LOGISTICS REACHES NEW

LEVELS WITH ROBOTICS

The potential is great, but it’s best to focus on specific needs first, say suppliers and users.
 CONTENTS
Mobile Robot Adoption by Warehouses Editor’s Note
Will Surge to Half-Million Mark,
Says ABI Research
The sustained increase in order volume is increasing global

W
automation demand, finds research firm. elcome to Robotics 24/7’s
Special Focus Issue
on how logistics is
How to Get to Hyperlocal Fulfillment, Fast leveling up with robotics! We’re
In e-grocery, automated micro-fulfillment centers are catching on, in the midst of a holiday shopping
but for general retailers and e-commerce sellers, other approaches are season after nearly two years of
part of the picture. elevated e-commerce demand,
persistent labor and supply chain
3 Ways in Which Robots Are Helping the problems, and widening adoption of
Supply Chain Industry automation.
From automotive manufacturing to electronics and logistics, If there was a one-size-fits-all solution to
collaborative robots can help improve efficiency, safety, and retention. logistics challenges, it would already be in use.
But robotics suppliers do now have proven systems
Robots Deliver in the Last Mile, Giving for materials handling in numerous environments.
Retailers and Patrons More Options According to ABI Research, warehouses are starting
From college campuses and urban neighborhoods to to bring in mobile robots in larger numbers.
hospitals and hotels, delivery robots are starting to solve the Collaborative robot arms or cobots can work
last-mile problem. alongside human staffers and are also becoming
more widespread. After years of development,
How Can Robots Improve Picking we’re also starting to see more robust picking and
Operations in Warehouses? last-mile delivery systems.
Robots have gone from a “nice to have” to essential during the e- As you consider scaling your robotics fleet or just
commerce boom, but it’s important to understand how they can help getting started, remember that the software and
businesses. management around robots, as well as your own
processes, are also important. We look at how asset
Think of Robots as a Supply Chain Asset management, artificial intelligence, and financing
As warehouses and other operations increasingly turn to robots, they options can help companies of various sizes.
In addition, this digital issue examines the
should be considered an asset rather than some hostile technology. difference between mico-fulfillment and hyperlocal
fulfillment, two buzzworthy phrases in groceries
Warehouses Not Yet Taking Full Advantage of and e-commerce, but not limited to those sectors.
AI, Finds Lucas Systems Study Finally, I spoke with First Financial Equipment
Although warehouse executives are optimistic about AI and automation, Leasing about how its financing options are different
they say they need to learn more, says Lucas Systems. from robotics-as-a-service, or RaaS, models.
After years of business uncertainty, one thing
inVia Robotics Raises $30M in Series C Funding is certain: Forward-thinking logistics providers
From Microsoft, Qualcomm, Hitachi and customers need to maximize their value from
Mobile robot and warehouse optimization software provider plans to use robots immediately!
the funding to expand its global presence. Robotics 24/7 has a full slate of Special
Focus Issues coming in 2022, so keep reading,
First Financial Equipment Leasing Offers to and let us know what you think!
Reduce Risk in Adopting Automation Eugene Demaitre, Editorial Director
In addition to the cloud and simulation, robotics and AI are essential to
Comments? E-mail me at
improving flexibility and reshoring of production, say two tech CEOs.
[email protected]

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ROBOT ADOPTION

Mobile Robot Adoption

by Warehouses Will
Surge to Half-Million Mark,
Says ABI Research
BY EUGENE DEMAITRE

Körber works with multiple AMR and ASRS companies.

The sustained increase in order volume is increasing

global automation demand, finds research firm.

T
he supply chain industry has surged its warehouse automation efforts, consid-
ering the e-commerce boom and labor scarcities. In addition to systems such as
headphone-enabled voice-picking and exoskeletons that reduce human effort,
mobile robots are proving to be the most prevalent productivity-enhancing solution
in the warehousing sector. Worldwide mobile robot shipments to warehouses will
have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 40% from 2021 to 2030 and
exceed 500,000 global shipments in 2030, according to ABI Research.

SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE robotics247.com

ROBOT ADOPTION

“Productivity technologies can achieve age, said ABI. This trend falls in line with
far greater return on investment if cor- the fact that the logistics sector has been
rectly combined with other technologies,” experiencing high volume over the past
stated Adhish Luitel, an industry analyst for year, it added.
supply chain management and logistics at Parcel shipping reached 95 billion in
ABI Research. “For example, by combining parcel volume globally in 2020. This vol-
location-tracking data with a voice solution, ume is expected to double by 2026, with
warehouses using a warehouse execution a 14% CAGR between 2020 and 2026.
system (WES) platform can optimize work- “As the shift toward robotics occurs
flows by minimizing distance traveled based with busier warehouses, manual work-
on where the flows can be
worker is.” automated or
Automat- workflows that
ed storage also have tradi-
growing tionally been
In addition to carried out by
mobile robot- highly special-
ics, the growth ized and inflex-
of solutions ible machines
such as auto- could soon be
mated storage carried out by
and retrieval robots that
systems (ASRS) has also been explosive, said can be moved and retrained as needed,”
ABI. Led by companies such as Swisslog, Luitel said.
Bastian Solutions, and Körber, the global These findings are from ABI Re-
ASRS industry is set to be valued at over search’s “Smart Warehousing” market
$18 billion (U.S.) by 2030, with a year-over- data report. This report is part of the
year growth of 9% from 2021 to 2030, said company’s Supply Chain Management and
the research firm. Logistics research service, which includes
ASRS includes a variety of computer- research, data, and ABI Insights. Market
controlled systems for automatically placing Data spreadsheets include data, market-
and retrieving loads from defined storage share analysis, and highly segmented,
locations, which is ideal for high volume of service-specific forecasts of opportunities,
loads being moved into and out of stor- said ABI. g

SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE robotics247.com

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HYPERLOCAL FULFILLMENT

HOW TO GET TO HYPERLOCAL

FULFILLMENT, FAST
BY ROBERTO MICHEL

In e-grocery, automated micro-fulfillment centers are catching on, but for general
retailers and e-commerce sellers, other approaches are part of the picture.

M icro-fulfillment is on everyone’s lips these days, or so it seems. Major supermarket chains including
Kroger, Walmart, and H-E-B have started micro-fulfillment center projects, tapping automation
companies that offer robotic, high-density storage and picking systems, which can be placed inside a store
or a so-called “dark store” that fulfills online orders for a compact geographic area.

