🕒 Article read time: 2 minutes
The robots are coming – to a warehouse near you
The trend towards the increased use of automation and robotics in the logistics and warehousing sector shows no sign of slowing, with two major industry players announcing significant investments in the technology in recent weeks.
WINCANTON INVESTS IN A FLEET OF 48 ROBOTS
Logistics UK member Wincanton, a leading supply chain partner for UK business, announced a multimillion-pound investment in robotics to bolster its e-commerce capabilities this week (28 June 2022).
The group has invested in a fleet of 48 autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to be deployed at its Cygnia distribution site in Northampton. This new fleet of collaborative robots will provide the logistics giant with greater flexibility in its operations for customers, enabling it to better manage the fluctuating product volumes associated with high-volume e-fulfilment work.
The fleet of robots will be deployed later this summer, and the investment follows its successful pilot implementation of AMR technology at the group’s e-commerce facility in Nuneaton.
MORE THAN 25% OF GROUP’S WAREHOUSING CONTAINS ROBOTICS
The implementation of new technology at Wincanton’s Northampton site means that over a quarter of all Wincanton’s warehouse stock contains automation and robotics. And far from leading to job losses in a sector already beset by acute skills shortages, the Group now employs a highly skilled team of more than 60 engineers to manage and maintain the technology across its sites.
“Wincanton is investing in automation and robotics to increase the agility, resilience and efficiency of its e-commerce customers’ supply chains,” said James Wroath, Chief Executive, Wincanton. “This, in turn, means our customers can then focus their investment on product development. The e-fulfilment market is a key growth priority for the business. Once deployed by Cygnia, this state-of-the-art technology will be a critical part of our success.”
ROBOTS TO LABEL PARCELS AT HEATHROW
Another leading player in the international e-commerce space, Asendia UK, also announced a major investment in automation and robotics recently. This has enabled it to speed up its parcel processing with automated sorting and robotics for over-labelling at its parcel processing plant at Heathrow.
DRIVING PARCEL THROUGHPUT
Fully operational from the end of May 2022, Asendia says the newly automated system will drive a significant parcel throughput increase on behalf of its retail and e-commerce brand customers, achieving a rate of up to 7,200 parcels per hour, with the site open seven days a week, and able to operate 24 hours per day.
So, how does it work? Parcels arrive onsite and an automated cross-belt sorter, with scanners, printers, digital photography and six robots take care of the relabelling, routing, sorting, weighing and dimension-checking of parcels. The system has maximum flexibility for despatch, able to sort into bags, pallet boxes, or onward into air containers.
EFFICIENCIES WILL LEAD TO FASTER FREIGHT DEPARTURES
Asendia UK expects its £2.5m investment in automation and robotic over-labelling will lead to a significant increase in its Heathrow plant’s capacity and speed up parcel processing allowing for earlier flights and road haulage departures.
Simon Batt, Chief Executive, Asendia UK, said: “The successful launch of our new automated parcels hub is the culmination of a highly complex project. The team worked incredibly hard to get this up and running and I’m very proud of all involved. We have future-proofed our core Heathrow facility for some years to come, to further grow with our e-commerce retailers and build on the successes of the past few years.”
Phil Lloyd, Head of Engineering Policy, Logistics UK, said: “The rapid adoption of automation and robotics at parcel and e-commerce fulfilment centres is testament to the vast potential of this technology to increase capacity, improve efficiencies and lead to faster freight delivery times.
“The use of automation in vehicle technology is also growing rapidly and is one of the topics frequently discussed during Logistics UK’s Engineering Forums and we would be delighted to hear from members who are happy to share their insights in this area.”
*https://logistics.org.uk/membership/logisticsuk-councils/engineering-forums
Published On: 30/06/2022 16:00:27
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