Robots lend a helping hand to ecommerce logistics

Recently we covered the major challenges ahead for ecommerce, of which ‘logistics’ was the biggest and most complicated one. Today we will tell you about one of the innovative and technologically advanced solutions ecommerce entities are adopting. Hiring robots! Yes you heard it right. Robots and automation have come to the rescue to iron out at least few kinks related to ecommerce logistics.

Who all are doing it

India’s number one cargo & courier service firm, DTDC has 25-arm robotic sorters in eight of their automated hubs. Abhishek Chakraborty, Executive Director of the logistics firm revealed this piece of information in an interview recently. It will cost them Rs 50 crore. Wondering what it does? The robot sorts 3,600 items in an hour that translates into one item per second!

Gurgaon based robotics firm, Grey Orange Robotics since their inception has set up 12 automated sortation systems in ecommerce/logistic firms including Flipkart, Gojavas, Aramex, Delhivery and DTDC. Amazon India too is likely to set up their first automated sortation system in one of its facilities.

Logistics start-up ECOM Express has also started using robotics sorting technology which enabled them to process 1.3 lakh packages a day as opposed to 60,000 to 70,000 before the shift.

Robots Vs Humans

Sorting one item per second is impossible for a human. But not for a robot. The current robotic sorter assembles 3,600 items per hour as mentioned above. And Grey Orange is looking forward to present a one that can sort 7,200 packages in an hour. When done manually, a parcel in DTDC takes two hours to be ready for delivery. That time is slashed down to 30 minutes when a machine does it.

Why the need for automation

Besides saving time and money, there are other factors that have encouraged ecommerce companies to set up automated stations. One is to meet the sudden rise in demand (during big Sale events and festive seasons), which is impossible to handle with limited manpower. And second is to improve efficiency of the process to reduce packaging\delivery error.

While Indian robotic projects cost anywhere between INR 7 lakh to 15 lakh per project (2014 figure), it also reduces operation cost by nearly 40% which is great in long term. Not to forget that it makes the process more efficient and safe.

To handle the ‘on-demand’ ecommerce model which has come into existence with the growth of ecommerce and mobile commerce, infusing automation & robotics in the supply chain and logistics function seems to be the way to go forward.