But for all the attention on the micro- both address the need to meet consumer
fulfillment center (MFC) trend to date, it’s mainly expectations for rapid online order fulfillment.
taking hold in grocery. It does, however, overlap Whether micro-fulfillment will gain much
with the concept of hyperlocal fulfillment, which traction outside of grocery remains to be seen.
almost every retailer or e-commerce brand is In e-grocery, there are some unique order
trying to achieve in some form. The “hyper- and service-level requirements. Online shoppers
local” concept overlaps with other fulfillment typically want same-day home or curbside
network approaches when the aim is enabling delivery for groceries, and you may have 40
next-day or two-day deliveries, including providers items in a customer order, which is higher than
of technology-driven warehousing services, also in most other retail segments. By contrast,
known as “on-demand” warehousing. consumers may be fine with one- or two-day
Micro-fulfillment and on-demand delivery for many other types of goods, though
warehousing aren’t the same thing, but they do expectations tend to be rising.

SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE robotics247.com

HYPERLOCAL FULFILLMENT

On-demand fulfillment network providers do More than 3PLs

offer technology, especially software tools that help Companies offering warehousing on-demand or
determine where to hold inventory and in what cloud logistics networks vary in focus, but they are
quantities. If the goal is to get online retail orders more than a loose combination of third-party logis-
to customer concentrations quickly, without wor- tics (3PL) facilities, since they typically offer cloud-
rying about building out fulfillment infrastructure, based software that helps manage inventory levels
these providers are a part of the picture. and positioning, as well as other aspects of order-
fulfillment activity for merchants.
Micro-fulfillment vs. hyper-local fulfillment
In the grocery sector, the term “micro-fulfillment”
generally refers to automated MFCs, typically in
the back of a store or attached to it. The “dark
store” functions as an automated MFC to serve
a ring of nearby consumers and non-automated
stores. MFCs typically use robotic, high-density
storage and picking systems, as well as some major
warehouse automation providers.
The MFC market has high growth poten-
tial, according to Logistics IQ. It predicted that
the market will reach $10 billion by 2026 at a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60% While traditional 3PLs are a proven way to expand
between 2020 and 2026. fulfillment reach, with a technology-driven logistics
Grocery is going to be the main contributor for network, there is no need to make arrangements with
this market, but general merchandise and other indus- multiple 3PLs to achieve the needed reach, said Sean
tries may pursue the model, said Logistics IQ. The ana- Henry, co-founder and CEO of Stord Inc. The cloud-
lyst firm reported that that MFC automation typically based, distributed logistics network provider works with
ranges between 5,000 to 25,000 sq. ft. of space. warehouse partners to offer more than 400 facilities to
To date, several major grocery retailers have de- e-commerce brands or to retailers looking to position
ployed a handful of automated MFCs, though some goods close to customer concentrations.
have aggressive plans for more, including Walmart, “If you look at traditional 3PLs, they are con-
which announced in January that it would be deploy- strained to the buildings they own or operate and their
ing dozens of what it called “market fulfillment cen- tech stack,” Henry said. “The constraint there for the re-
ters,” tapping various technology partners, including tailers or brands is that if you need dozens of warehous-
Alert Innovation, Dematic, and Fabric. es across the country, close to your end consumers.”
Tel Aviv, Israel-based Fabric also runs an “In this case, you’re trying to piece together
automated MFC for Super-pharm, and it recently how to work with multiple 3PLs and how to distrib-
announced a second MFC project with the drug- ute your volume across them, given different pricing
store chain and health and beauty retailer. or different minimum commitments you have with
“Hyper-local” is a somewhat broader term them,” he said. “And you’re also trying to figure out
centering on the need to position inventory very the tech stack issues at the same time, integrating
close to customer concentrations for rapid fulfill- your e-commerce channels and inventory data across
ment. If the aim of a merchant is to quickly estab- 10 or 20 warehouses run by different partners.”
lish fulfillment reach and enable one- or two-day With Atlanta-based Stord’s network, one point of
deliveries, that brings in other trends like providers integration exists for the retailer or e-commerce seller,
of on-demand warehousing services. plus supply chain software that can be used to rebalance
Think of the service-level needed as a key inventory within the nodes being used, added Henry.
demarcation point. Hyper-local fulfillment with a The software also provides distributed order manage-
same-day service goal is essentially the same as the ment and order-allocation logic to decide which of the
micro-fulfillment concept. nodes in its network, or combination of nodes, is best to
fill incoming orders. In addition, Stord has carriers in its

SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE robotics247.com

network to facilitate delivery. Commerce, but they don’t want to get into the busi-
“We overlay our network with software that acts ness of building out their own distribution network or
like an operating system for our customers and their managing multiple 3PLs. They do want analytics and
distribution,” Henry said. “This operating system is a insight into inventory strategy and how that matches
distributed inventory and order orchestration system up with their demand patterns, said Gulati.
for deciding how to optimally place specific SKUs “They can monitor order-fulfillment trends and
[stock-keeping units] across the nodes in their net- how much inventory they have left, and also benefit
work, and how to optimally route the orders against from analytics,” he said. “With our analytics, they can
the inventory.” see where their customers are, and then the software
“We’re showing [the merchants] their real-time recommends the best fulfillment center locations for
inventory levels across all the nodes that they have them to use in our network to optimize for both tran-
with Stord, but also giving them active advice about sit time and cost.”
how to rebalance that inventory, achieve optimal Within ShipBob’s network, its distribution cen-
service levels for their customers, and reduce their ters (DCs) are not heavily automated, though software
transportation costs based on where that inventory is technology and wireless handhelds are used to direct
being ordered from most,” he said. picking, packing, and shipping activities.
“We are super heavy on the use of software
Building your own warehousing on demand and analytics,” says Gulati. “We wanted to focus on
Providers of on-demand warehousing have differ- software capabilities first, because we’re expanding
ing models. While Stord partners with smaller and so fast.”
regional 3PLs for sites, others are building out their Ware2Go, a provider of on-demand fulfillment
own warehouses. For example, ShipBob Inc. describes and warehousing, also layers software functionality
itself as a tech-driven 3PL and as a cloud-based logis- into its services to benefit the merchants and online
tics platform designed for small and midsized busi- brands who use it, as well as to help the warehouse
nesses to provide rapid fulfillment capabilities. The partners who carry out the fulfillment. This software
Chicago-based company has a network of 16 fulfill- platform is called FulfillmentVu, and it combines
ment centers and is adding about one per month. warehouse management, order management, and
transportation management functions.
The Atlanta-based UPS company also offers a
free app called NetworkVu, which analyzes a mer-
chant’s sales and transit data using machine learning to
recommend ideal warehouse placements to maximize
delivery speeds within ground networks.
For merchants looking to reliably fulfill next-day
orders and to be able to fine-tune inventories, such
software-driven insights will help with customer satis-
faction and their bottom line, explained Patrick Cadic,
chief revenue officer at Ware2Go.
According to Divey Gulati, co-founder of Ship- “We help [merchants] with insights into their
Bob, the sites use the company’s custom-developed fulfillment processes, and that can improve their unit
warehouse management system (WMS), and software level economics, but the larger benefit is how the plat-
that the retailers or digital brands can use to gain in- form ensures a consistent level of customer experi-
sight on inventory trends and fulfillment performance. ence, and consistent outcomes, for their customers,”
“Essentially, we provide them with a source of he said. “That is where the real value comes in.”
truth for their orders and their inventory, based on our
software capabilities,” said Gulati. Mall-based hubs
Many of ShipBob’s customers are e-commerce A different sort of platform for retail fulfillment has
brands that don’t have stores and have contractors emerged that leverages unused space in shopping
who make their products. Such brands typically use e- malls for a variety of fulfillment services. Fillogic bills
commerce software from vendors like Shopify or Big itself as a logistics-as-a-service platform for retail.

