Modex 2020: Locus Robotics opens 3PL accelerator program

Warehouse automation provider Locus Robotics has launched a third party logistics (3PL) accelerator program that provides statistics and technical details for 3PLs that are trying to win business from retailers, the firm said today at the Modex trade show in Atlanta.

The program is one way in which Wilmington, Massachusetts-based Locus is expanding its business in Europe, following an installation of its collaborative piece-picking robots with the U.K. arm of the Walgreens Boots Alliance drug store chain. “We have allowed them to ship a record volume of goods out of the building while using less labor,” Locus President Rick Faulk said. “In Europe they face the same challenges we do here, such as very low unemployment rates. And that labor shortage has now turned from a gap to a crisis.”

In order to encourage more retailers to seek solutions with 3PLs, Locus is providing 3PLs with free tool kits containing videos, case studies, and other information that can help them win more customers. In turn, those 3PLs may order more Locus technology to handle their growing businesses, the company says. “A typical 3PL will bid hundreds of deals per year to get clients. So we provide them with collateral to help them make their case that they can provide lower cost, handle peak demands, and honor SLAs,” Faulk said, referring to service level agreements (SLAs).

In further support of its growing European business, Locus now plans to open an office in Amsterdam, providing its first corporate footprint in Europe, and to hire an increased number of employees to sales, support, and product demonstrations, the company said.