Retailers around the world choose flexible, scalable Geekplus warehouse automation to address storage constraints, order fulfillment struggles and labor shortages in their facilities. Recently, Geekplus implemented an extensive warehouse automation project for a global lifestyle apparel company, deploying its Tote-to-Person and Vertical Sorting Wall solutions to store and later distribute 800,000 items in the company’s distribution center.

Tote-based warehouse automation boosts storage efficiency and picking accuracy

Geekplus integrated its Tote-to-Person RoboShuttle robots and close to 100 picking robots with conveyor lines to boost the efficiency and accuracy of all stages from inbound shelving to storage, picking, packing, and consolidation. 

The Virtual Sorting Wall is an automated putwall that quickly completes item delivery based on order information, reducing unnecessary walking for picking personnel. Zero-step automatic sorting boosts B2C picking efficiency by 30%-40% compared to standard manual workstations.

The apparel retailer needed a solution to not only optimize picking but to also support a massive inventory. That’s why we the Tote-to-Person solution, which enables them to maximize vertical warehouse space with double-deep storage, made complete sense. Implementation has led to faster and more economical logistics and supply chain services, among other benefits, for a company that dispatches 20 to 30 million products annually to customers around the globe.

The tote-to-person solution's high flexibility not only supports regular B2B and B2C operations but also allows flexible switching of B2B workstations to B2C during peak seasons. Customers can flexibly increase the number of robots without halting production, easily managing peak business periods. Geekplus software allows users to autonomously adjust tote positions based on product popularity, greatly reducing handling time and improving operational efficiency. Automatic sorting during downtime also increases product hit rates, significantly lowering costs.

Four-way pallet shuttle streamlines inventory storage

In another warehouse automation innovation, Geekplus has deployed its Pallet-to-Person solution at the warehouse facility for a major retail grocery chain, creating additional pallet storage spots with an increase in order fulfillment speed.

The Pallet-to-Person solution enhances outbound efficiency and storage capacity by pairing Shelf-to-Person mobile order fulfillment robots and an upper-level pallet storage system for a truly innovative hybrid picking solution.

The customer turned to the Geekplus four-way shuttle pallet storage solution to solve a capacity crunch; there was no longer room in the main storage area, requiring frequent manual replenishment between warehouse floors, which posed significant challenges to operations. The retailer also needed to increase picking accuracy and throughput. The Pallet-to-Person solution gives them huge flexibility on this front: they can pick orders by store based on multiple products, bulk picking of single items for multiple stores, and reverse picking of bulk-ordered group-purchased items for stores.

By incorporating weighing modules into storage locations, the system autonomously transports goods to designated weighing positions. It accurately conducts inventory based on the weight of the items, eliminating the need for labor-intensive manual counting. This streamlined process not only saves time and effort but also ensures reliability and safety.

Overnight and during employee lunch breaks, the system automatically issues replenishment instructions based on store orders. The omnidirectional vehicles autonomously move goods from the high-level storage area to the picking area on the first floor, significantly boosting outbound efficiency.

Order fulfillment automation reduces costs, increases efficiency for retailers

True warehouse automation innovation directly solves systemic logistics challenges for retailers operating in a variety of industries while creating innumerable benefits for their end consumers. Geekplus has the largest portfolio of mobile robot solutions in the industry, providing customers with flexibility, scalability and reliability no matter the order fulfillment task. 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.