robotics247.com SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE

HYPERLOCAL FULFILLMENT
The New York-based company places “micro-hubs” to have 30 across the country by the end of this year.
within mall properties to perform a variety of ser- The value comes not just from the physical
vices, mainly using technology such as WMS to direct locations of the hubs, but also from the software.
efficient and accurate pick and pack, but foregoing “We call ourselves an operations-enabled technol-
high-density MFC automation. ogy company,” said Thayer. “The power comes from
the connectivity in the software, from the network
of hubs we offer, and also from the operations and
services we provide.”
“Our perspective is that retail is not dead—it’s
just in transformation,” he said. “That transformation
is going to be in flux for a couple of years, but if you
have a good technology platform for logistics and sound
operations, you’re going to be much more successful in
adapting to how that transformation plays out.”

Automation’s play
“We take under-utilized space at shopping The demand side characteristics that make MFC
malls—not every shopping mall, but with the right automation attractive in grocery are not found in most
shopping mall partners—and convert them into tech- other types of retail, noted Colman Roche, vice president
enabled micro-distribution hubs,” said Bill Thayer, of e-commerce and retail industries at Swisslog, which
co-founder and co-CEO of Fillogic. “We provide a provides MFC automation for customers such as H-E-B
variety of value-added, differentiated services at these Grocery Co. For one thing, most consumers need gro-
locations. E-commerce pick and pack is a big part of ceries once or twice a week in comparison with apparel
what we do right now, but it also includes receiving or home electronics, which are bought less frequently.
optimization, forward staging of inventory, outbound The other big differences is that in grocery, the
shipment optimization, and reverse logistics.” typical number of units per customer order ranges
For general retail, which lacks the high units- between 28 to 38 items, and many consumers want
per-transaction (TPU) found in grocery, having some same-day curbside or home delivery for groceries,
software capabilities at the hubs to direct work and Roche said.
ensure accuracy makes the most sense, said Thayer, Most non-grocery retail outlets don’t have the
rather than trying to shrink down high-density ware- order characteristics found at big supermarkets, making
house automation. MFC automation within retail shops a tougher proposi-
Fillogic has developed its own WMS for its hubs, tion to justify, said Roche.
and it has proprietary software for routing and ship-
ping management, he explained. These software tools,
plus the location of the hubs, are key to the effective-
ness of the Fillogic platform, said Thayer. He did not
rule out adding some mobile robots in the future.
“We live in the last mile because we are operat-
ing from these shopping malls,” said Thayer. “We are
providing retailers with multiple services from the
best physical locations, close to the target consumer
concentrations everybody wants to reach.”
Most retail stores weren’t designed to act as
mini-DCs for e-commerce fulfillment, he said, so it’s a “The sheer quantities in terms of number of
better idea to create small, technology-enabled fulfill- lines per typical order, is vastly higher in grocery than
ment hubs that can aggregate fulfillment operations with your typical online order,” he said. “There are
and capacity for multiple retailers within the mall. just some striking differences between grocery and
As of April 2021, Fillogic already had eight non-grocery that influence why grocers are moving
micro-hubs operating at mall locations in Connecticut, first with micro-fulfillment.”
New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with plans Some goods-to-person mobile robots are well-

SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE robotics247.com

suited to facilities with low ceilings and odd-sized,
larger products like coats or other bigger apparel
items, said Roche. For example, Swisslog’s CarryPick
system uses mobile robots that transport mobile stor-
age units to a picking station. The compartments in
these racks are configurable, which would allow them
to handle oddly shaped or bigger items, as well as
smaller, more uniform items.
Some business-model innovation may lead gen-
eral retail to use some MFCs and automation, such
smaller metro-area fulfillment centers, to accelerate
rapid fulfillment of online retail orders to homes or might bring payback.
nearby stores. Tompkins Robotics, a sibling company to
Small fulfillment centers in shopping malls Tompkins, offers the t-Sort sortation robot for MFCs.
could create the volume of picking activity that However, even if a small retail store doesn’t have the
makes MFC automation attractive. In Thailand, volume for such automation, a retailer could outfit a
Swisslog has deployed a small—500-bin— AutoStore regional DC with t-Sort to sort each-level items for store
system for TRUE, a mobile network provider, inside replenishment or to support direct-to-consumer order
of a branding shop in Bangkok. The shop is in a fulfillment, said Simonson.
high-end shopping mall, and the system stores and In regional DCs, mobile robotic sortation has
picks goods for customers buying mobile phones or enough “many to one” sorting volumes to bring
accessories. rapid payback and efficiently replenish stores at the
Swisslog has deployed AutoStore solutions that item level for goods like health and beauty products,
are smaller than those found in larger DCs. However, hardware items, or many other goods that are labor-
they still might hold 12,000 SKUs, or as many as intensive to sort manually.
30,000 SKUs, with some MFCs filling 3,000 customer Even if a retailer finds its stores don’t call for
orders a week. Others are capable of more filling MFC automation, the same type of robotics could
more than 30,000 customer orders per week. help with the ultimate aim of faster fulfillment at
Whether general retailers will jump into MFCs regional DCs, many of which struggle in finding
and automation remains to be seen, but it needs to be enough labor, said Simonson.
justified by dramatically faster, more efficient picking “The warehouse industry is starved for employees,”
than could be done manually. Other potential ben- he said. “The average wage rate is going up, and it is just
efits include freeing up store aisle space for in-store very difficult to fill those open positions, so companies
shoppers, rather than disrupting the store experience are addressing this need by using automation. That is the
with a bunch of workers trying to fill online orders bigger trend we are seeing a lot of in retail distribution.”g
from shelves.
“I think the whole retail industry is watching
what is happening in grocery with micro-fulfillment
and trying to learn as much as possible from that,”
said Roche.
Steve Simonson, a vice president at Tomp-
kins Solutions, agreed that MFC automation makes
sense for some stores or locations because of order
complexity, volumes, and service-level requirements
in grocery orders. For general retail, MFC automation
can be a stretch, since shoppers sometimes only buy
a couple of items, he said.
“If the volumes aren’t there, the automation
may not make sense,” Simonson said, adding that if ABOUT THE AUTHOR
there was a more hub-and-spoke model or a large Roberto Michel is a senior editor at Modern Materials
retail store with enough volume, MFC automation Handling, a sibling site to Robotics 24/7.

robotics247.com SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE

 Would you need to hire temps if your
people could be more productive?
At inVia Robotics, we ask these kinds of questions to
design an automation system that supports your
business goals. It’s not just about robots. It’s about
workflows that fully utilize all of your labor.

