Canadian building trade supplier Noble has installed a fully-automated warehouse solution from Atlanta-based Dematic. The new installation deploys AutoStore and features autonomous robots for order picking and inventory management. The company claims it is the first in its industry to adopt a fully automated warehouse solution.

Noble worked in partnership with Dematic to implement the automated system to drive efficiency and help better serve its growing customer base. The system is now fully operational. The picking and fulfilment system is designed to maximise warehouse space and minimise inefficiencies through automated robots programmed to collect orders from thousands of storage bins. The AutoStore technology is intended to help reinvent Noble’s warehouse operations with high-density storage, scalable design, and fast, accurate order fulfilment.

“Driven by our 30-year commitment to helping our customers succeed, AutoStore is faster, more accurate and will help us offer a wider range of products to the trades,” said Jim Anderson, General Manager at Noble. “The volume of products you can stock in a small footprint with AutoStore far exceeds anything else on the market. In our case, we can fit 21,000 SKUs in less than 5,000 square feet, dramatically impacting the amount of inventory our teammates can quickly supply to our clients.”

With the introduction of Noble’s new e-commerce platform later this year, AutoStore will make the picking and fulfilment process even more streamlined.

The AutoStore grid can be easily increased and gradually filled with more bins and extra robots as SKU and storage needs grow, all with minimal impact on business operations and the environment.

“This integration with AutoStore represents our commitment to innovation and our dedication to providing the best possible service to customers with real-time inventory management,” said Philip Wenger, Director of Technology at Noble. “It means we can get more products to our customers faster, and they’re going to be happier with the counter experience because of it.”