GreyOrange Inc., a global leader in automated robotic fulfillment and inventory optimization software, today announced it is improving distribution velocity for Canada-based Apple Express, a national final mile logistics company.
In the first deployment with Apple Express, 145 of GreyOrange’s RangerTM MoveSmart (RMS) robots will be seamlessly connected and controlled by the GreyMatter™ fulfillment orchestration platform. GreyMatter orchestrates the scalable and agile sorting system, producing faster fulfillment efficiency and accuracy in the Mississauga facility, located just outside of Toronto, Canada.
“The evolution of human and robotic collaboration will continue to guide the modern distribution center post-pandemic,” said Nasser Syed, president, Apple Express.
“Automating our distribution center using GreyOrange solutions provides us with both greater flexibility and scalability for future growth, while already enabling faster distribution and throughput today.”
Current operations for the distribution center utilize 28 employees who are manually sorting 2,000 parcels per hour for 360 destinations. GreyOrange’s RMS system slated for implementation in October 2023, will enable Apple Express to easily scale its sorting operations to over 10,000 parcels per hour for over 450 sort destinations. The RMS system will also support one-click flexible configuration of destinations, fully automated induction, fully customizable analytics, destination management, auditing and manual sorting for handling fragile parcels.
“Automating vital processes for fast-growing companies like Apple Express is a powerful way to overcome labor shortage risks and increase operational efficiency,” said Akash Gupta, co-founder and CEO, GreyOrange. “As supply chain leaders plan for future growth, it is essential to incorporate a human-robot co-working plan to ensure the best work can be accomplished with minimal manual labor, which allows robots to do the heavy lifting and reduce workplace injuries.”
Apple Express’ implementation of GreyMatter prepares the company with the best industry technology for now and the future. In a recent Gartner® report, “Predicts 2023: Supply Chain Technology,” analysts project that within the next five years, about half of companies will use intralogistics robots from various vendors, therefore requiring a multiagent orchestration platform - like GreyMatter - which powers the robotic fleet and assigns balanced work in real-time according to fulfillment needs. The report also reveals that by 2026 more than half of companies using intralogistics robots will use a multiagent orchestration platform containing an open API (application programming interface) for seamless connection to control multi-vendor fleets. Therefore, Apple Express’ deployment of GreyOrange solutions now equips the company to solve future challenges, based on analysts’ projections.
1. Gartner “Predicts 2023: Supply Chain Technology” Dwight Klappich, Christian Titze, Tim Payne, Amber Salley, Simon Tunstall; 28 November 2022.
