Hannover Trade Show 2021: New modular gearbox kit from igus for innovative cobot ideas
Cost-effective, lightweight plug & play combination consisting of gearbox, encoder, controller, force control system, and motor for service robotics The potential for service robotics is enormous: in kitchens and bars, in the area of nursing, or in agriculture and logistics, lightweight robots facilitate the automation of monotonous or non-ergonomic tasks. To make the implementation of such new concepts easy and, above all, cost-effective, igus is presenting a new modular gearbox kit for cobots at the Hannover Trade Show. The fully integrated tribo strain wave gear with motor, absolute-value encoder, force control system and the controller is the main component of this kit. “With our Low-Cost Automation solutions, we enable design engineers to cost-effectively take part in the future of service robotics”, says Stefan Niermann, who is responsible for the area of Low-Cost Automation in the extended igus management structure. “This opens up space for new ideas in the area of automation: robots that can dispense coffee in retail shops or clear out the dishwasher at home. Cobots, that can be used in the area of nursing as well as in industry – and everything made in Germany.” The gearboxes play an especially important role in this context as they are the heart of any modern robot. For this reason, motion plastics specialist igus introduced a new generation of tribo strain wave gearboxes for movement on the 5th robot axis last year. Friction and wear are optimized by means of lubrication-free tribo-polymers. The use of plastics enables an extremely compact design and cost-effective production. The dry gear strain wave gear can be used along the last axis of an articulated arm, linear robot, or delta robot, for example, in front of different gripper systems. The new modular gearbox kit for cobots that igus is showing at the Hannover Trade Show 2021, supplements the wide range of igus products in the area of Low-Cost Automation. This plug & play solution facilitates the speedy implementation of exciting cobot ideas, without any thought being given to the power electronics. Fully integrated strain wave gear for low-cost cobot applications The modular gearbox kit in sizes 80 and 105 consists of tribo strain wave gear with the integrated motor controller, force control electronics, absolute-value encoder, and motor. In the gearbox, a tribo wave generator and a tribo flex ring with external teeth, as well as a brushless DC motor with an external rotor are used. On the basis of the gearbox, an individual robot can also be designed as a cobot with the help of joining links, thanks to the additional electronic components. “For our lightweight strain wave gears, we see market opportunities in robots whose total weight is less than 8kg”, clarifies Alexander Mühlens, head of Low-Cost Automation at igus. “This is because, where robotics in Low-Cost Automation is concerned, the self-weight is always important and not only the payload and a low price. Lightweight robots are easier to transport and can be used more efficiently on driverless transport systems, on 7th robot axes, or, in the near future, even on drones.” The low weight is also a significant advantage when the systems are used in cobots, as smaller masses mean that lower forces are generated when collisions occur. HRC capabilities are possible thanks to the electronic components in the fully integrated strain wave gear. Thanks to absolute-value encoder technology, forces as well as torque can be determined and safely limited by means of the motor current. For this purpose, igus relies on a double encoder, in which a measurement is carried out in front of and behind the joint in order to detect forces and torque levels and react accordingly. The igus range of products in the area of Low-Cost Automation is growing continuously The new fully integrated strain wave gearboxes are to be used this year in the new version of the ReBel, the igus service robot. As a result, this generation of robots will be considerably slimmer and, thanks to the integrated BLDC motors with power electronics, will be more cost-effective. Alexander Mühlens points out: “Our goal is to offer the ReBeL on the market for 2,900 euros even for small order quantities. It should be able to carry 2kg, have a range of up to 650mm, as well as a self-weight of less than 10kg and a minimum running time of 2 million cycles.” The cobot gearbox kit supplements the wide portfolio of igus in the area of Low-Cost Automation – from gearboxes and a large variety of robot kinematics to the control system. Low-Cost Automation means cost-effective prices for new users and also automating as much as necessary. As a result, the investment pays for itself in just a few months. The new modular gearbox system will also be available on RBTX.com. On the online marketplace, interested parties can put together their robot kinematics with vision, safety, or gripper components that match their requirements and their budget exactly. The igus promise is that everything fits together, both on the hardware side and software side – in accordance with the igus “Build or Buy” approach, namely putting together a robot oneself or obtaining a ready-made solution.
