Travel restrictions have prevented robotics companies from going out to customers' sites to install their equipment. So now they're finding creative workarounds.
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
Under pressure from exploding e-commerce demand, labor shortages, and Covid-19 health restrictions, retailers have increasingly turned to warehouse robotics as a way to safely carry out order fulfillment tasks.
However, plans to install new fleets of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) have been snarled in 2020 by travel restrictions and occupancy limits imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In some cases, robot vendors have been forced to cancel plans to send technicians out to install equipment at customers' sites, which is their normal operating procedure.
But that's not to say those installs have been put on hold. Rather than bow to the obstacles, warehouse robotics companies have stepped up to the challenge, finding creative ways to launch their equipment in distant DCs without ever setting foot on the premises.
MAKE YOUR OWN MAP
One such company is Westlake Village, California-based inVia Robotics, which announced in June that it had landed a contract to supply its AMRs to Kantsu, a Japanese logistics and warehousing service provider. With the Asia Pacific region experiencing red-hot e-commerce growth—online sales jumped 25% in 2019 and are forecast to reach $3 trillion by 2021—Kantsu was looking to automate fulfillment operations in its primary DC in Osaka, the vendor said in the announcement. As part of the deal, it added, inVia would provide 200 of its "Picker" robots along with its "Logic" warehouse optimization software.
In normal times, inVia would have sent a field technician to Japan to oversee the receipt and deployment of the robots as well as the software integration. As part of the process, the technician would also have "driven" a robot around the facility to create the digital map that would allow it to navigate autonomously.
But that wouldn't be possible in this case. The Japanese government had closed its borders to foreign travelers in March, ruling out a site visit. With travel off the table, inVia had to find a way to automate Kantsu's warehouse from thousands of miles away.
In the end, the process turned out to be surprisingly straightforward, according to inVia CEO Lior Elazary, who notes that in many cases, it was a simple matter of relaying instructions to staff on the ground in Japan. He cites the prep work required to enable the navigation system as an example. The bots, which are outfitted with visual sensors, navigate by scanning quick response (QR)-type bar-code stickers placed around a warehouse, Elazary says. Since it couldn't prepare the site itself, inVia simply provided Kantsu with the appropriate stickers along with instructions for posting them on walls throughout the DC.
InVia then shipped "an army" of nearly 100 AMRs to Japan, Elazary says. When the units arrived, the client simply opened the crates and freed the robots to "randomly walk around the warehouse" and create a digital map of the facility, he adds. Any problems that arose, such as warehouse workers loading overweight totes onto an AMR, were reported to inVia's robotics operations center (ROC), where technicians diagnosed solutions remotely.
Today, the system is up and running, with the Picker bots swiftly and efficiently selecting products and ferrying them around the facility. As demand and other operating conditions fluctuate, the integrated Logic software will automatically adjust the system's processes and paths accordingly.
"We needed to fly an installation technician to Germany from the U.S. to install the vehicles. However, due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, this was not possible, as he was denied departure at the airport," AutoGuide President and CEO Robert Sullivan said in a blog post.
In order to complete the project on time, AutoGuide turned to a local systems integrator, ST-IR, which is based in nearby Ingolstadt, Germany. Using wearable headsets from RealWear Inc., AutoGuide virtually taught ST-IR employees how to install an AutoGuide MAX-N Pallet Stacker and a MAX-N Tugger using equipment it had sent to an ST-IR facility. Armed with that knowledge, the integrator was able to complete the job at the DHL site on schedule, Sullivan said.
According to Jan Nicolay, AutoGuide's European sales director, the installation process went smoothly. "We learned how to use the technologies efficiently and also how to adjust communication when working with remote support," he said in an email.
AutoGuide has since used the headset technology in other installations, allowing the manufacturer to stay connected to customers despite travel bans. "This technology can be applicable for addressing issues that arise that require immediate attention where the necessary knowledge is remote but face-to-face contact with the customer—and the long-term relationship-building benefits that accompany those interactions—holds immense value to both parties," Nicolay said.
Staffers at DHL's innovation center agree, noting that the two companies were able to overcome the travel challenge through a combination of technology and local expertise. "Regarding the remote installation, it was a pretty straightforward exercise: Instead of their engineers, we used a local integrator and had one of their experts remotely supporting via laptop," a DHL spokesperson said via email. "They are currently [deploying] two of their robots here for an expected timeframe of one year."
INCREASINGLY REMOTE CONTROL
Once found mostly in specialty applications and pilot projects, warehouse robots are fast becoming standard equipment in the modern e-commerce fulfillment center. But that newfound popularity also comes with some associated risks: The higher the number of deployments, the greater the likelihood that AMR vendors will face installation-related challenges. That's particularly true in an age when customers may be halfway around the world, and anything from politics to a pandemic can disrupt the flow of travel.
As a result, many robotics vendors are starting to design their machines with more than just fulfillment performance in mind. These days, they're also looking to build units that can roll into a site and get down to work without a lot of site prep or human supervision.
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 U.S. manufacturing sector has become an engine of new job creation over the past four years, thanks to a combination of federal incentives and mega-trends like nearshoring and the clean energy boom, according to the industrial real estate firm Savills.
While those manufacturing announcements have softened slightly from their 2022 high point, they remain historically elevated. And the sector’s growth outlook remains strong, regardless of the results of the November U.S. presidential election, the company said in its September “Savills Manufacturing Report.”
From 2021 to 2024, over 995,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs were announced, with two thirds in advanced sectors like electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries, semiconductors, clean energy, and biomanufacturing. After peaking at 350,000 news jobs in 2022, the growth pace has slowed, with 2024 expected to see just over half that number.
But the ingredients are in place to sustain the hot temperature of American manufacturing expansion in 2025 and beyond, the company said. According to Savills, that’s because the U.S. manufacturing revival is fueled by $910 billion in federal incentives—including the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—much of which has not yet been spent. Domestic production is also expected to be boosted by new tariffs, including a planned rise in semiconductor tariffs to 50% in 2025 and an increase in tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100%.
Certain geographical regions will see greater manufacturing growth than others, since just eight states account for 47% of new manufacturing jobs and over 6.3 billion square feet of industrial space, with 197 million more square feet under development. They are: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee.
Across the border, Mexico’s manufacturing sector has also seen “revolutionary” growth driven by nearshoring strategies targeting U.S. markets and offering lower-cost labor, with a workforce that is now even cheaper than in China. Over the past four years, that country has launched 27 new plants, each creating over 500 jobs. Unlike the U.S. focus on tech manufacturing, Mexico focuses on traditional sectors such as automative parts, appliances, and consumer goods.
Looking at the future, the U.S. manufacturing sector’s growth outlook remains strong, regardless of the results of November’s presidential election, Savills said. That’s because both candidates favor protectionist trade policies, and since significant change to federal incentives would require a single party to control both the legislative and executive branches. Rather than relying on changes in political leadership, future growth of U.S. manufacturing now hinges on finding affordable, reliable power amid increasing competition between manufacturing sites and data centers, Savills said.
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.