SEWICKLEY, Penn. – Global logistics provider DB Schenker announced today it will collaborate with IAM Robotics on bringing the robotics logistics technology into its operations.
The companies said the new collaboration “will serve as a foundational platform for the use of these advanced technologies to help shippers work smarter, better, and faster.” IAM Robotics makes mobile piece-picking robots for warehouse automation efforts.
IAM Robotics develops a mobile piece-picking robot for e-commerce and warehouse operations.
“This is an exciting time for the logistics industry, where a lot of great technologies and solutions are emerging,” said Joel Reed, CEO at IAM Robotics. “This alliance blends perfectly with DB Schenker’s own initiatives and commitment to innovation and new technology in e-commerce.”
DB Schenker USA is one of the largest Integrated Logistics Service Providers in the U.S., with more than 7,000 employees in 39 branches and 55 logistics centers. The company provides land transport, air and ocean freight, as well as comprehensive logistics solutions and global supply chain management services.
The two companies said introducing flexible robotics and automation into the warehousing environment will help logistics providers to “offset long-standing challenges, such as the shrinking labor market and the demands of high-velocity e-commerce business models.” The two companies said they plan to not only improve warehouse operations now, but also to help shape what warehouses will look five to 10 years from now, and what technologies can be deployed “to make those visions a reality.”
“This is a true collaboration in the sense that DB Schenker knows the logistics industry inside and out, and IAM Robotics has an incredible depth of technological knowledge and innovation,” said John Stikes, DB Schenker’s Director of Innovation and E-Commerce. “By bringing these two powerful forces together, we can challenge one another and come up with solutions that literally take warehousing to the next level.”
One example of this would be in the mobile manipulation area, in which robots can select goods from a shelf, and transport them to another location.
“This is the goal that the entire logistics industry is working toward, fully flexible distribution solutions and models – the kind of capability that allows organizations to be responsive to the accelerated pace of change,” said Reed. “To achieve this vision, we’re having open dialogues about customers’ needs, a roadmap for the future, and where those two intersect.”
