In the world of warehouse automation, customers have myriad robotics choices. When retailers decide to bring automaton to their picking process, they’re faced with fixed automation systems, Person-to-Goods solutions and highly flexible Goods-to-Person systems, to name just a few main options. Depending on storage and picking efficiency needs, the choices multiply from there.
Software drives warehouse automation innovation
When judging the success of a deployment, the software fueling these robots may be more important than the robotics hardware. At Geekplus, proprietary software systems are what optimize and control robots within the facility. These systems are orchestrating all of the activity in the mobile robotics solution.
“The robots themselves, while they are very cool and have a lot of capabilities, it’s really the software behind it that makes them move, makes them provide the efficiencies that we need to deliver for our customers,” said Joe Kraft.
Among other capabilities, Geekplus software gives users real-time visibility into how the order fulfillment robots are moving in the warehouse.
“This is a very good tool to help operations monitor what’s happening in their system. Every one of our solutions comes with this visualization to represent the robot map,” said Joseph Kraft, director of systems consulting at Geekplus. Users that combine Pallet-to-Person, Tote-to-Person RoboShuttle and other Geekplus solutions can quickly gain a bird’s eye view of automation activity at their facility.
Order fulfillment robots need software innovation to revolutionize picking processes for clients
The Geekplus suite of software products execute tasks for inbound management, inventory control and order picking according to business rules, optimized scheduling algorithms, and priorities and sequences given by the user’s host software. It’s fully developed and maintained in house, where employees are constantly working on new versions to roll out across the wide Geekplus customer base of warehouse automation users. This focus on updating the software enables Geekplus to stay current with modern tools and technologies, adapting the web-based software an new innovations come along.
Geekplus solutions are powered by real-time multiagent orchestration software for order fulfillment optimization. The software is purpose-built to be modular and scalable -- built to custom needs by project.
"We let the data and solution tell us which modules make sense, then those are applied," he said.
It all boils down to the Robot Management System, which is the Geekplus fleet manager. The software determines which robots get which tasks, how to route the robots and other functionality like the charging protocols and the robot visualization – a graphical representation of robots moving in the field. The RMS is rolled out with every implementation; it’s the execution layer of the software.
Geekplus integrations add an extra layer to warehouse automation
Workflow and functional applications from the suite include the Geekplus Warehouse Execution System, which coordinates links between warehouse operation and mobile robotics most often used in the Pallet-to-Person four-way shuttle solution. Additional software to fulfill specific requirements involving selection and fulfillment, sorting and the movement of robots in a point-to-point relocation fashion.
Geekplus software is built with integration in mind. Geekplus API integration layer used to interface with external systems. Every Geekplus deployment requires this custom-built API because the robotics company is always integrating with some kind of software from its customers. This allows the company to plug into WMS, WES, ERP and other existing systems.
“Many of the projects we do are with are partner integrators, and they have warehouse management software that they provide; it works hand in hand with Geekplus software,” he said. “Frequently, we’re doing more and more integrated systems projects with other third-party equipment. Rather than just a standalone fulfillment system with mobile robotics, we are plugged into other types of hardware.”
As just one example, Geekplus recently partnered with BlueSkye automation to fully automate a 3PL’s Savannah warehouse, deploying its Pallet-to-Person four-way shuttle solution along with other Goods-to-Person robots with third-party robotic arms and conveyors.
For companies in retail, e-commerce and other industries, warehouse fulfillment boils down to error-free, fast order fulfillment. But warehouse automation success depends on more than just the robots.
Geekplus’ proprietary software powers its suite of mobile order fulfillment robots, including the storage saving Tote-to-Person and Pallet-to-Person solutions. Schedule a conversation to learn more about the suite of Geekplus order fulfillment solutions, spanning Shelf-to-Person, Tote-to-Person and Pallet-to-Person robots.
