Berkshire Grey Announces Global Availability of Robotic Pick and Pack Systems
September 15, 2021
Berkshire Grey, which develops AI-enabled robotics for automating supply chain processes, has announced global availability of its Robotic Pick and Pack (RPP) solutions. The systems can automate the picking and packing of items directly from inventory totes to outbound customer shipping packages, to improve operational efficiency for fulfillment centers, in addition to reducing shipping costs and lowering the environmental impact of e-commerce orders.
Already in deployment at SoftBank Logistics’ flagship fulfillment center in Ichikawa, Japan, the RPP is now available to customers around the world looking to improve e-commerce fulfillment operations. The RPP solution is engineered to integrate with e-commerce operations run by retailers, third-party logistics (3PL) providers and pure-play e-commerce brands, Berkshire Grey said.
“We believe our RPP system is the first robotic e-commerce fulfillment solution capable of completely automating the picking and packing process of direct-to-consumer orders for apparel, cosmetics, health and beauty, sporting equipment, food and general merchandise – it will transform the speed and efficiencies of warehouses and fulfillment centers around the globe,” said Steve Johnson, COO at Berkshire Grey. “Berkshire Grey RPP excels in handling orders – the AI handles a wide range of SKUs and does so carefully – meeting even the exacting quality standards of Japanese consumers.”
Features of the system include:
- Zero-pressure placement, ensuring that even multiple delicate items can fit safely into a single package without dropping or over-cramming items;
- Advanced machine vision and proprietary real-time planning algorithms to manipulate individual items for placement on the fly, achieving a tight, safe fit within each shipping box;
- Autonomous dense packing, which leaves less air in each box and reduces the packing materials needed, thereby lowering both the shipping costs and environmental impact of e-commerce orders.
The company said its intelligent robotic solutions optimize order processing, item-level picking and sorting, and autonomous packaging. The systems include extensive services including installation, testing and commissioning, and continued support and maintenance to help enterprises overcome the challenges of hiring qualified workers, meeting customer demands at lower costs, and delivering faster response times. The solutions are modular and flexible, and available as robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) implementation models, which lets customers adopt the technology without upfront capital expenditures.
For more details on the RPP system, visit the Berkshire Grey website here.