That’s why we created inVia PickerWall. Our robots build

a dynamic put/pick wall with only the current day's
orders. Your people fulfill orders quickly and accurately,
without wasting time traveling through the warehouse.

inVia PickerWall combines nimble robots and powerful

AI-driven optimization software to dramatically increase
accuracy and productivity.

• Robots are decoupled from shift work dependencies

and can retrieve and store goods without disruption -
even overnight.

• Picking speeds increase to as much as 1,000 UPH

and accuracy rates to near 100%.

• Warehouse walking - one of the most costly activities

in fulfillment - is eliminated.

The result is warehouses that flow with machine

precision day and night, allowing you to make the most
out of your labor.

If you’re looking for a true turnkey and cost-effective

automation solution, contact us to schedule a demo today.
www.inviarobotics.com/request-a-demo
ROBOTS

3 WAYS IN WHICH ROBOTS ARE

HELPING THE SUPPLY CHAIN INDUSTRY
BY DAVID MILLER

From automotive manufacturing to electronics and logistics, collaborative

robots can help improve efficiency, safety, and retention.

C ollaborative robots, or cobots, were not made to replace workers in supply chains. These
machines were created to improve their working experience. Cobots help their human
counterparts by assisting them in tasks that can be repetitive or even dangerous.
In fact, collaborative robots offer Improving workflow efficiency
advantages during the pandemic, given the Collaborative robots are designed to sense
strict social distancing protocols. With the humans and to safely slow or stop in their
help of cobots and other types of ro- presence. They can also focus on more meticulous
bots, companies like DCL Logistics have and repetitive tasks. This allows human
been able to increase their productivity by workers to focus on more complex processes.
300% without sacrificing employee safety. In supply chains, cobots are often desig-
That said, here are a few ways cobots can nated to pick up items from shelves or handle
assist their human counterparts: delicate materials. The printed circuit board

SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE robotics247.com

 ployed an automated storage and retrieval system
(ASRS) to handle millions of sensitive documents
in their facility.

Increasing worker safety

Cobots also help employees by improving safety in
the workplace. Some cobots are already being de-
ployed in high-risk environments, such as hospitals
and security facilities. However, a lot of them are
also used in supply chains to perform hazardous
tasks, such as lifting heavy loads. This reduces the
(PCB) supply chain involves the testing and inspec- physical risks that may cause injuries to workers.
tion of small and fragile components. Cobots can For instance, the BMW plant in Spartanburg,
help assemble and inspect such electronics compo- S.C., uses cobots to assist employees in moving
nents. and carrying car parts. This minimizes the risk of
Cobots also help in improving workflow ef- injury and employee strain from handling heavy
ficiency by taking over the packaging process. For materials. With the assistance of cobots, the auto-
another example, Coty Cosmetics uses Universal motive plant managed to boost worker safety and
Robots cobots in their cosmetics supply chain to eliminated the need for employees to do physically
pick and place powder exhausting tasks.
pans from one station Collaborative
to another. robots are innova-
Once these powder tions that can improve
pans pass the quality working environments
check, the cobots take and assist supply
over the repetitive task chain workers. With
of packaging. Since these robotic partners,
then, the brand has employees can forego
saved about half a mil- repetitive, arduous, and
lion dollars annually. In even dangerous tasks
addition, they can now to improve productivity
assign their employees and reduce risks.
to more complex but less monotonous tasks. Thus, supply chain companies, as well as busi-
nesses across all sectors, should strive to incorpo-
Organizing archives rate robotics wherever it can help. This improves
Besides helping in handling and packing products, the state of worker safety and can even boost
robots can also assist employees in managing paper employee satisfaction. g
files and archives. Archive management is a vital
process in every business, but it can be very time-
intensive.
In fact, a lot of workers experience difficulties
in organizing and sifting through piles of docu-
ments. Businesses can also lose a lot of time and
money to poor record management.
Robots are an asset in this supply chain process
since they can scan documents in a few seconds.
Then, they can organize these documents and file
them in the designated areas. This has proven to be
very effective in the case of the FBI, which has de-

robotics247.com SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE

Take Your AMR Fleet
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FR E E E VA LUATI O N
LAST MILE

Robots Deliver
in the Last Mile,
Giving Retailers
and Patrons
More Options
BY JIM ROMEO

© Starship Technologies

From college campuses and urban neighborhoods to hospitals and

hotels, delivery robots are starting to solve the last-mile problem.

L
ast-mile logistics can be a costly but important component of the extended supply chain. Goods must move
from restaurants, fulfillment centers, retail stores, and other points of origin before traveling to customers or us-
ers. They most go through a complex series of transitions to successfully reach their final destinations. These
items are not just parcels—they could be perishables such as groceries or food for dinner that evening.

Typically, last-mile delivery requires a fleet of ficiencies. The mobile robots can enable businesses to scale
vehicles as well as workers who must drive the vehicles and meet expanding demand for same-day deliveries that
and get out to bring orders right to the end users, are ordinarily performed by vehicles and employees.
wherever they may be. In a campus environment such The Cleveron 701 can be driven in low-traffic
as a hotel, a worker must make a separate trip from the areas like suburbs and deliver orders to nearby custom-
kitchen, gift shop, or another location and go directly to ers within 15 to 30 minutes.
the room of the party who had requested goods. The goods come from a retailer or a fulfillment
This entire dynamic is now changing, as the tech- center. The delivery vehicle is supervised remotely, and its
nologies for delivery robots mature. Such systems are ability to efficiently deliver packages within an hour makes
making trips easier and more popular as they become it very competitive with conventional methods.
further developed. The COVID-19 pandemic and paral- In addition to saving time and consumer trips
lel revolution in e-commerce have also driven interest in to the store, the Cleveron 701 also requires less labor.
last-mile delivery robots. This reduces the cost because one teleoperator can
supervise up to 10 robots at the same time.
Cleveron offers customizable vehicle Cleveron said its system is adaptable for different
Cleveron is one of the world’s leading robotics deliv- needs. For example, a temperature-controlled section can
ery companies. The Viljandi, Estonia-based company be added for grocery deliveries. The Cleveron 701 can also
designed its Cleveron 701 robots specifically for retailers be used for parcel deliveries or even as a high-tech coffee
and logistics firms seeking to boost their last-mile ef- robot or an ice cream truck.

