UK ironmongery supplier A. Perry has invested £1.2m in a fleet of picking robots to help it meet growing demand.
The company said deploying autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) at its 5,000 sq. ft facility would enable it to reduce day-to-day operational costs and make more efficient use of floor space. In turn this would allow for future expansion of stock volume held on site and variety of products on offer without the need to relocate.
OW Robotics worked with the Cradley Heath-based firm to install 15 fully automated robots and 330 moveable pods.
The Q7 Hikrobots have a weight capacity of 1000kg and provide rapid access to 4,000 picking locations containing 15,000 product lines while only requiring two packing stations to complete customer orders.
Chris Perry, operations director from A. Perry said: “Due to our unique position in the marketplace and significant investments within our supply chain, our stockholding has been considerably better than most of our direct competition, which has resulted in a substantial rise in demand.
“In the first quarter of 2021 we have seen a 60% increase in orders and to be able to efficiently facilitate these, this investment in automation has been essential to be able to keep on top of our customer’s expectations.
“We’ve been in business for over 95 years but we’re always looking ahead to new innovations, and this could not have been implemented at a more crucial time.
“We have invested a significant sum of money, but the automation drives our business forward and will enable us to remain the biggest, most innovative supplier in our field for years to come.”
The installation period took six weeks with the AMRs now operational.
