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Read the full interview and discover real world applications of Geek+ AMRs and a showcase of the ground-breaking goods-to-person picking solution, PopPick, in the free eBook: Creating Value in Warehouse Automation
Simon Houghton (SH): I think it’s so important because of the VUCA economy (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity).
These things make up the VUCA economy are present in warehouse environments, and it makes it exactly the environment where an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) -type solution is key. They can be used to tackle the rising cost of energy and labour – even the lack of labour – all while increasing efficiency. It’s also a considerably lower capital cost compared with traditional automation, has a much shorter implementation period, and is ultimately more scalable and flexible. These elements make AMRs the perfect solution in a VUCA environment.
SH: Wow, that's a question! When I joined the business even three and a half years ago, we were just over 600 people and now we're over 2,000. In fact, there were only three of us working in the UK, and there wasn’t an office back then. Now, we have got an extended team of more than 150 people across the country (including resellers), working in sales, engineers, and support, all of which are actively knowledgeable about the Geek+ solutions.
That’s people; but in terms of technology, we’ve changed so much too. Traditionally, we were known for shelf-to-person solutions; but that's changed considerably, particularly when it comes to tote-to-person solutions and much faster, taller picking systems. We've now got robots which will pick totes 8m high.
We've got very densely packed mobile racks with 3.7m shelves, which are presented to an automatic station, gathering 650 totes an hour. That's the solution known as PopPick.
We’ve also introduced a 4 way shuttle solution, which is a multilevel storage and retrieval system with upper-level storage and ground-level picking technology. The new solution augments warehouse throughput, storage capacity, and operational flexibility with optimal cost effectiveness. It’s the perfect solution for businesses who demand both high storage capacity and picking efficiency.
These are just some of the technology developments we’ve made. It has been an incredible five years.
This year, we opened our UK headquarters and robotics innovation centre in Liverpool. There are demos of a variety of Geek+ robots, including the P800 picking robot, RoboShuttle, and the sorting robot S20C. We’ve got a whole team there with sales, solutions, project management, engineering and customer service. Our partners, clients, or anybody who wishes to visit is welcome to see our AMRs. The team would be happy to show people around and answer any questions about how Geek+ can help them automate their operations.
Our goal is to continue to empower our local partners and we expect to soon have even more successful projects in the UK. We also plan to introduce new cutting edge products to the UK market for even better efficiency and accuracy in smart warehouse operations.
Read the full interview and discover real world applications of Geek+ AMRs and a showcase of the ground-breaking goods-to-person picking solution, PopPick, in the free eBook: Creating Value in Warehouse Automation
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March report uncovers the major reasons why logistics businesses are seeking automation solutions, primarily labour issues, booming e-commerce and the growing importance of resilient supply chains. It also provides a range of real-life examples of the solutions at work.