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Refraction AI a small boutique hotel in Santa Monica, Calif. The ho-
Delivery robots are increasingly being used for last-mile tel has partnered with Los Angeles-based Coco, which
logistics across the U.S. The downtown neighborhoods raised $36 million in Series A funding last month, to
of Austin, Texas, known as South Congress and Travis provide deliveries on call during the day.
Heights are using robots produced by Refraction AI Guests can order a wide variety of things from a
menu, as well as other kiosks and stores within the ho-
tel. They might order food and beverages or sundries
and personal care products. They even have a selection
of items available for the pets of guests staying at the
hotel.
Guests can place orders via a COCO app on
their mobile devices. The robot operates from 9:00
a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days a week, and the hotel
guests pay a $1.95 delivery fee.
These deliveries are an additional service the
hotel is providing, but it is indicative of the potential
Inc. The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company raised $4.2 of robots to perform similar services in any facility,
million in April. adding a new level of convenience for patrons.
The REV-1 can deliver food orders from partici- Not long ago, robotic delivery services seemed
pating restaurants directly to the curbside of customers,
said Refraction AI. After placing an order, the customer
receives a text message with a unique code from the
provider to be able to open the robot once it arrives.
In addition, texts also keep customers up to date
on the whereabouts of the robot as the delivery pro-
gresses. When it does finally arrive at the destination,
the customer is notified to meet the robot at the curb.
The customer can input the code received as a text
message and grab the order.
The REV-1 is no larger than a person on a bicycle,
operating primarily on the side of the road or in a bike
lane. It can travel in traffic lanes and sidewalks on a too complex to perform. As computer vision, au-
case-by-case basis. The robot has three wheels and is tonomous or semi-autonomous navigation, and
only about 4.5 ft. high and about the same distance fleet management software develop, robots are
long, but a mere 30 in. wide. providing new mobility services and changing
It weighs a total of 150 lb. and achieves speeds of transportation on roads or within facilities.
up to 15 mph—fast enough to accomplish deliveries Now that robots have come of age and are
and stay on schedule with the minimum of stopping starting to coexist with pedestrians, cyclists, and
distance of any device on the road. The REV-1 has vehicles, it looks like last-mile logistics may have
an internal capacity of 16 been solved with deliv-
cubic feet or about six gro- ery robots. g
cery bags worth of space.
It’s a voluminous vehicle
that can serve a valuable ABOUT
utilitarian function. THE AUTHOR
Jim Romeo is a
freelance writer and
Robotic room service contributor to Robotics
The concept of robotic 24/7 based in
deliveries is also being ap- Chesapeake, Va.
plied at the Bayside Hotel,

robotics247.com SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE

ROBOTS IMPROVE PICKING OPERATIONS

How Can Robots Improve Picking

Operations in Warehouses?
BY EMILY NEWTON

Robots have gone from a “nice to have” to essential during the e-commerce
boom, but it’s important to understand how they can help businesses.

W arehouses today have become centers of technological innovation. Technologies like Internet of
Things networks and automation have become standard, as facilities strive for higher productivity
and resiliency. Robotic picking systems have garnered particular attention recently, and for good reason.
Warehouse robots as a whole are becoming increasingly common, with 50,000 facilities using them
by 2025, predicts ABI Research. Pick-and-place robots have seen more interest than most, but the reasons
why may not be immediately clear. Here’s how robots can improve picking operations in warehouses.

Improved efficiency
The most immediately recognizable benefit of robots in picking is that they can improve productiv-
ity. Repetitive tasks are ideal for automation because machines can typically perform them faster than
people, who may find the job tedious. After hours of doing a monotonous task, human workers can
start to grow tired and slow down, but not robots.

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 Pick-and-place robots further improve efficiency making them more easily scalable. Robots give ware-
by helping their human counterparts. Implementing houses the ability to artificially expand their workforce
robots can ease the workload on staffers, freeing them during peak seasons. For example, when online orders
to focus on other, value-adding tasks. These machines pick up around the holidays, facilities could add more
work alongside people instead of replacing them, en- robots into their operations, helping workers handle
abling them to work more efficiently due to less stress. the increased workload.
This leads to higher overall productivity. “Forward-thinking 3PLs [third-party logistics
Modeling software can also help you discover the providers] and retailers are making moves now to digi-
best uses for your pick-and-place robots. For example, tize their operations and prepare for possibly their best
Maplesoft was able to help a company solve a motor peak season yet,” said Currin McCarty, enterprise sales
failure problem in its pick-and-place robots, improv- executive for the 3PL segment at Locus Robotics.
ing its manufacturing process and saving the cost of Industry professionals are expecting consumer
frequent replacements. demand to be higher than last year.
“The company was able to essentially apply a Traditionally, warehouses have adapted to sea-
software update to what was previously expected to sonal demand by hiring temporary workers, but that’s
be costly, on-site hardware replacements for larger becoming increasingly challenging. Job openings in
motors,” Maplesoft recalled in a case study. “Going for- the sector are nearing a 20-year high, as many facilities
ward, they are using their struggle to find enough
MapleSim models for employees to keep up with
other robots, minimizing demand. Automation lets
the high costs of over- them do so without sea-
engineered components sonal workers, as well as
and unexpected on- avoid costs and lost time
site repairs.” from onboarding.
If you’re interested
Higher accuracy in setting up robotics solu-
In addition to work- tions, “3PLs and retailers
ing faster than humans, looking to go-live before
robotic picking systems peak should have agree-
are typically more accurate. These machines improve ments signed by early September,” recommended
accuracy by reducing human interactions, which can McCarty.
lead to errors.
Technologies like pick-to-light and pick-to-HUD Warehouse robots are increasingly crucial
systems can reduce errors by 67% compared to tradi- In today’s increasingly competitive landscape, ware-
tional, entirely manual processes. Picking robots operate houses must do everything they can to optimize their
exclusively off these resources and lack the capacity to operations. In the face of growing labor shortages
lose focus on them. As such, they can offer far higher ac- and rising demand, automation is the solution in many
curacy, leading to smoother, more efficient operations. areas. Pick-and-place robots, in particular, are becoming
People can easily grow tired or bored with repeti- less of an advantage and more of a necessity.
tive work, losing their focus and making mistakes, but Picking is ideal for automation, thanks to its re-
robots don’t have this problem. petitive nature and historical inefficiency. Robots can
“We’re going to become caretakers for the ro- help warehouses move past long-standing obstacles
bots,” predicted futurist Gray Scott. “That’s what the and meet the needs of the growing e-commerce sec-
next generation of work is going to be.” tor. Before long, robotic picking systems will be an
More employers will start looking for robotics industry standard. g
programmers to make sure their in-house robots per-
form the proper tasks and receive regular maintenance. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Newton is a tech writer who enjoys writing about
Scalability and flexibility the latest innovations changing our world. Read more
Warehouse robotics can improve picking operations by of her articles online at Revolutionized Magazine.

robotics247.com SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE

SUPPLY CHAIN ASSET

THINK OF
ROBOTS AS A
SUPPLY CHAIN
ASSET
BY JIM ROMEO

DHL has expanded its use of mobile robots from Locus Robotics.