Seegrid names Jay Link Chief Revenue Officer
Rapidly Growing Autonomous Mobile Robot Provider Increases Strength and Depth of Leadership to Meet Growing Demand for Industrial Automation Seegrid Corporation, a provider in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for material handling, has announced it has strengthened the company’s executive leadership team, welcoming Jay Link to the newly created role of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). As part of its move to support growing demand for its automation solutions, the addition follows the company’s announcement of a 100% increase in revenue in 2020 for the second year in a row. The executive leadership expansion supports the company’s workforce growth, which included the hiring of more than 125 people in the past twelve months. Seegrid projects continued fast-tracked growth in the year ahead. “Seegrid is on a hyper-growth trajectory because we deliver on the promise of automation with proven products,” said Jim Rock, Seegrid’s Chief Executive Officer. “We’re excited to welcome Jay to our executive leadership team. He not only brings experience in the robotics sector but is an accomplished, forward-thinking, and goal-oriented executive. Jay perfectly complements our mission and our mindset as we continue to transform the supply chain with superior material handling automation solutions.” As Seegrid’s Chief Revenue Officer, Jay Link will lead the company’s sales, application engineering, and customer success teams. The link brings nearly 30 years of experience as a seasoned executive to the company, having served in executive leadership roles spanning go-to-market strategy, sales, account management, and customer success at software technology and robotics companies, including Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics), Berkshire Grey, IBM Cloud, and BMC Software. “It’s an exciting time to join Seegrid, an established industry leader with best-in-class solutions and services,” said Jay Link. “Seegrid takes a holistic approach as a proven, full-service provider and uniquely understands the problems its customers face. I look forward to collaborating with the team to build on the company’s impressive growth and give our customers the tools they need to achieve a safe, connected material handling solution for a competitive edge.” Seegrid automation technologies move material for some of the biggest brands in the world—manufacturing, distribution, and logistics companies leverage the company’s mobile robots and enterprise software to fill labor shortages, increase throughput, and help improve overall material flow. Seegrid helps businesses in the supply chain network ensure the flow of goods is both steady and safe: the collective fleet has driven more than 4 million miles at customer sites without a single personnel safety incident.
MHS to open new production facility in Kentucky
The announcement comes on the heels of acquisition for growing e-commerce supplier MHS Holdings, Inc. (“MHS” or the “Company”), a global provider of advanced material handling automation solutions, engineering, equipment, and software, is moving forward with plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky after the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) this week granted preliminary approval of a 10-year agreement that can provide up to $2.5 million in tax incentives. In turn, MHS plans to invest $7.6 million in the facility, which will create 200 new full-time jobs. The project is expected to have a total economic impact topping $327 million over a 10-year period. “Kentucky’s distribution and logistics sector – and the industries that support it – have played a vital role in our state’s ability to weather the storm of the past 10 months and position the state for future success,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said. “As we build back stronger, manufacturers like Material Handling Systems are key to Kentucky’s continued growth. By combining advanced technology with precision manufacturing, MHS enables logistics companies to serve the world. I welcome this great new project and the new jobs this Kentucky-grown success story will create.” The new facility is planned for a 181,000-square-foot building in Kentucky Transpark and will be used to build steel structures for conveyor and sortation systems. MHS is among the 10 largest integrators of material handling solutions worldwide and counts among its customer’s several prominent e-commerce and logistics providers, including UPS, FedEx Ground, and Amazon. “We are thrilled to have Material Handling Systems join us in South Central Kentucky. Their operations will bring diversity to our manufacturing sector as a leading provider of material handling systems that support a portion of the world’s e-commerce infrastructure,” said Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Ron Bunch. “We look forward to working with them for years to come.” This week’s announcement comes just two weeks after MHS announced plans earlier this month to acquire Michigan-based TGW U.S. Conveyors, formerly Ermanco, Inc., a division of TGW Logistics Group. That transaction is expected to close in mid-February. In April 2017, MHS’s founders led the company through a recapitalization in partnership with Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”), followed by a series of acquisitions that expanded the Company’s global footprint, capabilities, and product and service lines. “Kentucky has been a fantastic place to grow our global business during the past 20-plus years, and we are pleased to be expanding our presence in our home state,” said MHS CEO Scott McReynolds. “Our customers are experiencing new peak demand levels, which means our products and services are also in high demand. This facility will fill an important niche in our manufacturing process and ultimately helps us better serve those customers. We appreciate the KEDFA board’s support and the warm welcome from so many of the region’s leaders, and we look forward to becoming a valued member of the local business community.”
