Preparing for Peak 2021 at ProMatDX

By BG Blog Staff

ProMatDX Virtual conference promises to showcase innovative solutions and strategies to help businesses prep their supply chains for another unprecedented peak season.

For retailers, 3PLs, eCommerce, post and parcel, and grocery companies — really any business reliant on a supply chain to get goods to consumers — peak season can be a make-or-break business bellwether. If your distribution and fulfillment centers operate during peak, then you know there typically won’t be bigger fulfillment challenges to conquer than the next peak.

Of course, 2020 pushed many operators into sustained peak mode for most of the year when the pandemic disrupted supply chains, pushed consumers online for all sorts of products, and forced businesses to consider significantly accelerating efforts to digitalize supply chains and introduce more automation capabilities into distribution and fulfillment centers. Now as businesses devise strategies for the current eCommerce fulfillment realities — customers shopping online for everything from apparel to groceries to everyday items like toilet paper — they must also consider this uptake of online-first shopping when planning for peak 2021. The next peak is only going to be peakier…

For 2020, according to data from Insider Intelligence and eMarketer, “Total retail spending was up 6.5% to $1.064 trillion. Brick-and-mortar sales grew 2.2% to $878.26 billion, while eCommerce jumped 32.5% to $185.88 billion.” And Insider Intelligence and eMarketer recently forecast “that total U.S. holiday retail sales in 2021 will rise 2.7% to $1.093 trillion, while the season’s eCommerce sales will rise 11.3% to $206.88 billion — eCommerce will account for a record 18.9% of total holiday season retail sales.”

ProMatDX, this year a digital event that is free to register and attend sessions, would typically be an in-person conference for manufacturing and supply chain professionals to learn about the latest technological innovations that could solve real-world business problems. As a virtual event this year due to ongoing COVID-19 safety protocols, ProMatDX promises to provide a showcase of solutions just in time for retailers, eCommerce companies, and more businesses to plan and prepare for peak holiday season 2021.

Berkshire Grey this year is a premier sponsor of ProMatDX and will showcase several of our robotic automation solutions throughout the week. Robotic automation experts will be virtually available via meetings, sessions, chats, and more to help you understand how our AI-enabled robotic capabilities can help your business improve operations and speed order fulfillment. In production environments today, Berkshire Grey customers have been able to reduce operations expenses by up to 70% and bolster facility throughput by between 25% and 50%.

Please add these sessions to your ProMatDX calendar now, and schedule a meeting with one of our robotic automation experts to help your business get ahead of consumer demand and plan for peak 2021.

Monday, April 12^th 2:00 PM – 2:15 PM CDT

Robotic Pick & Sort for Break Pack Order Fulfillment

Handling millions of items per month in a production operation for a Fortune 100 retailer, Berkshire Grey’s Robotic Product Sortation (RPS) system automates break pack order selection by robotically picking and sorting items, inner packs, and less-than-case quantities into specified containers for shipment to stores, other places of business, and direct to customers. The solution also automates store allocation order processing by picking individual items from totes into outbound order containers without manual labor. The solution replaces manual break pack picking, decreases logistics complexity, and makes unloading and stocking at stores faster and more efficient. This demonstration will cover the customer use case including payback for the solution, how the solution works, and feature video of the system in use at the retailer’s distribution center operating in production to save millions per year.

Tuesday, April 13^th 1:30 PM – 1:45 PM CDT

Robotic Parcel Sortation & Identification

The surge in the volume of small packages handled by carriers, retailers, and logistics companies has strained many supply chains. Rising customer demand for same or next-day delivery have contributed to rising costs as processing small parcel shipments requires more labor per unit than consolidated shipments. Berkshire Grey’s Robotic Product Sortation with Identification (RPSi) system is designed to intelligently automate the sortation process of small parcels and return items. Unlike traditional parcel automation, only Berkshire Grey’s RPSi can handle challenging parcels such as polybags, tubes, padded mailers, and envelopes – without operator intervention. This demonstration will cover the use cases for the solution, outline the ROI generated by a global parcel company using the solution, and feature extensive video of the solution in operation handling 1,000s of parcels per hour.

Wednesday, April 14^th 10:45 AM – 11:00 AM CDT

Robotic Pick & Pack Stations for Fulfilling eCommerce Orders

With online orders soaring to record highs, retailers, 3PLs, and all eCommerce providers need to unlock eCommerce fulfillment productivity and rapidly fulfill high volumes of individual consumer orders more efficiently and cost-effectively. Berkshire Grey’s Robotic Pick and Pack (RPP) stations are AI-driven robotic systems that leverage advanced machine learning to automate picking individual items and packing them directly into shipping packages, providing agility, labor reduction, and high-precision SKU handling capabilities to warehouse order fulfillment. Comprised of inbound and outbound tote transport with buffer, an engineered frame with integrated safety structure, industrial robots outfitted with our patented SpectrumGripper system, advanced computer vision, and AI-enabled software, RPP stations help customers accelerate throughput and offset labor challenges. This demonstration will feature extensive video of the solution in operation handling various ‘hard to handle’ products and outline the ROI current customers are experiencing with these stations.

Thursday, April 15^th 1:00 PM – 1:15 PM CDT

Robotic Pick Cells

These systems do much more than pick things up and put them down. They automate picking like no other robotic systems on the market. Berkshire Grey’s Robotic Pick Cells (RPC) are self-contained AI-enabled robotic systems that are uniquely designed to pick the largest assortment of eaches (individual items) from an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) goods-to-person environment. RPCs are comprised of a frame structure, robot arm, SpectrumGripper manipulation system, advanced sensing, and computer vision technology with integrated AI-based software.ASRS robotic picking with RPCs help customers reduce labor costs while maximizing operational efficiency. This demonstration will feature extensive video of the Robotic Pick Cells operating with real products fulfilling real orders.