As warehouses and other operations increasingly turn to robots, they

should be considered an asset rather than some hostile technology.

T
he end-to-end supply chain is a critical part of today’s globally competitive enterprise. Shipments
get sorted, packaged, and loaded for delivery, ultimately making their way to customers. Within
these processes, there are many moving parts, and robots can improve the efficiency of many of
these functions.
Whether they work alongside people or bots for helping it meet increased demand during
relieve them to do other value-added tasks, tire- the pandemic while also increasing output. Crocs’
less robots have matured in the past few years to managers said the use of Chucks led to fewer er-
be an intrinsic part of many logistics operations, rors and greater efficiency.
from the dock to the destination. • Lift heavy loads: The warehouse race is on, and
warehouse managers are looking for ways to auto-
What can robots do in modern supply chains? mate their processes. One way they’re doing this is
With advances in perception, manipulation, and by using robots that can lift heavy items. FANUC
mobility, groups of robots can increasingly do the has produced robots that can lift cars. Last Decem-
heavy lifting in warehouses, fulfillment centers, ber, Vecna Robotics unveiled its next-generation
and distribution centers. Here are some notewor- autonomous counterbalanced fork truck, which
thy examples of how robots can provide returns can lift heavy loads up to 12 feet.
on investment: • Moving shelves: Amazon.com acquired Kiva
• Picking and packing: Robots can now pick Systems in 2012 and uses robots to move shelves
items from shelves, package them, and take them in its warehouses, eliminating the need for humans
to the parking lot. FANUC, which claims to be to do this tedious and error-prone job. Amazon
the world’s largest maker of industrial robots, warehouses are filled with small orange robots
has already produced machines that can pick and made by subsidiary Amazon Robotics, and one
package virtually any product. Footwear company person monitors them.
Crocs credited 6 River Systems’ Chuck mobile ro- • Archive management: Not only can robots

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 accidents. Robots and automation are ideal for tasks
such as material handling.

What’s ahead for robots in warehouses?

In the past year, partly because of accelerated e-
commerce demand during the COVID-19 pandemic,
robotics has rapidly moved from trials to deployment in
warehouses. This trend will likely continue. Manufactur-
ers such as Nimble Robotics are investing heavily in this
market, and industry analysts predict that autonomous
mobile robots (AMRs) alone will be worth $6.8 billion
manage bins, corrugated cartons, and pallet loads; in 2025.
they can also manage paper files and archives. They Increasingly sophisticated machine learning algo-
can sort, scan, and organize documents in ways that rithms enable robots to rapidly identify objects. Thanks
would be difficult for humans to do. For example, to lidar and infrared sensors, they can perceive items
the FBI uses a squad of wheeled robots to file away in superhuman ways rather than rely on sight or touch
millions of paper records from its 256,000-sq.-ft. alone.
facility near Washington, D.C. Speaking of touch, robot suppliers have studied
• Integrating technologies: As more warehouse and applied human-machine interaction lessons, with
and logistics environments incorporate robots for all touchscreens rather than buttons and systems such as
these tasks, there will start to be environments using Veo Robotics’ that slow robots to safe speeds when
systems from multiple vendors. Those technologies they sense people are in proximity.
need to be able to communicate with one another In addition, remote telepresence and teleoperation
and enterprise systems for interoperability and ef- capabilities allow for human robotics experts to trouble-
ficiency. Organizations are addressing the issue, and shoot and resolve edge cases and reduce downtime.
a software ecosystem is growing to meet this need. The march of automation isn’t inevitable or univer-
Global shipping company DHL, for instance, sally welcomed, however. Managers should watch for
has collaborated with Microsoft and AI-driven “automation anxiety,” where workers fear that robots
fulfillment provider Blue Yonder to integrate will endanger their jobs. However, contrary to some
warehouse robots. DHL’s initial implementation of widely circulated reports, supply chain operations are
the system was in a Madrid warehouse, where the so short-handed, and the need for both skilled labor
company said it saved integration time by 60%. and robots is still so great, that all parties to automa-
tion have a responsibility to better educate shareholders,
What’s driving the rapid of adoption of automation? employees, and other stakeholders about its potential.
Companies have cited different reasons for implement- As Markus Voss, a global manager at DHL, said
ing robotics and automation in their warehouses. about the future: “The aim is not to replace employees
The following are the most common ones: over time, but to assign the more attractive and interest-
• Economics: Robotics can reduce labor costs, ing tasks to our human workforce.” g
work around the clock, and add precision to cer-
tain tasks. The robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) model
enables companies to pay for hardware, software,
and services as an operational expense rather than
an upfront purchase.
• Increase productivity: Robots may take up less
space than human workers or human-driven ve-
hicles, which is crucial when warehouses are running
at capacity. In goods-to-person applications, well-
managed workflows can combine human flexibility
with robotic precision for greater throughput. Some
warehouse managers have reported a significant
boost in productivity.
• Safety: Warehouse workers often face repetitive ABOUT THE AUTHOR
stress, extreme temperatures, and even high-voltage Jim Romeo is a freelance writer and contributor to
environments. Forklifts are involved in numerous Robotics 24/7 based in Chesapeake, Va.

robotics247.com SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE

LUCAS SYSTEMS

Lucas Systems meant to demonstrate the use of AI with voice technology inside of a warehouse. Source: Lucas Systems

Warehouses Not Yet Taking

Full Advantage of AI,
Finds Lucas Systems Study
ROBOTICS 24/7 STAFF

Although warehouse executives are optimistic about AI and

automation, they say they need to learn more, says Lucas Systems.

