Integration of AMR into an Existing Warehouse Execution System

Summary of Innovation

VARGO® has partnered with Fetch Robotics to implement a pilot project that integrates autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) into the Warehouse Execution System (WES) at a VARGO® client’s fulfillment center in Phoenix, Arizona. The goal of the pilot project is to increase the overall productivity of the pickers at the 400,000-square-foot fulfillment center, which was already equipped with VARGO®’s WES, known as Continuous Order Fulfillment Engine (COFE®). The impetus for the pilot project was a desire to reduce the time the pickers were traveling roundtrip from one point to another inside the facility by 10 to 15 percent.
In the Phoenix facility, the pick area is widespread, and pickers cover a large area traveling to an area to pick an item and then traveling quite a bit to drop the item into a tote. The time it takes for them to travel roundtrip, from the picking area to the consolidation area and back is about two minutes, and that is traveling on a scooter-type application. The goal of the pilot project is to reduce that non-value-added time, and to do so VARGO® chose to introduce AMRs, which transport the totes from the consolidation area to the pick zone and back again.

Innovation Statement

This pilot project that integrates AMRs into the WES at this fulfillment center included a customized solution for this client’s fulfillment center. The initial success of the pilot project is demonstrating COFE®’s ability to seamlessly integrate multiple facets of technology into the WES and do it efficiently, and it’s proving that the WES does not have to be designed around a specific piece of equipment.

Applicability

By thinking outside the box and customizing a solution to best suit the customer, VARGO®, in partnering with Fetch Robotics, was able to devise a solution in integrating AMRs into its WES in order to solve a labor problem and increase productivity for the client.

Posted Date	12/20/19
Contact	Brian Pulfer
Contact Email	bpulfer[at]vargomail.com
Category	Best Innovation of an Existing Product

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