RightHand Robotics
Kivnon presents its latest three innovations in mobile robotics
Kivnon expands its mobile robot portfolio with a new range of Automated Forklifts and a new rotational lifting platform AGV/AMR Kivnon, specialists in innovative mobile robotics solutions, presents its new three models of autonomous vehicles: the K03 Twister, the K50 Pallet Truck, and the K55 Pallet Stacker, capable of circulating around the environment using magnetic guidance or mapping navigation, based on SLAM technology. The new K03 Twister is a rotational mobile platform with dimensions of 700 x 500 x 280 mm, making it the smallest AGV of the Kivnon mobile robot portfolio. With a load capacity of up to 400 kg, this vehicle has a rotational lifting platform that allows it to rotate itself while maintaining the absolute position of the load. Thanks to its small size and great maneuverability, this mobile robot facilitates the design of more compact and flexible solutions, as well as the optimization of intralogistics processes, thus reducing operating times. The new Forklift mobile robots autonomously transport palletized loads of up 1,000 kg and lift heights of up to 1 meter. The new K50 Pallet Truck and the new K55 Pallet Stacker have the ability to move in both directions of travel and are equipped with lifting forks to transport and handle loads vertically and horizontally. Both products have been specially designed for the optimization of processes and tasks within a warehouse. The three new models reflect the manufacturer’s new design line, with new shapes and new colors, which mark the beginning of the new look of the future mobile robots (AGVs/AMRs) from Kivnon. Kivnon products are characterized by their robustness, safety, precision, and high quality, and have been designed following the user-friendly philosophy, that is, designed to create a pleasant, simple to install, and intuitive work experience. With this new launch, Kivnon consolidates its commitment to technological innovation and continuous improvement of its products to provide a response to the needs’ of its current and future customers. Today, the company offers a wide range of mobile robotics solutions for the automation of different applications within the automotive, food and beverage, Logistics and warehousing, aeronautics industries, among others.
MHS acquires TGW U.S. conveyors business
The acquisition expands MHS’s capabilities to serve the fast-growing e-commerce industry MHS Holdings, Inc. (“MHS” or the “Company”), a global provider of advanced material handling automation solutions, engineering, equipment, and software, just announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase certain assets related to TGW Systems, Inc.’s U.S. conveyor business unit, which operated separately from TGW’s U.S. integration business unit. The transaction is expected to close in February 2021. Based in Norton Shores, Michigan, TGW U.S. Conveyors, formerly Ermanco, Inc., is a division of TGW Logistics Group. TGW U.S. Conveyors works across multiple distribution & fulfillment end-markets, including e-commerce, life sciences, food & beverage, and parcel freight & logistics. TGW U.S. Conveyors will help accelerate MHS’s product strategy and growth plan so that MHS is best positioned to serve its growing customer base. TGW U.S. Conveyors will begin to operate under MHS Distribution + Fulfillment/MHS Conveyor as a division of MHS, and MHS plans to retain the TGW U.S. Conveyors employees post-close. “We are thrilled to join the MHS family and partner with MHS to deliver market-leading automation solutions for our customer base,” said TGW U.S. Conveyors Managing Director Christian Lahnsteiner. “Our newly-expanded relationship with MHS gives us a platform to extend our product solutions to a larger set of customers while continuing to deliver the quality product that we have been known for.” MHS was founded in 1999 and now generates more than $1 billion of revenue as they deliver automation solutions for the world’s largest logistics providers and e-commerce retailers. In April 2017, the Company’s founders led MHS through a recapitalization in partnership with Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”), followed by a series of acquisitions that expanded the Company’s global footprint, capabilities and product, and service lines. TGW U.S. Conveyors marks the latest in MHS’s series of acquisitions, following its purchase of eMotion Controls in early 2020. “TGW U.S. Conveyors has an impressive history of growth that dates back more than five decades,” said MHS CEO and Co-Founder Scott McReynolds. “The company brings with it a strong employee base and leadership team. It also expands on our existing capabilities to serve the distribution and fulfillment market with a broader array of automation products and systems. TGW U.S. Conveyors is a fantastic addition to our growing portfolio and further positions us to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity that lies ahead for our company and industry. We are very excited to have Christian and his team join the MHS family.” Harald Schröpf, CEO of TGW Logistics Group, added, “Two different conveyor product lines were at odds with our strategic orientation. It was important to us and we are therefore pleased to have found a strategic investor in MHS, who will continue the American division of the TGW Conveyor Business with all employees associated with this business. At the same time, our integration business unit, TGW Systems, Inc., will remain active in the North American market.” PricewaterhouseCoopers acted as an Accounting and Tax Advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel to MHS. Financial terms for the transaction were not disclosed.
