Modex musing: robotics solutions take on inventory flows

MODEX did not disappoint, on multiple fronts. The show was busy, there were innovative new vendors, plenty of innovation from well established players, and many worthwhile conference sessions. Also, as expected, there were many robotics solutions to learn about on the show floor—both autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) as well as piece picking robots that use artificial intelligence (AI) to know how to grasp and handle items.

My take on the robotics solutions on display at MODEX is that warehouse robotics is maturing at a good pace. This can be seen by the attention to software capabilities that several exhibitors where stressing, and the increased level of partnerships which pair automated storage & retrieval (ASRS) with AI-enabled piece picking solutions. The innovation is increasingly around software and tying multiple forms of robotics together, rather than viewing robots as devices that simply automate a single task, like moving a cart of picked orders from here to there, or picking and placing an item into a container.

When I see robotics demos, my eyes are initially drawn to how the robot moves, or manipulates cartons or items. That’s the sizzle in robotics. But robotic goods-to-person solutions also need to manage and slot inventory and collaborate on order fulfillment processes with higher level systems, so orders get filled as efficiently as possible. That’s the “steak” to robotics solutions, and it’s served up by software.

Several exhibitors I spoke with say they put enormous effort into software development and capabilities, so that the robotic automation is as efficient as possible when it comes to the real-world challenge of filling orders and managing inventory.

For example, Caja Robotics offers two types of AMRs that comprise a goods-to-person (GTP) robotics solution. Caja offers a clever hardware design to extract boxes or containers from shelving, but as I learned from speaking to Dr. Ilan Cohen, chairman and CEO of Caja, it’s the solution’s software which is responsible for ensuring that orders flowing into the system get filled as efficiently as possible, with as few robotic movements as possible.

Each box of goods presented to a GTP workstation, Cohen explains, should fill as many orders as possible. That’s the responsibility of Caja’s Cloud software, which is the “conductor” so that each movement in the system is efficient. This falls under order optimization functionality that lives in the cloud, adds Cohen. “It’s all about ensuring the performance our customers want from the system, with the minimal amount of robots,” says Cohen.

Another sign of increasing robotics maturity is partnerships. At MODEX, I visited a few major automation solution suppliers talking about partnerships with providers of AI-based piece picking solutions. The big automation exhibitors are looking to fully automate goods-to-person (GTP) solutions—the picking task—by partnering to turn them into goods-to-robot (GTR) solutions. For that to work well, some type of warehouse execution system (WES) software is typically managing the overall flow of orders and inventory, and continuously making decisions on order release, as well as managing replenishment.

At Vanderlande’s press conference on Tuesday morning, Sean Wallingford, president of Warehouse Solutions, North America, for Vanderlande, discussed Vanderlande’s partnership with RightHand Robotics for AI-enabled robotic piece picking. Under that partnership, Vanderlande could combine a shuttle-based ASRS with a robotic piece picking cell powered by RightHand’s software and vision technology to achieve a robotic GTR solution.

Wallingford said that more organizations now realize that AI-enabled piece picking technology works, and that when pre-integrated with a shuttle managed by software that can efficiently sequence and present the SKUs needed for orders to a piece picking robot, the resulting GTR solution will help the operation flexibly adapt to changes in mix or volume. “You can guarantee performance … and you can upgrade the system over time,” said Wallingford.

Other partnerships I got to hear about at MODEX, included:

• KNAPP and Covariant. Known for its shuttle solutions, KNAPP has a partnership with piece picking robotics vendor Covariant to enable a fully automated GTR solution. At MODEX, KNAPP updated press on that partnership, talking up a software tool that makes it easier to capture and manage master data on product attributes.
• MHS Global, HAI Robotics, and Mujin. MHS is a major warehouse integrator and provider of automation solutions. At MODEX, it was live demonstrating a system it has put together which uses mobile, autonomous case handling robots (ACRs) from HAI Robotics to store and bring needed goods to a robotics piece picking cell from another partner, Mujin. MHS’s HELIX WES manages the whole process.
• Swisslog and Berkshire Grey . Though announced shortly before MODEX, Swisslog, an integrator and OEM of warehouse automation and robotics solutions including deploying AutoStore cube-based systems powered by Swisslog’s WES, was talking up its partnership with Berkshire Grey, a warehouse robotics company with expertise in AI-enabled piece picking. The two vendors will provide robotics solutions aimed at the grocery, e-grocery, and retail industries, with initial focus on the U.S. market. Meanwhile, at Berkshire Grey’s booth, it was demonstrated a solution than paired their AI-enabled piece picking with an auto-bagger. Again, a combination to more fully automate a larger process.

With such GTR partnerships, solution effectiveness calls for software capabilities at the WES level. Typically, there is an ASRS, or cube-based system, or in MHS’s case, a mobile ACR system, feeding needed inventory to a piece picking robotic cell. Here, it’s the coordination of the two systems, and the inventory and orders that run through them, that is the critical element.

The bigger proof point for GTR type solutions will be success stories with more users, at scale, not just the partnerships. On the other hand, the partnerships, which involve the vendors ironing out the needed integration, is a sign of increasing maturity in warehouse robotics, along with the way two or more solutions are combining to demonstrate a fully automated workflow.

At Wednesday morning’s MODEX keynote that highlighted findings from the MHI Industry Report, an annual survey MHI does each year in collaboration with Deloitte, it’s interesting to note that worries about supply chain snarls and inventory shot right to the top as the leading industry challenge this year by a slim margin. The report (read about it here), found that supply chain disruptions and supply shortages slotted in as the top industry challenge this year—cited by 57%  of respondents, edging out the labor/talent availability issue by 3% as the top challenge.

I heard quite a bit this year at MODEX about the havoc that international trade snarls and inventory shortages have created for warehouse operations. Corporate procurement managers, concerned about not having inventory, buy what they can, perhaps in unusual quantities, or use alternative suppliers to ensure there is product to sell. This abnormally lumpy inbound inventory flow, with new SKUs and product attributes that need to be managed, elevates the importance of having inventory management software capabilities at the warehouse management system (WMS) and WES levels, and capturing product and packaging attributes so that GTR solutions work smoothly.

The materials handling industry is booming due largely to ecommerce, but continued macro-level supply chain disruptions, and the difficulties in finding enough workers to continue to do things manually, are tough challenges which robotics can help meet. Combining robotics solutions for fuller automation is going to be part of the answer, with software as the key to how well these solutions work at adapting to changing SKUs and order volumes. I was glad to be back at a live MODEX. Along with MHI’s ProMat, they continue to be the best venue to see and learn about warehouse robotics, and what they can do for an operation.