Cell warehouse automation is dominated by goods-to-person (G2P) options. These see autonomous cellular robots (AMRs) carry whole racks of products to human pickers. Now, G2P is evolving. The newest tote-to-person AMR (T2P AMR) options allow robots to convey particular person totes to pickers, as an alternative of complete racks. There’ll nonetheless be loads of room for conventional G2P options to proceed however, in lots of situations, the advantages of T2P AMR are spectacular and embrace considerably elevated warehouse storage capability in addition to very excessive choosing effectivity.
Market information from Work together Evaluation reveals that there’s a sturdy future for T2P AMR options. In 2021, revenues from T2P AMR have been $154 million, in comparison with $289 million for traditional G2P. By 2025, revenues from T2P AMR will for the primary time outpace gross sales of ordinary G2P options, at $1.5 billion, in comparison with $1.3 billion for traditional G2P.
Apart from the effectivity advantages it brings to clients, two wider traits are additionally driving T2P AMR adoption. One in all these is e-commerce progress. For instance, in 2011, US e-commerce gross sales have been 4.5% of whole retail gross sales. By 2019 that they had grown to 10%. When the pandemic hit, issues accelerated radically, and 12 months later e-commerce had hit 15% of whole retail gross sales. Whereas progress will decelerate to some extent because the pandemic eases again, there is no such thing as a doubt we are able to anticipate completely accelerated charges of e-commerce progress for the foreseeable future. For warehouse managers, this suggests that it is going to be a busy time: at present, it’s estimated that for each $1 billion in further on-line gross sales, a further 1 million sq. ft of warehousing is required to assist it.
The opposite huge pattern is the labor scarcity which, like e-commerce progress, reveals no signal of disappearing alongside the pandemic that brought about it. For instance, in February, CNN reported that there have been 11.3 million US job openings. This amounted to 1.8 jobs for each job-seeking American. Each these traits are radically growing demand for T2P AMR which may alleviate the necessity to construct new warehousing by considerably growing the storage capability of current warehouses and may also alleviate the impacts of the labor scarcity by bettering choosing effectivity.
Understanding the T2P AMR market
In the remainder of this text, we’ll clarify how T2P AMR works close to two key T2P AMR choices which might be out there from Geek+: PopPick and the RoboShuttle resolution.
RoboShuttle
The RoboShuttle resolution is actually a mix resolution – it makes use of RoboShuttle tote switch robots to take away particular person totes from storage racks, after which passes the totes to P40 choosing robots. The distinction is that as an alternative of carrying a complete rack, the P40 solely carries a single tote over to the picker.
Why is that this a profit? Firstly, it may possibly enhance warehouse storage capability by as much as thrice. That is achieved as a result of, with RoboShuttle, the storage cabinets may be as much as eight meters excessive, a lot greater than can be potential for conventional G2P options the place your entire rack should be moved frequently. In lots of warehouses immediately utilizing G2P, the upper space within the warehouse is just wasted. With T2P AMR, usually, the warehouse ceiling is the one actual limitation for storage. In the meantime, the effectivity of the choosing robots permits the flexibility to choose as much as 400 totes per choosing station per hour, and a versatile design signifies that clients have the liberty to reuse current cabinets, racks, and lofts if desired.
PopPick
One other variant on T2P AMR from Geek+ is PopPick. This resolution works barely otherwise. Total racks are nonetheless moved by P-series choosing robots. Nonetheless, with a PopPick resolution, staff have a particular choosing station with two built-in automated pickers that choose particular person totes and current them to human pickers. This permits high-density storage with 12 columns of totes saved in rows which have solely 20mm gaps between totes – a rise in storage density of as much as 4 occasions. The answer may also end in choosing efficiencies of as much as 650 totes per choosing station per hour and is 50% cheaper on common than conventional options.
To be taught extra about the way forward for the T2P AMR market, and the brand new applied sciences which might be driving that market, obtain this new whitepaper, produced by a collaboration of market intelligence firm Work together Evaluation and Geek+.
