderna Products has significantly enhanced its operational efficiency through a partnership with intralogistics specialist, Mecalux . The company's Belgian plant in Izegem has been equipped with a cutting-edge automated warehouse system designed to accommodate the rapid growth of the pet industry.

This strategic investment is aligned with Moderna Products' commitment to sustainability and technological advancement. The automated warehouse, complete with energy-efficient rack-supported building and advanced software, has dramatically increased storage capacity and order fulfilment speed. By integrating production and warehousing operations, the company has achieved greater control over its supply chain and enhanced overall efficiency.

The implementation of Mecalux's automation solution is a testament to Moderna Products' forward-thinking approach to business. This state-of-the-art facility positions the company for continued growth and success in the thriving pet care market.

"Our priority is to use highly energy-efficient storage and production systems while maintaining our return on investment,” says Moderna CEO, Bart Bonte .

Benefits of the project include:

• Increased storage capacity
• Enhanced order fulfilment speed
• Improved operational efficiency
• Reduced environmental impact
• Enhanced safety for employees

Symbotic Faces Headwinds

Robotics company Symbotic has experienced a significant share price decline following a disappointing financial forecast. The company, known for its AI-powered warehouse automation solutions, has fallen short of analyst expectations for both revenue and profit in the current quarter.

The primary cause of this underperformance is attributed to increased costs and delays in system deployment. Despite being backed by retail giant 沃尔玛 and going public with a valuation of $21 billion, Symbotic has struggled to translate its innovative technology into consistent financial growth.

The company's business model, centred around automating warehouse operations using robots and AI, has garnered significant attention. However, the challenges in scaling operations and achieving profitability have become apparent. With a market capitalization now significantly reduced, Symbotic faces pressure to deliver on its promises and regain investor confidence.

While Walmart remains a key stakeholder and is investing heavily in warehouse automation, Symbotic's future trajectory remains uncertain as it navigates these operational hurdles.

"Looking ahead, improving our deployment process may temporarily slow our revenue growth. However, we expect system costs to decline and gross margin to return to historical levels during our fourth fiscal quarter," Symbotic CFO Carol Hibbard said.

Pioneers in Cantilever Racking

Since its inception in 1999, BHD Storage Solutions has solidified its position as a leading authority in cantilever racking systems. The company has consistently adapted to the evolving landscape of warehouse distribution, notably through the integration of automation technologies.

Specializing in cantilever racking, BHD has cultivated a strong market presence, particularly in Australia. The company's commitment to manufacturing excellence is evident in its vertically integrated operations, spanning from design to delivery. This control over the supply chain ensures product quality and timely fulfilment.

A cornerstone of BHD's success is its ability to tailor solutions to specific client needs. The company's racking systems are engineered to optimize space utilization, particularly in industries with oversized or irregular products, such as steel and timber. This focus on customization has allowed BHD to secure high-profile clients like Komatsu .

The integration of automation into BHD's offerings is a strategic response to industry trends. By investing in research and development and expanding its manufacturing capabilities, the company is positioning itself as a frontrunner in the evolving warehouse automation landscape. This commitment to technological advancement ensures BHD remains a key player in the dynamic material handling sector.

“We now go up to nine metres high, with narrow aisles to maximise floor space, allowing quick retrieval of specific items without moving others. This efficiency is crucial for industries where space and time are critical.”

“Komatsu’s equipment varies greatly in size and weight,” says David Searle.

The Evolving Warehouse Management System Market

The warehouse management system (WMS) market is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by advancements in automation and the increasing complexity of fulfilment operations. A clear bifurcation is emerging, with a growing emphasis on either highly optimized, complex solutions (Tier 1) or rapid-deployment, low-cost alternatives. The demand for mid-tier solutions is declining due to the increasing capabilities of both extremes.

The integration of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) is a key factor driving this shift. These robots, exemplified by providers like Locus Robotics , are equipped with their own optimization algorithms, reducing the reliance on traditional WMS for managing robotic tasks. This trend is reinforced by the development of warehouse execution systems (WES), which coordinate both human and robotic labour.