A rtificial intelligence is a warehouse game-changer, but organizations are struggling to use it optimally,
according to Lucas Systems Inc., which released insights from a market study today.
“These findings are consistent with what we’re hearing from our customers,” said Ken Ramoutar,
chief marketing officer at Lucas Systems. “There’s a belief that AI is a heavy lift—that it’s difficult to use
and risky or expensive. This thinking prevents widespread adoption in the warehouse and the ability to tap
AI’s true potential.”
The study was conducted by market research firm Vanson Bourne and examined AI’s use, perception,
and value. Survey respondents included executives, directors, and warehouse managers from 350 U.S. and
U.K. organizations. They said they’re using AI mostly for inventory management and described challenges
with using AI more broadly.
Lucas Systems, which commissioned the study, has 23 years of experience implementing AI-powered
software into more than 400 warehouses worldwide. The company, which has offices in Wexford, Penn.,

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and Bracknell, U.K., said it can help distribution centers Ease of use is key, says Lucas
(DCs) increase worker productivity, operational agility, The key to transformation in the warehouse is in providing
and customer satisfaction with voice and AI optimiza- AI that doesn’t require users or IT staffers to be experts in AI,
tion technologies. said Lucas Systems. The company noted customer interest in
its AI-embedded technologies such as
voice, dynamic slotting, and in-ware-
house travel-optimization systems.
“These technologies have strong
adoption today because operators real-
ize their high value,” said Ramoutar.
“They trust the software, and they ap-
preciate how easy they are to use.”
AI-based systems can have
a profound effect on management
effectiveness, safety and ergonom-
ics, and picking accuracy, said Lucas
exectives. They can also help with
labor costs, employee satisfaction,
and throughput, they added. The
Warehouse execs optimistic but need more info company recommended its series of “Five Fast-Start AI
According to the study, executives are optimistic Opportunities.”
about AI, saying they expect an average return “DCs are target-rich environments for using AI to opti-
on investment (ROI) of more than 60% within mize performance,” Ramoutar said. “When applied in the right
five years. places, AI is a distribution center game-changer. AI can drive
Despite this optimism, 99% of organizations significant operational and customer experience gains.”
said they face challenges to
using AI more effectively,
said Lucas Systems. Top rea-
sons included perceptions
of high costs compared to
benefits, concerns about
risks and control of opera-
tional decisions, the cost and
time for training, and a
lack of understanding
for implementation.
Nearly 90% of
respondents, regardless of
industry, said they more
expertise and information
when it comes to AI de-
ployment and use. “Manag- Source: Lucas Systems
ing robots and other machines” was cited as a top “But software providers must continue to make AI
reason why respondents are using or planning easy to implement and use,” he said. “This is what we
to use AI-based software in their warehouses or expect in our personal lives from smart phones, digital as-
distribution centers. sistants, and apps.” g

robotics247.com SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE

MOBILE ROBOT FUNDING

inVia offers mobile robots and warehouse optimization software.

inVia Robotics Raises $30M in Series C Funding

From Microsoft, Qualcomm, Hitachi
BY EUGENE DEMAITRE

Mobile robot and warehouse optimization software provider plans to use the
funding to expand its global presence.

i nVia Robotics Inc. recently announced that it has secured $30 million in Series C funding from M12,
Microsoft Corp.’s venture fund, as well as Qualcomm Ventures LLC, Hitachi Ventures, and existing in-
vestors. The Westlake, Calif.-based company provides artificial intelligence and autonomous mobile robots
as a service to improve warehouse throughput and workforce efficiency.
“We are proud and honored to have earned the confidence from these industry-leading investors
who are equally as committed to the progression of automation within the supply chain as we are,” said
Lior Elazary, co-founder and CEO of inVia. “We have intentionally aligned ourselves in the best interest
of our customers and their businesses, finding ways to not only optimize productivity, but also further
inVia Robotics’ global reach.”

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inVia revenue grows sixfold support in North America.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased adoption of The funding will also drive market expansion into
optimization technologies for order fulfillment. In the the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, the Middle East, and
U.S. alone, e-commerce experienced 44% year-over-year Africa. In addition, inVia said it will use the capital to
growth, requiring online retailers and logistics providers align strategic supply chain partners to open new chan-
to keep up with record shopping demand. Last year, inVia nels and deliver end-to-end logistics solutions.
Robotics reported that its revenue grew by 600%. inVia plans to use the Qualcomm Robotics RB5,
described as “the world’s first” 5G and AI-enabled
robotics platform to accelerate development of power-
efficient, high-computing robots and drones.
“Global e-commerce adoption is experiencing
exponential growth, resulting in the need for robust
warehouse optimization solutions,” said Quinn Li,
senior vice president of Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
and global head of Qualcomm Ventures. “inVia’s AI-
powered warehouse automation solutions help improve
warehouse throughput and workflow efficiency. We look
forward to supporting inVia in accelerating warehouse
digitization with AI and 5G through our investment.”
Goods-to-person advantages “inVia’s integrated solution––with software and AI
inVia CEO Lior Elazary recently participated in a free at the core––enables warehouse managers to take advan-
Robotics 24/7 Hot Seat webinar on “Advances in Goods- tage of operational and cost efficiencies that have histori-
to-Person Automation.” cally only been available to large enterprises,” added
The company said its platform programmatically James Wu, principal at M12. ”Now, inVia’s prebuilt
digitizes every logistics workflow, using AI to continually integrations with warehouse management systems are
optimize machines and people. The inVia Logic software making scalable customization accessible to companies
orchestrates the most efficient movement of goods across of all sizes.”
a warehouse using proprietary algorithms to efficiently as-
sign and balance tasks, said inVia.
inVia claimed that its Picker goods-to-person autono-
mous mobile robots (AMRs) offer the highest throughput
per person in the industry. The complete system can be
integrated into existing operations or new facilities and de-
liver flexibility and scalability for unprecedented returns on
investment (ROI), the company said. These include a 4X to
5X increase in productivity and accuracy rates of 99.9% at
a fraction of a cost of traditional automation.
inVia offers its automation services to e-commerce
and third-party logistics (3PL) businesses through a robot-
ics-as-a-service (RaaS) model. Subscriptions allow compa-
nies of any size to quickly deploy and scale AMR fleets as New investor Hitachi Ventures, the corporate
needed without disrupting existing operations, according venture capital arm of Hitachi Ltd., will bring extensive
to the company. This eliminates the costs of leasing and experience in industrial automation across other verticals
maintaining equipment, it said. as inVia scales, said the company.
“The Hitachi brand is synonymous with leading-
Investors share expertise edge technology that connects and amplifies the advanc-
inVia Robotics’ Series C brings the company’s total invest- es in AI-powered software and automation hardware,”
ment to $59 million from investors including Point 72, inVia said. “They share inVia’s vision of optimizing
Upfront, and Embark. The company said it will use its operations in every warehouse by maximizing efficien-
latest funding to extend its product’s reach and operational cies across all processes through digitization.” g

robotics247.com SPECIAL FOCUS ISSUE

FIRST FINANCIAL EQUIPMENT LEASING

First Financial
Equipment
Leasing Offers
to Reduce Risk
in Adopting
Automation
Leasing robots and
automation can re-
duce financial risk
for both robotics
suppliers and users,
says FFEL.

