Chinese mobile robotics company Geek+ has deployed the first shelf-to-person PopPick project in the Nordics for one of the biggest online pharmacy wholesalers in the region.

Local automation company System Teknik partnered on the Denmark project, which includes three PopPick stations and 30 shelf-to-person robots for Med24.dk.

“With the rise of ecommerce, Med24.dk had been struggling with huge sales growth coupled with fast delivery demands from customers in Denmark, Norway and Sweden searching for pharmacy, health and beauty products,” said Blond Shkodrani, channel partner manager for the Nordics at Geek+. “Peak season events had also caused considerable strain to their operations. Due to their overwhelming success, Med24.dk needed modular, automated order fulfilment for fast, efficient order fulfilment.”

The modular shelf-to-person system optimises warehouse operations using mobile robots to transport shelves. In a region where fixed and cubic options have been the trend during recent years, the shelf-to-person installation handles goods of all sizes while removing the need for infrastructure investment, making it a flexible response to order fulfilment problems.

PopPick workstations use two retrieval arms and four presentation locations to present pickers with multiple, moveable 78-tote racks at one time, resulting in a throughput of 450 totes per hour. PopPick can store goods of all types and sizes; this is not limited to small pieces and improves ergonomics for workers while picking. It also takes up less space than traditional systems, so more stations can be used without adding facility space.

“We are very pleased to invest in flooring robots from Geek+,” said Med24.dk CEO Nils Træholt. “We believe this new and innovative technology can help us realise our growth ambitions, while maintaining good delivery times for the benefit of our customers.”

Morten Kirch, CSO at System Teknik (systemteknik.dk), added: “Due to Med24.dk’s growth, we are thrilled to be able to deliver tailor-made automation that matches their needs.”

Geek+ (www.geekplus.com) offers a suite of goods-to-person mobile order fulfilment robotics controlled by a single software platform.

“Through trusted partners like System Teknik, we’re showing customers all over Europe that Geek+ truly is a one-stop shop for modular warehouse automation,” Shkodrani said.