Peak Season Robot Picks Surge

Locus Robotics, a market leader in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for fulfilment warehouses, released its annual Cyber Week recap announcing a record-breaking 331 million units picked globally on behalf of its retail and third-party logistics partners, a 66% increase over last year.

LocusBots picked almost 7 million average daily units, an increase of 107% vs. 2022.

“We are thrilled to have delivered another record-breaking peak shopping season for our customers. The 66% increase in units picked compared to last year shows the growing demand for warehouse automation and the proven scalability of the Locus solution,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “As online shopping continues to accelerate, our intelligent robots enable customers to keep pace while also optimising productivity.”

According to Adobe Analytics data, shoppers spent more than $38 billion in total online global sales from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday was the largest online shopping day in history with $12.4 billion in sales, a 9.6% increase. Mobile shopping continues its continued upwards trajectory, representing 54% of all online orders in 2023, a 10.4% increase over 2022.

Locus has now picked more than 2.5 billion units worldwide, with the last million picks taking just 26 days compared to its first million which took more than 1,500 days.

2023 Peak Season insights:

• The holiday shopping period began earlier, expanding to several weeks with retailers starting sales events as early as late-September to lure consumers to shop early.
• Online shopping is here to stay as the convenience and ease of use of online ordering is driving growth across not just retail, but all business channels, including B2B and industrial.
• Mobile has become the shopping mode of choice with more than 54% of all orders in 2023 made via mobile apps, up 10.4% vs. 2022.
• The labour shortage is still a concern: Recruiting and retaining workers continues to be a concern for bricks-and-mortar retailers, warehouses, and transportation. Collaborative robotic automation has become a necessity required to meet the constantly increasing volume of orders.

With more consumers choosing to shop online, Locus has proven to be a valued resource for helping retailers and 3PL operators seamlessly scale to meet and exceed the growing volume demands today, and into the future.

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Locus Robotics’ Deals in Europe and Central America

Locus Robotics, a market leader in autonomous mobile robots (AMR) for fulfilment warehouses, has increased its global presence with expansion across two continents.

In Europe, the US-based robotics supplier has announced an expanded commitment to Italy and Poland, while in Central America, lifestyle brand, Solo Brands has deployed the award-winning AI-enabled Locus AMR Solution at its fulfilment warehouse in Mexicali, Mexico. The deal represents Locus’s first AMR deployment there. Locus’s intelligent robots leverage innovative technology and artificial intelligence to optimise productivity, lower costs, and improve workplace ergonomics and quality for workers.

“We are thrilled to continue to expand Locus’s transformative warehouse automation solutions to Italy and Poland as we continue to grow our European footprint,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Our continued investment underscores our dedication to supporting and growing with our partners in Italy and Poland. Locus enables customers in these countries to optimise productivity, efficiency, and accuracy in their facilities, boosting output 2-3X while lowering labour costs by 50% or more. As the pressure grows on supply chains, our intelligent robots enable companies to cost-effectively scale and stay competitive. We enable the future of smart warehouses.”

Building on Locus’s existing presence and initial sites in both regions, Locus is further investing in these markets to bring its award-winning AMR warehouse automation solution to even more customers.

In Mexico, Faulk said: “LocusBots work collaboratively alongside Solo Brands’ workers, enhancing productivity, improving safety, and helping drive operational excellence. We are delighted to join forces with Solo Brands to speed order picking, lower labour costs, and deliver an amazing experience for their customers.”

He added that in today’s fast-paced and competitive e-commerce landscape, efficient order fulfilment was a key driver of customer satisfaction. Solo Brands’ decision to team up with Locus Robotics underscores its commitment to optimising operational efficiency, reducing order processing times, and ensuring timely delivery to customers worldwide.

“We are excited to partner with Locus Robotics to revolutionize our order fulfilment operations,” said Brett Kulesza, Operations Vice President of Solo Brands. “The integration of these advanced AMRs will not only increase the speed and accuracy of our order processing but also empower our dedicated workforce to focus on higher-value tasks, further elevating our overall efficiency.”

Locus’s intelligent robots utilise cutting-edge technology and artificial intelligence to enhance productivity, reduce costs, and elevate workplace ergonomics and quality for workers. Locus Robotics’ innovative AMRs are designed to work collaboratively with human associates and easily scale up and down to meet fluctuating order volumes during peak and standard seasons.

Its flexible robotics-as-a-service subscription model provides customers with a fully managed solution covering bots, upgrades, maintenance, and support. By collaborating with human workers, Locus enhances productivity and fulfilment efficiency. Its award-winning technology, algorithms, and real-time analytics optimise warehouse layouts, reduce travel time, and boost accuracy – enabling faster processing and reduced costs.

Locus is currently deployed at more than 65 sites in Europe – including the UK, serving dozens of retail, ecommerce, healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics customers. In August, Locus surpassed its 2 billionth pick globally, just 11 months after reaching the industry-first landmark of 1 billion picks.

“LocusBots have already helped our European customers in retail, e-commerce, healthcare, and logistics to significantly improve productivity and efficiency,” said Denis Niezgoda, Vice President, Eat Locus Robotics. “Our powerful and flexible AMR technology enables a wide range of businesses to easily meet today’s existing demand, seamlessly scale for future growth, and remain competitive within their industries.”
The AI and data science-driven LocusOne warehouse automation execution platform enables the smooth orchestration of multiple robotic form factors at enterprise-scale within a single coordinated platform.

It provides real-time optimisation of tasks to be completed within the four walls and across multiple levels in warehousing environments. LocusOne optimises task allocation, route planning, and resource use, while delivering real-time business insights into warehouse operations.

The Locus solution has won more than 27 industry awards, including the coveted IFOY award. Global businesses across industries like retail, ecommerce, logistics and 3PL have used Locus to pick more than 2 billion units worldwide with 99.99% accuracy. Locus AMRs easily deploy into existing warehouses and new greenfield sites without infrastructure changes or disrupting workflows. The Locus solution delivers a measurable return on investment (ROI) in just months vs. years.

Proven at enterprise scale, labour-challenged 3PL, retail, healthcare, and manufacturing operators can seamlessly add robots to increase capacity or meet growth in any operation in just minutes to optimize productivity in their operations, reduce costs, and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving fulfilment and e-commerce landscape. accuracy reinforcing the company’s position as the premier robotics provider for the warehouse and logistics industry.

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