By Eugene Demaitre

In addition to the cloud and simulation, robotics and AI are essential to

improving flexibility and reshoring of production, say two tech CEOs.

F rom warehouses to hospitals, as businesses prepare to add automation, the question inevitably
arises—“How are we going to pay for this?” As with the technology itself, there is a growing range
of options, from robotics as a service to financing. First Financial Equipment Leasing is a privately held
lender specializing in the acquisition and lifecycle management of healthcare, information technology, and
automation and materials handling equipment and services.
The Orange, Calif.-based company said it ago, we were mostly leasing forklifts to midsize to large
takes a “solutions-first approach” to understand- companies. Assets to be financed make up a big part of
ing customer challenges and sourcing the necessary the business for us, including equipment financing and
equipment. For more than 20 years, First Financial leases for a single piece of equipment up to warehouse
has helped businesses implement the latest technolo- robotics for a Whirlpool, Keurig Dr Pepper, or Thermo
gies and discover their leasing options. Fischer.
Robotics 24/7 spoke with David Sanborne, We talked to customers about other equipment,
senior vice president of sales at First Financial, about including AGVs [automated guided vehicles], ASRS
what companies adopting robots need to know. [automated storage and retrieval systems], and sorta-
tion systems. We then started to go to ProMat and
How did First Financial get into robotics? MODEX, and we’ve built up a tremendous amount of
SANBORNE: When I became head of sales nine years knowledge about warehouse automation.

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 We’ve heard from both vendors and cus- What aspects of deployment does First Financial cover?
tomers that one barrier is upfront costs. We’ve SANBORNE: FFEL pays all “soft costs,” such as shipping
built leasing structures to make payments and software, engineering, and installation. We wrap that into
realize return on investment [ROI] over time. the solution, and the customer pays over three to seven
That way, customers can get instant savings from years. This can save thousands.
efficiencies. We’re one of the rare companies that We work with all the major manufacturers, including
does this, and we’re looked upon very favorably by Attabotics, AutoStore, and SSI Schaefer.
both robotics suppliers and end users.

How is leasing different from robotics as a

service (RaaS)?
SANBORNE: The financial benefits are different
from that model. The downside to the vendors
is that they don’t get $5 million in revenue
recognition; they have to collect that money over
time. If we lease, the vendors get the money in
advance, which is better for them.
A lot of those robotics-as-a-service deals
aren’t fixed-term but month to month or semian-
nual. That may be more flexible for the end user,
but it’s less revenue guaranteed for the vendor.
For end users, we can finance RaaS for Source: First Financial Equipment Leasing
baseline usage. It’s a more complex model, but
payments come to First Financial, and we do the
same thing for software as a service. How much do you need to educate the market about
reducing risk?
With leasing, how important are service-level SANBORNE: There is risk for companies involved with
agreements (SLAs)? new technologies. Our direct model is less scary.
SANBORNE: If we finance RaaS, it still has to have We work with a lot of robot manufacturers, dis-
a fixed term. There’s a baseline number of picks tributors, and systems integrators. A lot of them are really
or sorts, and they have to true up every month or successful at selling our offerings.
quarter. It’s harder to budget for. Banks don’t understand how to write these leases.
We’ve worked with a few vendors that have For example, the chief financial officer of a Fortune 500
a hard time figuring out how RaaS helps their company got nine months into a deployment and wanted
business rather than a true lease. to give it to a bank, but the bank didn’t have a clue about
how to write a lease.
What sorts of equipment can you finance? That’s going to be a common issue—lots of
SANBORNE: ASRS, picking and sortation, and companies buy technology but can’t use their own
AMRs [autonomous mobile robots]—we talk to capital, and banks can’t deal with soft costs like delivery,
all of them because we can write true leases like a integration, and software, which can be 25% to 40%.
car lease. A lot of finance companies can’t leave
risk or residual value, even on something as Who are your typical customers?
simple as racking or conveyance. SANBORNE: We try to identify decision makers at end-
For deep-channel storage robots, AMRs, user customers. It’s often the chief financial officer or
and AGVs, we bring a financing structure. An someone in the treasury department who’s trying to
“Aha!” moment for the vendors is when they un- budget for automation. It can be people in procure-
derstand how to wrap our solution. It gives them ment, supply chain, and direct spend, all the way to
a big competitive advantage. warehouse managers.

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FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING

Do you expect this heightened

demand for robotics to continue?
SANBORNE: If anything, it won’t slow
down; it will speed up. In Phoenix,
DCs are building up for Los Angeles.
New half-a-million or 1 million-sq.-ft.
DCs are being built all over the U.S.
A number of industries had to
prepare for e-commerce. Some were
better set up for it, but the ones that
couldn’t fulfill orders electronically
took a hit. We’ve heard a lot about the
grocery business automating.

Is First Financial growing as the

market grows?
SANBORNE: We’re ahead of the curve,
and we are hiring a lot of people. We’re
First Financial generally serves bigger cus-
in the right place, and we’re getting the
tomers—$100 million in revenue and over—but
word out how we can help companies.
we can deal with smaller customers with $5 mil-
There is a lot of education of both vendors
lion in revenue.
and end users. If you’re thinking of doing some-
thing in the warehouse automation space, you
With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating
might want to finance. This protects you against
e-commerce demand, what automation trends
obsolescence, and it’s a formula so you don’t put
have you seen?
your own cash out front and wait for ROI.
SANBORNE: A lot of companies are automat-
Once people see inefficiencies and labor
ing existing manual processes, from individual
savings from robotics, the question is “How do I
machines to re-engineered distribution centers
acquire this technology?” When you start seeing
[DCs]. We’ve helped some customers go from
others using new technologies, financing can help
fully manual, wide aisles with fork trucks to much
give midsize and large companies an edge. g
more automated systems and dense DCs.
The integrator can show the cost of
moving a case, as well as the monthly and
annual totals. If you put in automation, it
can bring the cost down. If you lease the
equipment, the day you start operating it,
money starts falling to the bottom line.
We’ve seen explosive interest in AGVs
and AMRs. Retailers and logistics provid-
ers are having trouble finding employees,
and costs have gone up. We’ve also seen a
tremendous amount of interest in sortation
of small parcels.

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