warehouse automation

Building a smart warehouse no longer requires major investment

As warehouse efficiency, along with the streamlining of other processes, becomes a greater priority for retailers and logistics providers alike, the adoption of smart warehousing solutions is growing rapidly.

Warehouse automation isn’t new by any means, but a number of factors have escalated its adoption throughout the supply chain. Labor challenges over the last three years, for instance, have pinched the productivity and profitability of warehouses as the availability of labor remains low and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/building-a-smart-warehouse-no-longer-requires-major-investment

Walmart acquires automated grocery fulfillment firm Alert Innovation

Walmart Alert warehouse grocery fulfillment automation

As the largest retailer in the world, it’s no surprise that Walmart has poured money into innovative fulfillment technologies like drone delivery and advanced robotics.

In particular, the company has been focused on modernizing its warehouses with automation. But while it owns a majority stake in warehouse robotics firm Symbotic, which in May brought robots to all 42 of its regional distribution centers, the retailer until this week didn’t own a warehouse tech company outright.

That changed...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/walmart-acquires-automated-grocery-fulfillment-firm-alert-innovation

Blue Yonder introduces pair of warehouse and fulfillment solutions

warehouse automation fulfillment technology

Scottsdale, Arizona-based supply chain technology company Blue Yonder on Tuesday released not one but two new solutions geared toward quick and easy fulfillment.

The first, Warehouse Execution System, is designed to help warehouse operators onboard and orchestrate workflows for their staff, whether human or robot. The other, Adaptive Fulfillment & Warehousing, is built to enable automated inventory management and omnichannel fulfillment, including options like curbside and same-day delivery.

Both...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/blue-yonder-introduces-pair-of-warehouse-and-fulfillment-solutions

‘Nanofulfillment’ company 1MRobotics emerges from stealth with $25M

automated fulfillment center warehouse robot

If you follow the logistics space, you’ve probably heard of fulfillment — the completion of an order from the point of sale to final delivery. You’ve probably even heard of microfulfillment, which takes the process to the next level by using a network of tiny warehouses and back rooms to reduce lead times.

But some companies are thinking even smaller.

1MRobotics, a fledgling technology startup that emerged from stealth on Monday, wants to usher in the era of “nanofulfillment.” Courtesy of a $16.5...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/nanofulfillment-company-1mrobotics-emerges-from-stealth-with-25m

GXO Logistics continues to write new chapters in its evolving story

GXO robot arm in warehouse setting

On Oct. 12, 2021, GXO Logistics Chief Investment Officer Mark Manduca laid out the argument for why the Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm represented a new breed of logistics company.

“This is a hard business to wrap your head around. There is no company out there that is scalable contract logistics,” he told a virtual audience during a Deutsche Bank forum.

Manduca was speaking less than three months after GXO was spun out of XPO. He acknowledged that investors “don’t really understand how to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/gxo-continues-ecommerce-logistics-growth

This luxury e-commerce fulfillment platform is using drones to manage inventory

Vimaan warehouse drone

The logistics industry is really starting to talk about drone delivery as Amazon, Alphabet, UPS and others get their services off the ground. Modern Shipper even launched a new show about drone delivery tech to get in on the conversation.

But even within the logistics space, drones are far from one-trick ponies.

E-commerce order fulfillment platform PFS, a subsidiary of PFSweb Inc. (NASDAQ: PFSW) which counts luxury brands like Pandora and L’Oreal as clients, is partnering with tech provider...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/this-luxury-e-commerce-fulfillment-platform-is-using-drones-to-manage-inventory

What Amazon’s first fully autonomous robot means for warehouse workers

Amazon fulfillment center worker and robot

Ten years after launching its robotics division, Amazon just unveiled its most advanced autonomous mobile robot (AMR) to date — and it could shake up the warehouse workplace.

Proteus isn’t Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) debut in the AMR space, but it’s the first robot the company has produced that it describes as “fully autonomous.” Proteus is unlike the other robots Amazon has released over the years that are caged off from employees. Rather, it’s designed to move packages throughout the company’s...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/what-amazons-first-fully-autonomous-robot-means-for-warehouse-workers

Warehouse automation firm Hai Robotics closes $100M series D funding round

robots near warehouse shelving

Less than a year after raising $200 million, Chinese warehouse automation firm Hai Robotics has announced a $100 million series D+ funding round.

The funding is the third round raised in the past year as the acceleration of warehouse robotics intensifies across the globe. Hai has now raised $315 million, according to Crunchbase, across six total rounds.

As in previous rounds, Hai did not release a valuation associated with the new round.

“This round of financing will be spent on stepping up the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/warehouse-automation-firm-hai-robotics-closes-100m-series-d-funding-round

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