Unleash the power of robotic item picking in your warehouse

Robotic item picking has so much to offer the modern warehouse. The technology has matured in recent years and has proven itself in real-life warehouse operations. It can help you to achieve greater speed and efficiency, and above all, support continuous operations with less dependency on labour. Robots can pick more accurately than people – with less errors – and they can also work 24/7, which does away with the need for shifts.

The benefits stack up for the bottom line: we estimate that the return on investment when implementing robotic item picking can be as short as two years. Robots can also be very valuable in taking on the labour scarcity affecting so many warehouses across the world.

Using advanced technologies

Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning robots are now capable of picking items they have never encountered before. So, like their human counterparts, they can deal with changes in packaging and the introduction of new product lines.

Moreover, ever-more sophisticated suction cup and gripper technologies have been introduced that allow their robots to handle an increasingly broad variety of items. Nevertheless, some are better at dealing with certain product ranges than others. For example, the best choice for the fashion sector may not be suitable for picking general merchandise.

Integration is the key

Whatever the situation, the key to successful robotic item picking is to manage the inflow to guarantee that they only receive items that they can handle. That can be ensured with a solution based on autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), or with a shuttle-based solution. Based on your needs and requirements, Vanderlande can advise on which solution is the best fit.

For example, for the highest throughput and storage density, the logical choice is a shuttle-based automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) equipped with goods-to-picker (GtP) workstations. When correctly integrated, positioning robots at GtP workstations can deliver great results – and without the need for coffee or lunch breaks. In fact, the robot can easily manage to keep up with a presentation of over 600 carriers per hour.

A key ingredient is an intelligent AS/RS that possesses sorting and sequencing capabilities, routing individual items straight to picking robots that have been configured to handle certain product characteristics. Just as importantly, the system should send any items that cannot be dealt with by the robots to manual picking stations. That way, you can get the most out of your integrated warehouse operations.

Vanderlande’s shuttle-based AS/RS ADAPTO can do just that, and thanks to its modular construction, it can be easily expanded to add more shuttles and robots for even higher throughput rates.

Delivering a best-fit solution

To enable the full and flawless integration of robotic item pickers into our existing warehouse solutions, we’ve carefully assessed all viable options by benchmarking the world’s leading robot-picking solutions. In this way, we can offer best-fit solutions to cater for any number of warehousing operations.

We are here to help you make the right decision about your robotic item picking needs. At our Innovation Centre in The Netherlands, we can offer a demonstration of a robotic workstation in action, using your products. Additionally, SKU data analysis and a comprehensive business case can be provided based on your specific situation.

There’s no doubt about it, robots are here to stay – so let’s introduce you to your new member of staff. For more information, please reach out to us and let’s discuss how you could benefit from the power of robotic item picking.