Episode 142 – AutoStore with Jon Schechter
In this episode, I spoke with Jon Schechter who is a Business Development Manager at AutoStore. We just recently spoke with Andrew Benzinger from AutoStore as well about micro-fulfillment on Episode 139 but Jon and I have a completely different discussion. We dive into the concept of fleet-based robots, the new trend of software-based material handling systems, and the differences between our industry in Germany and America. Key Takeaways One of my favorite things from this episode is hearing the story of how AutoStore was created. The solution was created because an electronics distributor who was servicing Scandinavia was quickly running out of room in their distribution center and was trying to figure out how to solve this issue without expanding or getting an additional location. From this issue, they created AutoStore and were able to redefine their space by bringing this solution to life. At first, they just used it for themselves, and as their customers started to see the solution they wanted to install it in their facility as well. A true example of fix what bugs you. We discuss fleet-based robots which is a system that allows all robots to coordinate so that the inventory is in the right place at the right time. The best way to describe this system is the example that Jon gives where, in a typical warehouse setup, you have conveyors where orders have been released in batches and cannot be moved without human intervention. He discusses how a priority order can get lost or needs lots of attention to get it to the front of the line in a non-fleet based setup whereas, with a fleet based setup, the robots can coordinate with each other so that robots carrying priority orders can move to the front of the line and the others know to move back in line. This allows you to be more effective and have your operation run more efficiently while delivering better customer satisfaction. Jon and I get into a great discussion around software in the warehouse. As I’m sure you know, bringing in new software or upgrading software into your operation can be a scary thing. Many times these projects do not go according to plan or there are a lot of hiccups along the way. I know that I have seen it myself but Jon has some great words of wisdom for these projects that he heard from his former boss. He says that the first day of the software implementation will be the worst and it will only get better from there. This is a great perspective because it is very true. The initial stress of what issues may be happening is not worth it because the issues will work out and overall your operation will be better for the implementation. Listen to the episode below and let us know your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 142: AutoStore and Jon Schechter
Power up your supply chain at ProMatDX
Supply chain solutions are more critical to business success than ever before. How do you keep up with increasing customer demands and competitive pressures? MHI has created the ProMat Digital Experience. A new digital event to power up manufacturing and supply chain professionals by giving them critical access to the latest solutions needed to improve resiliency and agility in their operations. Click here to view the video.
Seegrid doubles revenues, sees record adoption of Material Handling Automation Solutions
Autonomous mobile robot provider announces a 100% increase in revenue for 2020 Seegrid Corporation, a provider in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for material handling, just announced it doubled revenue year-over-year for the second year in a row. Seegrid’s growth reflects increased demand from manufacturing, e-commerce, and logistics companies for automation solutions to address rising pressures on the supply chain, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and ever-evolving consumer demands. “The incredible growth we recorded last year is a testament to our collective ability to adapt to changing environments—something that our customers can uniquely do when using our automation solutions,” said Jim Rock, Seegrid’s Chief Executive Officer. “Supply chain disruption surfaced in many different ways in 2020, but our ability to help our customers move materials safely around the world is a constant.” Driven by changing consumer behavior and needs, the typical, seasonal spikes that manufacturing and distribution centers plan for were replaced by a continuous demand surge that caused a ripple effect across the supply chain. Seegrid’s enterprise software and AMRs helped manufacturing, e-commerce, and logistics companies keep up, increasing its production fleet from three to four million autonomous miles driven at customer sites from March 2020 through September 2020. “Because end users can make changes while production is running — our customers are able to accelerate the implementation and adoption of Seegrid’s mobile robots and software solutions, a critical need in today’s world,” said Rock. “Our customers are under pressure to increase capacity and quickly adapt workflows to evolving demand, and do so safely.” Seegrid holds the industry-setting standard for autonomous miles driven, all without a single personnel safety incident. The safety, flexibility, and reliability of Seegrid solutions helped the company close a $52M financing round in September, which supported the company’s acquisition of Box Robotics. “We are especially pleased to have added Box’s co-founders Tom Panzarella and John Spletzer to the Seegrid team,” said Rock. The company expects similar growth in 2021 through the advancement of next-generation perception and enhanced human-like, situational awareness technology for the company’s AMR fleet. Seegrid has also been steadily adding headcount, placing priority on maximizing the value for its customers, ensuring high levels of adoption, customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement. “Every day, our teams are helping transform material flow and creating higher levels of productivity for global manufacturing and distribution companies,” said Rock. “I’m excited to build on our success and the success of our customers this year.”
