Warehouse automation, in the form of conveyors, has been with us for decades, but the ongoing growth of E-commerce is fuelling a surge in demand for warehouse automation systems that build on conveyors’ proven benefits and offer the key to higher output and cost savings, especially labour.
A British business in the forefront of all this, Lincolnshirebased software specialist OrderWise is celebrating various award nominations for its goodsto- person robotics technology, which streamlines and lowers the cost of order fulfilment. OrderWise founder and CEO David Hallam has been named a finalist in the Midlands Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year category at this year’s NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards. In addition David has been shortlisted for a Tech Leaders Award and hopes to win in the Digital Leader of the Year category. OrderWise has also been nominated for the Innovation Award at this year’s Lloyds Bank National Business Awards.
The long-established supplier GEBHARDT and European Conveyor Systems have been providing innovative automated material handling solutions for over 65 Years, to retailers, manufacturers and logistics providers around the world, but they’re not standing still either. Today GEBHARDT have extended their offer with a portfolio of modular, automated warehouse systems, controlled by GEBHARDT’s WMS technology.
In another major development Cimcorp, the Finnish-owned manufacturer and integrator of turnkey robotic order fulfilment systems, has signed an agreement with Conveyor Networks Ltd for the company to represent Cimcorp in the UK. Cimcorp offers advanced material handling and software technologies for order fulfilment and storage in the food and beverage, retail, e-commerce, FMCG and postal services sectors.
Celebrating its tenth anniversary, Conveyor Networks provides turnkey automation systems for a variety of material handling challenges. The systems integrator has supplied automated logistics solutions to FMCG brands such as Johnson & Johnson and Unilever, and retailers including Pets at Home, WH Smith and QVC. The cooperation with Conveyor Networks will focus on intralogistics solutions for food retail and e-commerce.
As we reported recently, EffiMat, Denmark’s leading warehouse automation provider, is launching its EffiMat Intelligent Box Mover technology in the UK this summer in conjunction with its exclusive UK distributor, RARUK Automation, the automation and picking robot specialist. The EffiMat system sets new standards for picking speed, picking accuracy and flexible integration with end users’ existing materials handling systems.
The Intelligent Box Mover technology allows EffiMat to operate both vertically and horizontally so the order picking system can pick up to five different standard boxes at the same time from different positions in vertical shelving systems and deliver them all to the picking station on the same tray, rather than having to pick each item one by one and wait for each one to be delivered before entering the next code.
Finally, even if you’re generally happy with your existing conveyor system, you can upgrade by linking it to new technology. Panasonic’s Visual Sort Assist (VSA) combines scanning technology and projection to speed up sorting parcels on a conveyor belt. Semiautomation of parcel checking and routing in this way means users can improve sorting operations dramatically and the time saved can be spent on other tasks such as customer service.
BILL REDMOND
Features Editor
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