Leading technology solutions provider Cohesio Group (part of Körber) has announced an exclusive partnership with Locus Robotics, a US-based provider of autonomous mobile robots for warehouses.
Based in Massachusetts in the US, Locus Robotics designs and builds autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that work collaboratively with workers in fast-paced logistics and fulfilment facilities.
Locus Robotics solutions have proven to deliver a 200 to 300 per cent productivity boost for many of the world’s largest retailers and logistics providers. In March this year, Locus Robotics announced a partnership with DHL Supply Chain that will see the global shipping giant deploy 1,000 Locus Robotics AMRs to 12 sites across North America.
This partnership with Cohesio Group is the first for Locus Robotics in Asia Pacific region and will be the robotics provider’s first entry into the Asia Pacific market.
Partnering with Cohesio Group gives Locus Robotics the opportunity to work with one of Asia Pacific region’s largest and most trusted solutions providers.
Over the past couple of years, Cohesio Group has proven the case for AMR by deploying several projects for some of the region’s largest retailers and logistics providers including Wesfarmers, CEVA Logistics, Bollore Logistics to name a few, as well as a world-first deployment in a cold storage environment.
Currently the Asia Pacific market leads the way when it comes to e-commerce growth. Research provider eMarketer forecasts that the region is experiencing a 25 per cent year-on-year growth, representing 64.3 per cent of global e-commerce spending. With increased pressure placed on retailers and logistics provider to meet this rising demand, AMR has proven to offer efficiency and productivity gains that allow retailers to deliver in this challenging market.
Locus Robotics and Cohesio Group will collaborate to help retailers and logistics providers across the Asia Pacific region to explore automation and technology solutions to better increase productivity, accuracy and efficiency in order to meet the increased consumer demand and pressures placed on the supply chain.
“We have been exploring ways that we can broaden our portfolio and service offering in the robotics and AMR space. We know that many retailers and logistics providers are experiencing a surge in e-commerce demand and therefore having to re-think their operations. With this new partnership, we can add value to our clients and offer further AMR and technology solutions that can help them to meet this increase in demand,” Nishan Wijemanne, CEO of Cohesio Group said.
Locus Robotics is a market leader in AMR solutions, and Nishan said the solution will be of great benefit to players in the APAC market. “This new partnership will allow us to continue delivering cutting-edge solutions to our customers that improve efficiency and productivity. Alongside our enterprise-grade solutions of voice picking technology, Android Voice and AMR solutions, this new product offering will allow us to work with our customers to create even greater efficiencies as demand and pressure on logistics and retail continues,” he said.
“We’ve had some great wins across the world with our solutions. We know that e-commerce is booming in this region and we have proven the case for our AMRs to help solve issues around productivity, efficiency and scalability. Our partnership with Cohesio Group will enable us to offer our solutions to a wider range of customers and in doing so help these providers meet the growth in demand and expectations,” Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics said.
Ideal for e-commerce, wholesale and store replenishment, discrete picking, batch picking, omnichannel and more, Locus Robotics solutions are beneficial to a wide range of industries and customers in this market.
“The Locus Robotics solution significantly reduces travel time for operators in the distribution centre by bringing the goods to the operator. The solution can also batch multiple orders and increase the location hit rate, offering further efficiencies. The solution can be implemented into a facility in a matter of days and the infrastructure does not need to change at all due to Cohesio’s connector software enabling a seamless integration with existing systems and infrastructure. The solution is scalable, and the management of the solution is simple. It is also very easy to implement the Locus Robotics solution with Warehouse Management Systems or existing DC operational systems,” Ravi Nath, Head of Automation at Cohesio Group said.
Cohesio Group was acquired by international logistics giant Körber in September last year. It was recently announced that Cohesio Group would join eleven other sister companies under the umbrella Körber Supply Chain as part of a global rebrand. The united brand will become a leading international technology provider with a diverse range of capabilities spanning software, automation, voice, robotics and material handling equipment.
