Robotics Finds It’s Place in Fulfillment

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Warehouse in the News Robotics Finds It’s Place in Fulfillment Prologis report addresses intersection of increased e-commerce activity on industrial real estate DHL Supply Chain, Blue Yonder, and Microsoft team up for robotics collaboration Case Study: Mitigating disruption when COVID-19 closes your distribution center The Proven Wearable Solution for a Safer Workforce More Warehouse News Case Study: Mitigating disruption when COVID-19 closes your distribution center Learn how an up-to-date optimization model provided one U.S. distributor with a 55% cost avoidance when one of their facilities had to temporarily close because of a worker who contracted COVID-19. All Resources Extraordinary times—and a need for proven measures—may be what propels robotics to the next level in warehouse and distribution center (DC) operations. Not that robotics has been slow to catch on in warehousing. According to analyst firm ABI Research , the global mobile robotics market will reach $23 billion this year. In a 2020 survey by Peerless Research as part of our annual “Industry Outlook” study, 9% surveyed told us they were already using robotics, and 19% were considering them. But can robotics for intralogistics keep growing quickly, given the disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic? Unemployment has skyrocketed. Some manufacturers temporarily had to shut down sites, and many companies have tightened their budgets, at least in the short term. At the same time, e-commerce has spiked, especially in sectors like grocery. And while it may be too early to tally the impacts of the pandemic on robotics, in the long term, the technology’s ability to increase productivity with minimal added labor bodes well for the technology, says Rian Whitton, a senior analyst at ABI. “From what we’re seeing, there has been a huge increase in demand for e-commerce during the pandemic,” says Whitton. “And the greater the percentage of retail that […]