James Cooke is a principal analyst with Nucleus Research in Boston, covering supply chain planning software. He was previously the editor of CSCMP?s Supply Chain Quarterly and a staff writer for DC Velocity.
More robots can be found on Mars today than in the nation's warehouses, says Tom Bonkenburg, director of European operations for the consulting firm St. Onge Co. But that's about to change.
A mechanical engineering graduate from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Bonkenburg has been fascinated by robots since he was a kid. His dream is to see robots working alongside people in distribution centers. Although that idea may have been far-fetched when he was younger, technological advances are starting to make that dream more realistic.
Up to now, the robots used in maufacturing plants have been too expensive and not flexible or mobile enough to do the tasks found in a distribution center, Bonkenburg told a gathering at the Supply Chain World conference in April. But advances in computing power, vision systems, and sensors are making robots more feasible for warehousing.
What's different today is that the companies that make robots can take advantage of technology originally developed for other industries. In particular, robotics manufacturers can build on advancements in consumer electronics, which they then adapt to their own needs. For example, a low-cost motion control sensor—the Microsoft Kinect—developed for the X-box gaming systems can be used to help robots "see" their surroundings. "The robotics industry is still small, so they are unable to develop low-cost sensors like the consumer electronics industry did due to the low number of robots sold," says Bonkenburg. "Developments in the robotics world rely on the consumer electronics and automotive industries to develop improved computer power, sensors, and actuators that can be repurposed for robotics."
Already, several companies are taking steps in the warehouse robotics direction. Take the efforts to automate forklift operations, for example. Bonkenburg notes that many companies are marketing forklifts that do not require a driver. Egemin Automation has come up with an automated guided vehicle that can pick up and deliver pallets, rolls, and carts. Seegrid has partnered with forklift makers Raymond and Linde Material Handling to make a vision-guided robotic forklift. And Kollmorgen has developed a kit called "Pick-n-Go" to automate a forklift. A picker can then follow the Pick-n-Go-equipped truck down a warehouse aisle.
Piece picking is another warehouse task that's currently being "robotized." The best-known example of this type of system would be the robotized conveyance vehicles from Kiva Systems, which was bought last year by online merchant Amazon. Kiva "bots" bring storage racks to workers for picking and packing. Other companies such as Knapp AG are developing robotized shuttle systems that ferry goods to workers, Bonkenburg says.
But the most interesting development comes from a company called Rethink Robotics. It's selling a robot called "Baxter" with two mechanical arms and a panel-screen face that helps it locate items and pick them up. "You plug it into a wall socket," says Bonkenburg. "You teach it by grabbing its arms and showing it what to do." Although Baxter is an amazing technological breakthrough, distribution centers may have to wait for the second or third generation of this robot to be introduced before putting it to work, says the St. Onge consultant. "It's in its infancy, but it's definitely the right direction."
As costs come down and the machines become more human-like, Bonkenburg expects to see more robots working alongside human beings to boost warehouse efficiency. "My dream is starting to come true," says Bonkenburg. "Companies are building the technologies that are the pieces."
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
Serious inland flooding and widespread power outages are likely to sweep across Florida and other Southeast states in coming days with the arrival of Hurricane Helene, which is now predicted to make landfall Thursday evening along Florida’s northwest coast as a major hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While the most catastrophic landfall impact is expected in the sparsely-population Big Bend area of Florida, it’s not only sea-front cities that are at risk. Since Helene is an “unusually large storm,” its flooding, rainfall, and high winds won’t be limited only to the Gulf Coast, but are expected to travel hundreds of miles inland, the weather service said. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin in the region even before the storm comes ashore, and the wet conditions will continue to move northward into the southern Appalachians region through Friday, dumping storm total rainfall amounts of up to 18 inches. Specifically, the major flood risk includes the urban areas around Tallahassee, metro Atlanta, and western North Carolina.
In addition to its human toll, the storm could exert serious business impacts, according to the supply chain mapping and monitoring firm Resilinc. Those will be largely triggered by significant flooding, which could halt oil operations, force mandatory evacuations, restrict ports, and disrupt air traffic.
While the storm’s track is currently forecast to miss the critical ports of Miami and New Orleans, it could still hurt operations throughout the Southeast agricultural belt, which produces products like soybeans, cotton, peanuts, corn, and tobacco, according to Everstream Analytics.
That widespread footprint could also hinder supply chain and logistics flows along stretches of interstate highways I-10 and I-75 and on regional rail lines operated by Norfolk Southern and CSX. And Hurricane Helene could also likely impact business operations by unleashing power outages, deep flooding, and wind damage in northern Florida portions of Georgia, Everstream Analytics said.
Before the storm had even touched Florida soil, recovery efforts were already being launched by humanitarian aid group the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN). In a statement on Wednesday, the group said it is urging residents in the storm's path across the Southeast to heed evacuation notices and safety advisories, and reminding members of the logistics community that their post-storm help could be needed soon. The group will continue to update its Disaster Micro-Site with Hurricane Helene resources and with requests for donated logistics assistance, most of which will start arriving within 24 to 72 hours after the storm’s initial landfall, ALAN said.