Robotics in e-com now a reality Deliver on demand; anywhere, anyhow

Covid-19 has disarranged the logistics industry to a substantial extent. However, the pandemic has created a ‘new normal’ wherein the fulfilment by logistics industries has experienced unprecedent growth. The delivery boys are busier beyond doubt. Customer demand is relentless in driving retailers, suppliers, and third-party logistics companies through multiple channels.

Suppliers are opting for best practices to reach their products to the customers through the best methods. The order channel does not matter anymore and getting the product to the customer is paramount, without a thought given to the shortage of labor. So, robotics is now being considered an essential tool to meet customer demand.

How are Robots Being Used in E-Commerce?

In its infancy now, the market for robots in e-commerce is growing. Here are the ways in which robotics may be used in e-commerce:

• Parceling the product ordered
• Unloading inbound trucks
• Heterogeneous-palletizing–separating products and keeping them in storage
• Sortation induction-grabbing goods and putting them onto a conveyor sortation
• Decanting –pulling items out of a carton
• On the outbound side, robots can be used for handling bins – grabbing an empty bin and moving it to a conveyor belt
• On the inbound side, for homogenous de-palletizing - bringing a homogenous pallet into the fulfillment center
• Each picking –(most challenging) when a customer orders four things and you need to build that order - advanced technologies like vision are required to process the order
• After pack-out-potentially another opportunity for outbound sortation on the truck loading side

According to some researchers, a whopping 77.24 percent of online shoppers leave their carts abandoned without completing the purchase. Robotics can change this by altering the shipping experience and by reducing the delivery to ‘same-day’. This in turn transforms the product delivery process.

While this may seem futuristic, South Korean eCommerce startup Woowa Brothers have already started demo-ing robot-based delivery systems!