Episode 139 – AutoStore and Micro-fulfillment
In this episode, I was joined by Andrew Benzinger who is a Business Development Manager at AutoStore. Andrew and I discuss AutoStore’s robotic solution, micro-fulfillment, space utilization, and the concept of space redefined. Find out how AutoStore is redefining space below. For more information on micro-fulfillment check out episodes 44 and 56. Key Takeaways AutoStore is a cube-based robotics solution where the robots operate on top of a grid that houses storage bins underneath. Their goal is to help companies utilize their space or redefine it, as they say, by creating more storage to allow for micro-fulfillment to happen closer to your customer. In almost every case, AutoStore allows for nearly 75% space reduction in all use cases which allows you to get more out of your space but also get more creative in the spaces you use. It not only helps you to become more efficient in fulfilling your orders but also helps you to reduce real estate expenses while still having great locations near your target consumers. Space redefined is AutoStore’s slogan and their solution truly allows you to utilize your space in a much more efficient way. Andrew discusses how not only does it allow you to get more utilization out of your space but it also then allows you to do much more interesting things for your consumers. He discusses some different examples where retailers are now able to store more in the back room which allows them to open up more space on the sales floor. Additionally, it can also allow for a better experience-based retail space by not keeping stock in the sales area which allows customers to just experience the product. There is also an interesting concept on the website where the AutoStore system actually delivers the product right to a pick-up window, like an ATM, for the customer. One of the big applications for the AutoStore solution is in the grocery space. Andrew and I have a very in-depth conversation on how grocery trends have been changing due to COVID both in the sense of people getting groceries delivered more and also in the sense of people still wanting to pick their own food. With AutoStore, the fulfillment of groceries can become much more efficient since it allows for food to be stored and easily picked by receiving the order in the system and sending it to the picker. We also discussed the quality control and rotation that goes along with grocery orders. It was very interesting to hear how AutoStore can assist in the process of ensuring proper rotation of food to not only help deliver the best quality product to the customer but also help to reduce food waste as well. Listen to the episode below and let us know if you want an AutoStore in your basement in the comments below. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 139: AutoStore and Micro-fulfillment
Episode 138 – AutoGuide Mobile ASRS
In this episode, I was joined by the CEO of AutoGuide, Rob Sullivan. Rob was previously on the show on Episode 105 when we connected back at MODEX 2020 this year. We caught up again to discuss AutoGuide’s recently released Mobile ASRS and the MAX-N High Bay Pallet Mover. You will hear us talk about how the business has been since MODEX, the newly released products, and also the difference in building a robot from the ground up makes. Key Takeaways AutoGuide is an autonomous mobile robot company that does high payload movement. They have been doing tuggers and car movers but are now also into the ASRS and the high bay world as well. The unique thing about their robots is that they are modular. This means that a tugger can transform into a pallet stacker and give you a lot of flexibility when it comes to investing in a robotics fleet. Rob explains how this all works and the benefits of it in this episode. Mobile ASRS (autonomous storage and retrieval system) is one of AutoGuide’s newest solutions that brings more flexibility to the ASRS model. Rob describes that a typical ASRS would involve a crane system that would move the pallets of products or the products themselves in whatever storage unit is being utilized to bring it to a retrieval location. The Mobile ASRS by AutoGuide is a big step forward because it utilizes your existing infrastructure and just adds AutoGuide’s AMRs to create the system. The key is their software platform which locates the product and then moves it through the operational flow to get it to where it needs to be. It is a huge step forward in being able to bring automation into your existing setup. The next new release from AutoGuide is the MAX-N High Bay Pallet Mover. It is an autonomous counterbalanced forklift that allows you to bring automation to your high bay picking operation. This high bay pallet mover can go up to 36 feet high which allows for the majority of warehousing setups to fully utilize this robot. Rob mentions that approximately 95% of warehouses are under 40 feet which was the driver behind picking 36 feet. Choosing this height is very accommodating as it allows you to go higher with your automation and fully utilize your cubic space. One really cool thing (for my other inventory control nerds) is that the location software and vision that the robot has is able to capture data of not only the location it is storing or retrieving too but the locations that are next to it at the same time. Of course, I had to ask if this can be used for cycle counting and Rob confirmed that yes it is possible for the robots to be able to capture that data and input it into an inventory management system. Having these robots capture that data while they are performing other tasks is really an improvement to the overall process flow and certainly helps to improve the time it takes to cycle count. Listen to the episode below and let us know what you think about AutoGuide’s new solutions in the comments below. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 138: AutoGuide Mobile ASRS
