Shipping and logistics company A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) will be opening a new highly automated 38,000ft² fulfilment centre in Dallas, Texas, which will be equipped with a range of robotics and software technologies.
The new facility features an automated e-commerce fulfilment solution, driven by artificial intelligence (AI), that is designed to maximise warehouse productivity in spaces with smaller footprints.
Named Fabric, the solution was developed to have a high-density, high-throughput and cube-based design for storage that can fully leverage warehouse ceiling heights.
“The growth of e-commerce continues to reshape the retail landscape,” said Erez Agmoni, global head of innovation – logistics & services, Maersk.
“As we look to help our customers streamline their supply chains end-to-end, we see Fabric’s automated fulfilment solution as one that is highly capable of meeting the demand for efficient warehousing and fulfilment where labor and real estate resources are scarce.”
The system also uses robots and software to optimise the fulfilment of orders of single-picked items for same-day or next-day delivery.
According to its developers, this design makes the technology well-suited for distributed warehouse networks in urban areas as it allows distributors to put goods closer to population centres, thereby cutting shipping costs and expediting delivery times.
What’s more, the Dallas facility has been equipped to handle a high-volume e-commerce operation and is capable of managing up to 25,000 SKUs, Maersk has said.
Avi Jacoby, CEO of Fabric, said: “With our proven track record of operating our state-of-the-art facilities for the past five years, we have honed our capabilities to make each piece of the fulfilment process work together seamlessly to enable retailers to unlock the business value of fulfilment automation.
“Teaming up with Maersk allows each company to do what it does best, with the ultimate goal of offering retailers unprecedented value and service.”
Final facility preparations are reportedly already underway, with the site set to be fully operational this autumn to support an undisclosed digital B2C retailer.
Maersk is a finalist for the first-ever Robotics & Automation Awards in the Industry 4.0 and Innovation in the Warehouse categories for its work with Dexory. Interested in attending this unmissable event for the robotics and automation sectors and networking with pioneers of the industry? Book your table now!
