Massachusetts warehouse robotics company Locus Robotics is working with supply-chain software firm HighJump to develop tools to improve productivity and efficiency for shared retail and third-party logistics (3PL) companies.
 
The partnership also makes Minnesota-based HighJump a licensed reseller of Locus’s autonomous, multi-robot offering for warehouse fulfilment.
 
“In today’s rapidly growing ecommerce market, 3PLs and retailers are deploying autonomous mobile robots to solve their productivity, efficiency and labour challenges,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Our partnership with HighJump allows us to rapidly bring the Locus solution to a wide range of customers, helping them achieve greater RoI, and consistently meet their customers’ SLAs.”
 
Total retail sales in the USA are projected to amount to $6tn by 2020, up from over $5.4tn in 2018, according to Statistica. Locus’ collaborative robotics drive productivity to ensure that brands are able to keep up with consumer demand and meet fulfilment goals in a booming retail market, despite the widespread scarcity of warehouse labour and massive influx in order volumes.
 
Retail and 3PL users including DHL, Geodis, Port Logistics, Verst Logistics, Sandow, Marley Lilly and Radial are achieving 200 to 300 per cent improvements in productivity deploying the Locus products.
 
HighJump is part of Körber Logistics Systems, a provider of diverse products for warehousing and logistics spanning eight companies dispersed worldwide, including industrial voice, capabilities for autonomous mobile robotics (AMRs) and automated material handling equipment.
 
“At HighJump, we love making our customers better, and this means leveraging the innovative technologies of tomorrow,” said John Santagate, vice president at HighJump and Körber Logistics Systems. “AMRs in the warehouse is an area we believe will drive tremendous value. This partnership allows us to deliver cutting edge AMR technology to our customers and work collaboratively with Locus Robotics to conquer supply chain complexity with the warehouse of the future.”
 
Locus Robotics’ multi-bot incorporates intelligent autonomous mobile robots that operate collaboratively with human workers to improve piece-handling productivity 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, integrating into existing warehouse infrastructures without disrupting workflows, transforming productivity without transforming the warehouse.