Tier 1 WMS solutions must adapt to this changing landscape by focusing on advanced optimization capabilities. Features such as wave planning, task interleaving, order streaming, and route optimization are becoming essential for maximizing efficiency and productivity. Leading WMS providers – like Manhattan Associates , Blue Yonder , and K?rber Supply Chain Software – offer WES. The incorporation of engineered labour standards and labour forecasting tools further enhances operational performance. Moreover, the development of digital twins and user-friendly interfaces powered by generative AI is crucial for effective warehouse management.

A cloud-based, componentized architecture is emerging as the preferred foundation for Tier 1 WMS solutions. This approach enables greater flexibility, scalability, and integration with other supply chain applications. By sharing master data and database components, organizations can achieve improved efficiency and data consistency across their operations.

So what does this mean for Tier 1 WMS Solutions?

• Warehouse Execution System: These solutions optimise work across the automated and manual activities in a warehouse.
• Wave Planning: Involves batching several tasks into a wave of work, minimising travel for floor-level associates.
• Task Interleaving: Picking is the most important activity in a warehouse. When the need to get work out the door diminishes, it makes sense to interleave picking with other tasks. For example, if a worker is in an aisle making a pick, and they are next to a slot that has not been cycle counted for a while, the worker can count the number of items in that slot.
• eCommerce Order Streaming: E-commerce orders are typically small, one or two items. Rather than batching these orders to gain labour efficiency, it often makes sense to drop them—or at least the orders that customers were promised would be delivered quickly—to the floor as soon as they are received. Thus, eCommerce orders are fulfilled with something known as "order streaming" logic.
• Route Optimisation: Wave planning is a form of route optimisation. By dropping a group of orders to an associate that all require work to be done in a particular zone, that associate does not have to travel as much. However, a zone typically involves several aisles. What is the best way to route a worker into and out of those aisles, particularly if the aisle is congested with other workers? Zebra has introduced location tags that attach to associates. Combining those tags with new optimisation logic could take worker routing to the next level.
• Engineered Labour Standards: The goal of a labour management system is to get employees to work at a steady pace consistently throughout the day. Engineered labour standards are developed to ensure that if a picker works efficiently and steadily, they can hit their goal for the day. Often, companies will give bonuses to workers if they can work faster than the standard pace. Labour productivity always goes up when an LMS is introduced, and these solutions provide quick payback.
• Pack Optimisation: Companies often use an excessive amount of packaging to ship items to customers. The extra boxes, bubble wrap, tissue paper, and other packaging materials have a negative impact on the environment and increase shipping costs. Pack optimisation works to fill shipping containers efficiently.
• Labour Forecasting: Historical data is used to forecast how many workers will be required on a given day or week to complete the work that will hit the warehouse. This works even better if warehouse executives are included in the integrated business planning process. It works better still if the DC has engineered labour standards in place. In many cases, a warehouse may have visibility to a significant proportion of the orders that will drop to the warehouse in the coming day or two. In this case, schedules can be adjusted so that the warehouse has neither too many nor too few workers.
• Warehouse Digital Twin: Currently, planner interfaces can show the layout of the warehouse, provide heat maps of SKUs about to expire, or show empty slots. But digital twins will be capable of more. The digital twin should include simulation capabilities.
• User Interface: Generative AI will be used to create highly intuitive user interfaces for warehouse planners.

As the WMS market continues to evolve, the ability to harness the power of automation and data-driven insights will be essential for businesses seeking to optimize their warehouse operations and gain a competitive advantage.

Recent industry moves

As I'm trying to keep my finger on the pulse of the industry, I've added a new section to robot round-up, where we look at some key personnel moves within the industry. As these are often few and far in-between, as soon as there are new moves in the industry we'll keep an eye on them here. Over the last couple of months two big moves have been;

Avihou Barkay has left Caja Robotics and started with Plus One Robotics . He has been named President & Chief Commercial Officer.

Michael Oren has Joined 德马泰克 as Senior VP of Sales for the Americas. He previously served as Executive VP, Global Services for Xerox .

Thanks for reading into Volume 8. Please don't hesitate to get in touch on any other topics! Please get in touch at [email protected]!