Ceva Logistics has deployed autonomous mobile robots from Locus Robotics at its Roosendaal, Netherlands, warehouse to handle online order fulfilment for a retail partner selling household and consumer goods.
 
Massachusetts-based Locus Robotics specialises in autonomous mobile robots (AMR) for fulfilment warehouses.
 
“At Ceva we are committed to innovation for our business and our people,” said Bart Beeks, managing director for north Europe at Ceva. “The addition of Locus to our operation is helping us to quickly achieve that vision.”
 
Since installing the Locus robots in January, Ceva is already closing in on one million units picked. Locus has helped to increase worker productivity and improve the overall workplace quality, underscoring Ceva’s vision as an industry innovator.
 
“Locus Robotics is proud to welcome Ceva Logistics as a new customer, supporting the company’s warehouse operations in the Netherlands,” said Rick Faulk, chief executive officer at Locus Robotics. “Our purpose-built robotics seamlessly address the needs of Ceva’s high-growth, high-volume warehouse, and has already led to significant productivity gains and increases in fulfilment accuracy. We look forward to continuing to work with them to drive operational efficiencies.”
 
Locus Robotics provides warehouse robotics for retailers and third-party logistics (3PL) operators worldwide that are looking to meet the shifting demands of the booming ecommerce market. Global ecommerce sales are expected to top $4.2tn in 2020 and reach more than $6.5tn by 2023, with more than 2.1 billion shoppers expected to purchase goods and services online by 2021, according to Statistica.
 
The collaborative robots work safely with human employees, driving productivity to keep up with higher volume and increasing consumer demand, despite the widespread scarcity of warehouse labour.
 
The intelligent autonomous mobile robots operate collaboratively with human workers to improve piece-handling productivity two to three times, with less labour compared with traditional picking systems. This helps retailers, 3PLs and specialty warehouses meet and exceed the increasingly complex and demanding requirements of fulfilment environments. The robots can integrate into existing warehouse infrastructures without disrupting workflows.
 
Ceva Logistics has about 78,000 employees and is a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group. 
 
• DHL and Locus Robotics have expanded their partnership to include ten more US deployments of AMRs in 2020. The companies have been working together since 2017.