Ecommerce and Package Handling Companies Leverage Berkshire Grey AI-enabled Robotic Solutions to Meet Surging Demand Despite Labor Shortages

BEDFORD Mass., September 7, 2021 — Berkshire Grey (Nasdaq: BGRY), the leader in AI-enabled robotic solutions that automate supply chain processes, today announced that Fortune 100 retailers and multinational shipping and delivery services companies are relying on its Intelligent Enterprise Robotics solutions to increase capacity and meet surging consumer demand, even as the labor market tightens.

Retailers and logistics companies are currently experiencing a convergence of growth in eCommerce, a rise of on-demand expectations driven in part by the pandemic, ever-increasing competitive pressures across the industry, and a decrease in labor availability. This superfecta is putting even more pressure on the need to transform operations and to invest in AI-enabled automation as a tool to meet soaring consumer expectations and these other operational pressures. This need will only continue to grow as retailers head into the holiday season and hiring for warehouse jobs through the pandemic continues to deepen.  According to a survey conducted by executive search firm Korn Ferry, 52% of retailers said they were having “significant challenges” hiring warehouse employees.

“The pressures today are even greater, and we are seeing a continued uptick in energy for our solutions,” said Steve Johnson, President and COO, Berkshire Grey Inc.“ In order to meet demand and scale on a variety of fronts, we have expanded our supply chain, engineering, and installation capabilities. We have also announced multiple new partnerships which add both strategic and tactical capabilities.”

Berkshire Grey’s Intelligent Enterprise Robotics solutions enable enterprises to meet consumer expectations for on-demand delivery through intelligent robotic automation of eCommerce fulfillment, store replenishment and package handling. Berkshire Grey designs and delivers a complete suite of warehouse automation services including:

• AI-enabled picking.
• AI-enabled mobility.
• System orchestration.
• Cloud monitoring and analytics.
• A full portfolio of professional services such as manufacturing, installation, commissioning, maintenance, software updates, and operation.

Berkshire Grey recent announcements and mentions include:

• Increased total orders since inception to $148 million at June 30, 2021, up from $114 million as of December 31, 2020.
• Increased backlog to $95 million at June 30, 2021, up from $70 million as of December 31, 2020.
• Became a publicly-traded company and trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “BGRY” on July 22, 2021.     
• Announcement of Berkshire Grey’s $23M+ order with a global retailer which is focused on automated same-day grocery fulfillment of online orders.
• Berkshire Grey’s package handling systems, which are busy processing eCommerce packages, were recently noted in an Enterprise AI article.
• Expansion of senior management team to include Customer Experience and Investor Relations (below).
• Expansion of Picking with Purpose program with the United Way (below).

Expansion of Senior Management Team

Mike Barker has joined the company as Senior Vice President of International Customer Experience and is responsible for field operations, customer service, managed services, and customer success. Barker has more than 20 years of experience in senior operations roles. Prior to joining Berkshire Grey, he was Vice President of Consumer Goods at Swisslog and Vice President of Customer Success at River Logic.

In addition, Sara Buda has joined the company as Vice President of Investor Relations. Sara has more than 20 years of experience in investor relations and communications. Prior to joining Berkshire Grey, Buda was Vice President of Investor Relations for Boston Properties (BXP), the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of Class A office properties in the United States. Prior to Boston Properties, Buda was Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Development for Lionbridge Technologies Inc.

Berkshire Grey’s Picking with Purpose Growth & Recognitions

Berkshire Grey’s Picking With Purpose program was launched in November 2020 to address food instability in the country, which was exacerbated by the pandemic. This need inspired Berkshire Grey to serve vulnerable populations by using its intelligent robotic sortation solutions to assemble meals.  Berkshire Grey recently expanded the program to serve local communities such as the Boston Public School system through United Way. Berkshire Grey teamed up with United Way to provide STEM-related supplies to support more than two thousand four hundred students in the Boston area. This program was recognized by FastCompany’s 2021 World-Changing Ideas award for its important role in building a better world. Berkshire Grey donated a total of 84,000 lbs of food or about 34,000 individual meals to the Greater Boston Food Bank in Massachusetts and City Harvest in New York.  The Picking with Purpose program continues to seek sponsors and organizations to support.

To learn more or to become a sponsor of the Picking with Purpose program, visit: https://berkshiregrey.com/about-us/picking-with-purpose/       

About Berkshire Grey

Berkshire Grey (Nasdaq: BGRY) helps customers radically change the essential way they do business by delivering game-changing technology that combines AI and robotics to automate fulfillment, supply chain, and logistics operations. Berkshire Grey solutions are a fundamental engine of change that transform pick, pack, move, store, organize, and sort operations to deliver a competitive advantage for enterprises serving today’s connected consumers. Berkshire Grey customers include Global 100 retailers and logistics service providers. More information is available at https://berkshiregrey.com/.

Berkshire Grey and the Berkshire Grey logo are registered trademarks of Berkshire Grey. Other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Berkshire Grey’s plans, beliefs, and expectations for continued growth in the need for, and sales of, our Intelligent Enterprise Robotics solutions and orders and backlog that will lead to completed sales of our solutions. These forward-looking statements are based only on currently available information and our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. If the risks materialize, assumptions prove incorrect, or we experience unexpected changes in circumstances, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements, and therefore you should not rely on any forward-looking statements. Some risks include changes in the cost and availability of labor or alternatives to our solutions, changes or cancellation of our orders and backlog which may be permitted by our terms with our customers, and other risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our Form S-1 (File No. 333-258991), and our future reports filed with the SEC, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. Berkshire Grey assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Berkshire Grey Press Contact:

Pete Blair
Vice President of Marketing
blair@berkshiregrey.com