Industry News

Metro Supply Chain is spending more than $100 million to install automated systems in several of its fulfillment facilities.

E-commerce which gained prominence during lockdown has forced organisations to modernise supply chain networks. Automation is okay, but how is the million-dollar question, says SPS Chauhan, Director for Asia & Middle East, Bastian Solutions.

Bastian Solutions, a Toyota Advanced Logistics company, is excited to announce that R.H. Brown Company, a fourth-generation family-owned material handling solution provider is the newest Toyota member company.

Global leading transport and logistics provider GEODIS today announced a partnership with Bastian Solutions to implement an AutoStore system into a new fulfillment site for a leading clothing retailer. The $48 million material handling equipment deal will deliver the highest throughput documented of an AutoStore system globally to support the retailer’s omnichannel capabilities, including e-Commerce and its more than 1,000 stores across the United States.

Well-defined processes, clean data, a little automation and a skilled workforce deliver that needed spark to conventional warehouses.

Pick-to-light systems as a user interface have evolved, and the incarnations leverage the core speed and accuracy of traditional light guidance and may also reduce infrastructure barriers of traditional pick-to-light modules or put-to-light systems.

In the age of ecommerce woes, next-day shipping struggles and unprecidented demand, PUMA shocked competitors with a state of the art, fully automated distribution center (DC) – one that didn’t so much as blink at the term “COVID-19”.

Covid was a catalyst and advanced technology the enabler that made remote MRO training and support a force to be reckoned with. And not just until the danger of Covid passes. Remote MRO is here to stay. ​

Dayton, OH – Innovative casual footwear company Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) has partnered with Bastian Solutions for a new storage facility and fulfillment center in the Dayton, Ohio area. The new facility – called “Saltwater” – will support Crocs’ current and anticipated growth throughout North America and, upon completion, will become one of the most automated facilities in the region.

Automated palletizing systems are proven solutions, and they are becoming more flexible in accommodating different SKUs and tasks. Vendors are giving operations plenty of choice, putting more emphasis on software capabilities and ease of use.

Over the past year, few industries have witnessed demand skyrocket like material handling and logistics. The pandemic forced a shift in shopping habits and challenged an already thriving industry into satisfying the sudden boom in demand from online shopping and home delivery. Amazon alone hired more than 100,000 new workers in 2020 to beef up its operations. The typical ebb and flow quickly turned into flow and even more flow.

To learn more about the state of micro-fulfillment today, I spoke to three system providers working in this space: Knapp, Bastian Solutions and AutoStore. Of course, they aren’t the only three: Swisslog and Dematic, who I spoke to for Monday’s newsletter, are also playing in this space. And there are others.