Skechers USA, a footwear and apparel company, and warehouse automation firm Hai Robotics (Hai), have partnered on a new ‘highly-automated’ distribution centre in Tokyo, Japan.
Some 69 autonomous case-handling mobile robots have been deployed at the site to pick and transport goods.
Supported by materials handling consultancy MHE Solutions, Skechers established the hub to keep up with growing demand in the Japanese market and to improve operations that have traditionally relied on manual labour.
On the installation, Sophie Houtmeyers, vice president of distribution operations at Skechers, and Michael Pitt at MHE Solutions, said in a joint statement: “The Hai ACR system facilitated creative application to maximise both utilisation of the warehouse floor space and hard-to-reach vertical storage space in a challenging Japanese warehousing design caused by strict fire codes.
“It has additionally provided productivity gains that are key to the growth of Skechers in the Japan market.”
Skechers said it chose the robotic solution for its ability to condense storage and minimise real estate needed. It hopes this will help it scale operations according to changing demand, while also addressing labour shortages and supporting long-term commercial growth.
The site’s HaiPick System features eight workstations, where operators receive instructions on a screen of the product to be picked. The product is then scanned, and the system confirms if the order is correct before the operator can move onto the next one.
