The adoption of automation within a 3PL is a strategic undertaking requiring careful consideration. After all, the wrong decision can lead to significant time, energy & dollars lost; not to mention the potential negative impact on our customer base. In our situation, this process unfolded over the course of several years & multiple iterations. Through each we meticulously evaluated various options, leading to our ultimate selection of Locus Robotics.
Our goal today is to walk you through that journey.
Back in the summer of 2020, we posted a blog referencing the importance of continuous improvement in a 3PL and our search for an automation solution to offset repetitive tasks in our kitting department.
This search offered an opportunity to test out a robotic arm solution. The goal was to use this arm to pick and place items on our kitting line for holiday kits. The arm required us to program it to fit the size and shape of the item it was to be picking. We found this programming to be easy to accomplish.
Through extensive testing, we determined the arm functioned well in picking and placing items where necessary. Our challenge then was with scale.
- Developing towards the specifications of all product variations
- The quantity of arms that KSP would need to purchase based on the complexity of customer kits.
- Perfect placement: in many cases, customers require their product to be placed with a label or logo facing outward. This didn’t allow for that to be consistent.
These scale challenges allowed us to conclude this was not the right solution for us at that time.
The rest of 2020 proved to be beyond busy searching for both a new WMS and larger warehouse putting these discussions on hold for a minute. All while our business needs were changing significantly; order fulfillment becoming a more impactful portion of our business.
In 2021, our new WMS provider invited us to their lab to review their technology & integration capabilities for implementation. At that time we were provided demos of a few different automation solutions, one of them being Locus. Locus stood out as a solid solution even then.
In 2022, KSP ownership traveled to Modex to review additional solutions. Shortly thereafter, a committee was created to include the heads of each department to take a deeper dive into the solutions they reviewed during that trip. Solution styles included -
- AI to Person
- Goods to Person
- Shipping Conveyance
- Pick/Pack Conveyance
- Enhanced Cluster Picking
- Flow Racking
Each solution evaluated included attributes relevant to some areas of our business operations, with some demonstrating a greater application than others. Our primary challenge lay in identifying a solution capable of use across all diverse business units, each with varying product types and sizes. Automation typically thrives in environments characterized by consistency, a quality absent in the multi-customer landscape of a 3PL operation like ours. It became clear through this process a middleware would be needed to act as the brains of whatever solution we chose. Our WMS worked to support the data needed for the business – sku profiles, inventory locations, inventory quantities, etc. A WES (Warehouse Execution System) was needed to manage and optimize the work process.
Our IT team attended PROMAT 2023 and accelerated discussions with a potential WES provider, Logistiview. We needed a solution that could easily integrate with our WMS solution and really allow us to control and design internally and not be reliant on outside sources.
Early in 2024 we determined it was time to make a decision. The information we had gathered provided a clear choice on the solution and how best to achieve the results we were looking for. We took the opportunity at Modex 2024 to engage in heavy solution discussions and agreement negotiations. Three weeks later, agreements had been signed, design & implementation discussions had been initiated!
Our journey continues beyond this point as we eagerly anticipate the full integration of the bots……..which have recently arrived! Stay tuned for further developments from our dynamic KSP team as we push forward with innovation and progress. There's much more excitement on the horizon as we harness the potential of this new technology to enhance our operations and drive even greater success.