South Korean e-commerce company Coupang has unveiled its automated logistics site, which is equipped with a range of logistics technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous forklifts, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and more.
The company claims the Daegu Fulfillment Center (Daegu FC) is one of the largest distribution centres in Asia outside of Korea.
The site has seen the integration of a range of automated technologies to support increased workplace safety and improvements in overall site productivity.
The technologies have been applied to intralogistics applications throughout the site, ranging from product display to picking, packaging and sorting.
The e-commerce firm reportedly invested more than ₩320bn (£206.6m) in building Daegu FC, which is is the size of 46 football fields, and implementing an automated fulfilment system.
Jeong Jong-cheol, CEO of Coupang Fulfillment Service, said, “Daegu FC is a symbol of Coupang’s cutting-edge logistics investment, and through digital transformation of logistics, we have created a more comfortable and easier working environment for employees.
“We will do our best for the development of local small businesses and local communities, including steady job creation based on the state-of-the-art logistics infrastructure incorporating technology.”
Coupang introduced more than 1,000 AGV robots to the 7th and 9th floors of Daegu FC, which will automate the display and picking of products and replacing a manual person to goods process.
The company claims this has led to a workload reduction of 65% for its employees.
Some other benefits of automating order picking include reducing distance travelled and limiting the physical strain on workers
Another technology, the sorting bot, works by recognising barcodes on the waybill printed on the product packaging with a scanner and then classifying and moving the product by destination.
Coupang has set dozens of unmanned forklifts to work on the 5th floor of Daegu FC, which it says are a key technology for its safety vision for the site.
This is because an unmanned forklift can automatically move large-capacity products, with human employees only needing to press a button.
What’s more, in the designated area where unmanned forklifts are operated, human movement is completely blocked to prevent accidents.
Coupang plans to further increase the automation of logistics at the facility in the future, which it expects will create around 2,500 new jobs, plus a further 10,000 through indirect employment.
Daegu FC operates 24/7, 365 days a year, including holidays.
