Geek+ and AMH Material Handling have announced the launch of an intelligent sorting system at Asda Logistics Services’ (ALS’s) National Sortation Centre in the UK.
Some 60 autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) have been placed into the supermarket’s distribution facility in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire, allowing 2,000 parcels to be sorted each hour with 99.99% accuracy through its Asda ‘toyou’ parcel collection and returns business.
According to Geek+, the installation marks the first time the technology has been used in this way in the UK, supporting an increase in capacity for Asda toyou’s services as demand for parcel collection and returns services has grown at pace in the last 12 months.
Lit Fung, vice president and managing director of Geek+ APAC, UK and Americas, said: “By letting a network of AMRs transfer incoming parcels from workstations to cages of corresponding destinations, we can improve accuracy and efficiency while also making the process more ergonomic for warehouse employees.
“With no need for fixed platform development, it makes it easy for Asda to scale operations in line with business growth. All they have to do is adjust the number of robots and destination chutes.”
AMH Material Handling integrated the Geek+’s S20C AMRs into ALS’s existing sorting system, enabling Asda’s toyou service to respond to rapid changes in order volume and continue to provide high service levels during periods of peak demand.
Adrian Carter, sales director at AMH Material Handling, said: “We had a lot of fun delivering the solution as Geek+ sorting robots are a highly flexible technology that can be integrated and customised to work with existing equipment on customer sites, such as conveyor belts or other robots.
“It provides us a powerful tool for optimising sorting operations according to the specific needs of each customer. And, as an integrator, AI-enabled robotics solutions add a new dimension to our services as it allows us to continuously support our customers according to changes in business needs.”
Geek+ (stand 430) and AMH Material Handling (stand 722) will be at IntraLogisteX 2021 – the UK’s premier intralogistics and materials handling exhibition – which takes place on 1st and 2nd July at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry.
For more details, go to www.intralogistex.co.uk. To book a stand, please contact Nairn Foster (020 8037 1774 / nairn.foster@akabomedia.co.uk) or Rahul Nair (020 8037 1776 / rahul.nair@akabomedia.co.uk).
