Warehouse automation and robotics vendor GreyOrange today released an update to its robotic fulfillment technology, saying the new platform is designed to modernize distribution centers for improved omnichannel, store replenishment, and e-commerce operations.
The release is the latest move by GreyOrange to gain traction in the booming e-commerce fulfillment market since the firm said in August that it had contracted eight U.S. logistics solution providers to help sell, deploy, and service the company's tech. Those partners include: Avik Services, Bricz, Hy-Tek, Info-Sun, McCombs-Wall, S&H Systems, TREW, and UST Global.
Atlanta-based GreyOrange has now unveiled the newest version of its Fulfillment Operating System (FOS), driven by the firm's GreyMatter Artificial Intelligence integrated with its Ranger Series mobile robots. Together, those units enable efficient store replenishment strategies based on how individual stores prefer their inventory packed, to reduce the time and labor required to move stock from receipt to shelf, the firm said.
GreyOranges's system includes three types of robots: the Ranger GTP, a goods-to-person unit formerly named Butler that can carry 220 to 3,500 pounds of inventory; the Ranger Mobile Sorter (formerly known as Flexo) that operates in fleets to fluidly move parcels from receiving through dispatch to avoid sortation bottlenecks; and the Ranger Picking bot (formerly called PickPal) that works in tandem with goods-to-person robots to either assist humans with picking orders or to pick orders autonomously.
According to the company, the latest enhancements to its artificial intelligence platform are centered on the ability of mobile robots to operate at scale across a distribution center, including retrieving and placing inventory racks on multiple floors or mezzanines using elevator access. Together, GreyMatter and Ranger robots comprise a system designed for fast-paced, high-volume, high-product-variety operations.
GreyOrange says that tightly integrated approach is different from existing systems that comprise disparate hardware and software solutions interfaced together in a complex technology system.
"Many companies are struggling to keep up with expectations for same-day and next-day delivery along with store replenishment runs that are required two to three times per week or even daily," GreyOrange CEO Samay Kohli said in a release. "They are trying to meet modern fulfillment demands using software and hardware built for a time before Amazon changed the game for everyone by accelerating collective expectations. The idea that software and robots built together using the same intelligence is required in a modern Fulfillment Operating System is unique to GreyOrange, and represents the only solution built specifically to address modern fulfillment challenges."