Episode 135 – RightHand Robotics
In this episode, I was joined by Vince Martinelli of RightHand Robotics. Vince is the Head of Product & Marketing at RightHand Robotics and a previous guest of the show. The last time we spoke was at MODEX 2019 (in person!) earlier this year on Episode 70 where we discussed the origins of RightHand Robotics and some recent partnerships they are involved in. For this episode, Vince and I discussed what has happened since then with RightHand Robotics, Vince’s brief stint as a coffee shop owner, and his predictions for automation going into 2021. Key Takeaways As I have been talking to different people within the industry it is fascinating to hear about how they ended up where they are. Vince has a very interesting story that took a detour away from technology into owning his own coffee shop. He gives some great insights on how he learned many things that have helped him in his career post-coffee shop life. Additionally, he also gives some great insight for those looking to work for a start-up and how you can learn a lot from working for different size companies. Vince discusses how things have developed during the pandemic for RightHand Robotics and how some things that were already in the works got accelerated to accommodate customer’s needs. He explains how they were in the process of developing systems that would allow them to do remote installs and setups at the time of MODEX (prior to major shutdowns). With the need for social distancing and restrictions on allowing external parties on-site at many companies, the need for remote setup and support became a huge demand this year and RHR was ready to meet the task. He also explains how there has been an increased demand for their solution in the grocery space as home delivery has increased in popularity. We also discussed what the future holds in 2021 with automation. As we have discussed on the podcast through this year, consumer behavior has shifted and driven e-commerce demand to new highs. Due to this Vince believes that this consumer behavior will stick and as he talks to peers around the industry they are seeing lots of interest and investment in automation for now and the future. To keep up with the level and demand and also keep workers safe, automation and robotics will soon become essential to meet these goals. He also discusses how to get started on an automation project if you have not introduced any into your operation yet. Listen to the episode below and let us know in the comments if you are investing in automation in the coming year. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 135: RightHand Robotics
Vanderlande delivers innovative AIRTRAX Pocket to de Bijenkorf
Vanderlande has installed its advanced AIRTRAX Pocket for de Bijenkorf at its Tilburg warehouse, the first large-scale system of its kind in The Netherlands. The omnichannel solution is now fully operational. The Pocket sorter supports three areas on site: B2C orders; B2B store orders storing ‘fast movers’ and eCommerce returns in the storage area. It will be operated on de Bijenkorf’s behalf by Ingram Micro Commerce & Lifecycle Services, a leading provider of supply chain solutions. De Bijenkorf – meaning “the beehive” – is the most renowned chain of high-end premium department stores in the Netherlands. Through its retail and e-commerce stores, the company sells luxury clothing, fashion accessories, cosmetics, and perfume, as well as furniture and home accessories. One of the drivers behind de Bijenkorf’s decision to move to a central warehouse in Tilburg was that its older facilities were no longer fit for purpose. The new 32,159m2 warehouse will supply seven national stores, as well as e-commerce orders from Germany, Luxemburg, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, and Austria. To support its activities, de Bijenkorf required a cutting-edge automated solution that offered a sortation capacity of up to 8,000 items per hour and could handle both e-commerce multi-item and retail orders. Vanderlande’s AIRTRAX Pocket is an innovative and reliable solution for transporting, sequencing, and storing goods. There are approximately 48,000 pockets within the Tilburg system and the solution offers de Bijenkorf a loading capacity of 8,000 pockets per hour. The Pocket sorter will allow de Bijenkorf to handle around 95% of its 210,000 SKUs. “In seeing the operation live, I am highly impressed by the Vanderlande AIRTRAX Pocket,” says Maxim Hurkmans, Business Unit Director, Ingram Micro. “We knew that the solution would become an integral part of our omnichannel warehouse because of its ability to reduce lead and transportation times and improve our stock handling.” “De Bijenkorf has strong growth ambitions and is looking to move into different territories. To do so and to remain competitive, highly automated solutions such as the AIRTRAX Pocket are essential. Not only is the system performing effectively, but Vanderlande worked closely with us at all times during the installation process and has been a truly professional partner,” adds Joeri de Vaan, Senior Manager Operations, Ingram Micro. “Innovations such as the AIRTRAX Pocket showcase our ambition to stay at the forefront of technology in the warehousing sector,” says Vanderlande’s Executive Vice President Warehousing and Parcel, Terry Verkuijlen. “We are proud to have partnered with Ingram Micro on this latest development, and now that the Pocket sorter is live, the warehouse can continue to deliver a first-class shopping experience to its customers.”