Cohesio Group (Körber) launches new sorting AMR solution

COHESIO GROUP (K ÖRBER) LAUNCHES NEW SORTING AMR SOLUTION

MHD sits down with Nishan Wijemanne, CEO at Cohesio Group (Körber) to find out how the technology solutions provider is ready to transform warehousing and logistics operations with an increased AMR portfolio.

Cohesio Group (Körber) keeps a keen eye on all developments around technology, automation and innovation. According to Nishan Wijemanne, CEO at the company, he has been looking for opportunities to broaden Cohesio Group’s portfolio for a while.

“We work very closely with our

For Locus Robotics, this partnership gives the AMR provider access to a new market.

clients and therefore understand that there is a very eager interest in automation. This interest has been exasperated by the huge uptake in e-commerce we have seen since COVID-19. We want to make sure we offer our customers diversity and versatility in our AMR solutions and so have made the decision to significantly broaden our offering in this space,” Nishan says.

The past few months have been busy for Cohesio Group. After being acquired by Körber in September last year, the company announced in April this year that it would join 11 other sister companies and become Körber Supply Chain, as part of a global rebrand. This is a strategic move that Nishan says will help accelerate Cohesio Group through its next phases of growth.

Cohesio’s ethos is to continue to create and deliver tailored supply chain solutions so that its customers can transform their warehouse operations to meet increased demand and service level expectations. This philosophy is what drives Nishan to continue to look for new products and opportunities that will help Cohesio’s customers continue to keep up in the challenging world of e-commerce.

A NEW SORTING AMR SOLUTION

The first product that Nishan is proud to add to Cohesio’s AMR portfolio, is the new Körber AutoSort Mobile solution.

The Körber AutoSort Mobile is a sorting robot solution. It offers an alternative to traditional sortation systems in that it does not require a fixed track. The solution uses free-moving, independent robots that help businesses reduce their heavy reliance and investment in fixed automation. Instead, the Körber AutoSort Mobile AMRs offer greater scalability at a comparatively economical investment and thus a much quick return on investment.

Nishan says this will be a true gamechanger for the ANZ supply chain and logistics industry. He describes the solution as fairly simple, in that it utilises AMRs that allow dynamic sortation, taking the shortest and most direct path.

“This kind of flexibility offers significant efficiency and productivity gains over a traditional cross belt or shoe sorter. As this solution can also be operated on a table-top, this form of picking or sortation offers increased flexibility during peak periods,” he says.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, most retailers have seen a surge in e-commerce orders. Nishan says

that many of Cohesio’s clients are looking to explore further opportunities in automation and says the timing to bring a new AMR solution to market couldn’t be better.

“We have listened to our customers’ requests for more scalable and affordable automation solutions that can be installed in limited spaces or mezzanine levels or those that can be quickly deployed in pop-up DCs or dark fulfilment store, and I am very proud to add the new Körber AutoSort Mobile table-top sorting AMR solution to our existing AMR portfolio,” he says.

For Nishan, flexibility is key when it comes to warehouse operations and the Körber AutoSort Mobile solution offers ultimate flexibility. “Robots can be added during peaks in demand, and the system expanded at any time. The entire solution can also be very easily redeployed elsewhere in the warehouse. This is particularly helpful when you see spikes in demand for specific SKUs, which we know many retailers have experienced during COVID-19,” he says.

Cohesio has always recognised the benefit of offering compelling and scalable solutions, as opposed to largescale fixed automation and has been leading the way in this space. The Körber AutoSort Mobile solution now offers Cohesio’s customers a sorting solution that is scalable, affordable and flexible.

“The capital required for deploying this system is up to 60 per cent less than a traditional sortation system. Furthermore, it takes up much less space. We can also offer implementation timelines in a matter of weeks. For

Cohesio Group will now offer Fetch Robotics products to its customers.

these reasons, I’m confident that this system generates more than twice the ROI of traditional sorting systems,” Nishan says.

Ideal for a wide variety of goods across parcel sortation, e-commerce, wholesale and store replenishment. It can be utilised for picking, sortation, flexible table-top and mezzanine sortation and is capable of handling goods of up to 25 kilograms. Additional robots can be added to the operation in a matter of seconds, ensuring that there is no interruption in workflow or downtime.

“The use cases for this kind of automation are vast, whether it’s a large-scale e-commerce operations, retailer, 3PL or freight provider. Simply put, it’s for anyone who has a volume or pop up requirement for sorting products,” Nishan says.

FURTHER PARTNERSHIPS FOR GROWTH

Cohesio Group pioneered the goodsto-person (GTP) AMR solution powered by Geek+ into Australia and New Zealand in 2018. Since then, Cohesio has successfully deployed AMR technology across numerous logistics sites in this region, including a world-first GTP AMR deployment in a chilled warehouse.

The latest developments do not just stop at the new sorting AMR solution included within Cohesio’s parent company Körber’s product portfilo. Nishan is also excited to tell MHD that Cohesio will be adding two further AMR products to its portfolio.

“We’re very excited to also announce partnerships with two

The capital required for the Körber AutoSort Mobile solution is up to 60 per cent less than a traditional sortation system.

major international players in the AMR space; Locus Robotics and Fetch Robotics,” Nishan says.

Both US-based companies, Locus Robotics is based in Massachusetts and Fetch Robotics hails from innovation hot spot Silicon Valley.

For Locus Robotics, this new partnership gives the AMR provider access to a new market. “This is the first partnership in Australia and New Zealand for Locus, and we’re excited to bring this product to the Asia Pacific market,” Nishan says.

International logistics giant DHL recently ordered 1,000 Locus robots to deploy across 12 sites in North America, and Nishan says that he expects the Locus offering to be very popular in the APAC region.

