Some 17 sorting robotics coupled with 15 3D robotic arms have been deployed at a facility in Stradella, which is located in northern Italy, by contract logistics provider GXO.
Forming part of an ‘ecosystem’ of robotics solutions, the bots are hoped to improve the productivity of the site by offering a subscription model with a lower upfront cost than traditional installations.
Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) means businesses can scale up and down more rapidly in response to demand and market conditions.
Read more: The Rise of Robotics-as-a-Service
Solutions were reportedly installed at the Stradella e-commerce site within one week, with the more than a dozen 3D sortation robots being programmed to feed 30 trolleys and in excess of 450 destination bins.
According to GXO, the robots were able to process 1,200 units per hour, which they claimed was more than three times the speed of the previous solution.
The trial saw workforce hours optimised throughout the sorting process, as well as reduced sorting errors and increased traceability of orders, the logistics provider has said.
The ‘robotic ecosystem’ is reportedly a first in Europe for supplier Global Robotics Service (GRS), the robotics branch of global real estate logistics provider and investment manager GLP.
The RaaS offering covers a range of services, including consultation, implementation, maintenance, systems and upgrades.
GXO has said this pilot installation will form part of a larger deployment of this technology at the site.