“This region is leading the way when it comes to e-commerce growth. AMR has proven to offer efficiency and productivity gains for retailers and logistics providers and will be crucial in meeting the demands that e-commerce providers now face,” Nishan says.

Similarly, Fetch Robotics has received a number of accolades for its innovative product. The intralogistics provider was named as a Leader in IDC MarketSpace for Autonomous Mobile Robots for General Warehouse Automation in 2019 and was recognised by Fast Company in the category of Most Innovative Company.

“Fetch and Locus are both true market leaders in automation. It’s a driving principle of ours that we offer our customers the very best and latest in technology and automation. I’m really excited to see the great work that we will do with our new partners in the Australia and New Zealand markets,” Nishan says. ■

ROBOT DEPLOYMENT AT CEVA LOGISTICS’ MELBOURNE SUPER-SITE

After running a successful AMR pilot that led to a 400 per cent boost in picking rates for one of its largest e-commerce customers, CEVA Logistics Australia is leading the way with best-in-class picking productivity through the introduction of Cohesio Group’s (Körber) AMR solution.

The team at CEVA and Cohesio Group worked closely together to implement the AMR solution at the site in Truganina, Victoria.

A subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, CEVA Logistics is one of the world’s leading supply chain management companies. With more than 78,000 employees working across ten regional clusters around the world, it has a reputation as one of the world’s best logistics providers.

Operating across the automotive, consumer and retail, energy, healthcare, industrial and aerospace and technology sectors, CEVA Logistics Australia is one of the top five logistics providers in Australia. In Australia, the company operates a 250,000 sqm of warehouse, hardstand and breezeways for contract logistics and car carrying operations, and is home to many of its clients, including a range of e-commerce, industrial and automotive customers.

This site in Truganina, Victoria is one of the largest warehouses in the southern hemisphere.

Committed to its customers, CEVA takes pride in being flexible, agile and creative when it comes to custom solutions.

The company is currently engaged in a global push towards new and innovative solutions that will improve efficiency and productivity for its customers, with a particular focus on automation.

CEVA Logistics Australia understands the importance of speed of delivery and flexible delivery options for its newest e-commerce customer, a leading online shoe store.

This e-commerce provider’s business was growing at a rapid pace, and CEVA wanted to look at ways it could meet this growth in an efficient and productive way.

Meeting consumer demands on speed and cost of delivery is at the top of the agenda for any e-commerce retailer and CEVA recognised that it needed a faster and more cost-effective solution for this customer.

PROVING THE CASE

CEVA was first introduced to Cohesio Group (now K örber Supply Chain), at a logistics trades show in Australia. As a result of seeing the company’s solutions, CEVA decided to explore AMR solutions for one of its newest e-commerce clients.

To complete an order for this customer, CEVA was required to deploy 12 to 15 people using radio-frequency (RF) devices for picking and because of the customer’s rapid growth, CEVA was required to add more and more s taff to fulfil orders.

Cohesio worked out a data workflow and environmental analysis for CEVA and after seeing the predicted efficiency and productivity gains, CEVA proceeded with the project.

“With Cohesio’s AMR solution which is based on Geek+ technology, we immediately saw a very fast and efficient picking productivity and throughput solution,” Milton Pimenta, Managing Director CEVA Logistics Australia

and New Zealand says.

It was critical that Cohesio could deliver on its promise of improved picking rates and efficiencies in this first pilot as CEVA Logistics Australia was the first region to introduce AMRs.

“CEVA has a number of clients globally that they feel that AMR technology could be suitable for. As this was the first pilot for the business it was extremely important that we delivered on our predictions,” Samir Rafiq, AMR Project Manager at Cohesio says.

CHALLENGING TIMELINES

The project was signed off in October 2019 and went live in early January 2020. During this time, Cohesio integrated its solution into CEVA’s Warehouse Management System (WMS), shipped all AMR devices and trained all of CEVA’s staff who would be working with the AMRs.

One of CEVA’s main requirements was to ensure that the solution was introduced with as little disruption as possible, while also meeting CEVA’s challenging timeline of four months from sign off to go-live.

“This was CEVA’s first step into AMR solutions, so it was a great opportunity for them to see how they could implement AMR in different areas of the business,” Samir says.

The project took a matter of weeks to

The AMR solution is perfect for CEVA’s e-commerce customers.

go-live and includes eight robots working across 400 sqm of warehouse space.

As with every pilot, key performance indicators were established around productivity, time of implementation and integration.

“These were key focuses for us, and we’ve achieved all of that in terms of future growth. We now have a continuous improvement plan to see what this solution can offer outside of this e-commerce provider,” Samir says.

The AMRs have given CEVA fast and efficient picking productivity and throughput.

FROM TEST CASE TO FULL SOLUTION

In January 2020, the first pick in the system was completed and proved very successful for CEVA. The initial project was considered a proof of concept, and it’s now become a fully integrated solution for the company.

“This is the perfect solution for e-commerce. The beauty of Cohesio’s AMR solution is that nothing is bolted to the ground. Therefore, it is flexible, scalable and easy to set up anywhere in the warehouse,” Milton adds.

For CEVA, this pilot has demonstrated that this solution could work across a range of clients in Australia as well as worldwide.

This pilot was a test case for CEVA Logistics Australia to demonstrate that AMR enabled the business to meet the increased demand for its client in a costeffective manner, positioning it as a firstrate logistics provider. “This was a great opportunity to show CEVA worldwide how AMR implementation works with a custom partner as well as show that the key performance indicators could be met so soon after implementation,” Samir says.

According to Milton, the e-commerce customer is thrilled with the results of the project. “They are impressed that we have made this investment. They came to see the site a month ago and are thrilled that we’ve taken this next step in innovation and made the investment to improve our offering,” he concludes.