What is believed to be the first fully robotic parcel sorting system to be deployed in South Africa is now operational at the Johannesburg hub of e-commerce and logistics services company, BUFFALO Couriers.
The sortation system at the company’s 35,000 square metre multi-client facility was supplied and installed by Black Rhino and features 90 autonomous mobile robots from LiBiao Robotics’ ‘Mini Yellow’ range.
When planning the upgrade at the Johannesburg site, BUFFALO initially considered a traditional conveyor-based solution. However, the company’s management team was impressed by the energy efficiency and system up-time benefits that LiBiao Robotics’ robots offer in comparison.
Robotic system offer lower running costs and provide back up in the event of interruption to a facility’s power supply – a common problem in some parts of Africa, as they are designed with an electric battery and independent control system.
With conveyor systems, power outages can have a significant impact on parcel throughput speeds and result in increased operational overheads if extra unplanned maintenance work has to be undertaken following a power cut.
In contrast to conveyor-based sorting systems which must be shut down to allow essential repairs to be carried out if a fault develops, a malfunctioning robot is simply removed from the ‘shop floor’ and quickly replaced – without discernible drop to throughput capacity.
Installation of the new system was completed within a week, with BUFFALO’s warehouse personnel requiring little training to become comfortable with the technology.
BUFFALO has calculated that its warehouse personnel are now productive for around 95 per cent of their time – before the introduction of the LiBiao Robotics sortation system this figure was as low as 25 per cent.
Parcels are placed onto a ‘Mini Yellow’ robot at the system’s induction point. The package’s shipping label is automatically scanned and the robot receives instructions to deliver the parcel to one of a series of destination chutes located around the perimeter of the operating platform.
A destination chute is assigned based on the town or city to which the parcel is bound and the system’s navigation technology directs the robot and its load to the designated chute via the shortest route.
… [B]y investing in advanced technology and equipment, such as our new LiBiao Robotics robot-based parcel sortation system implemented by Black Rhino, we ensure the shortest fulfilment times as well as providing maximum protection and safety for our clients’ packages as they pass through the supply chain.
BUFFALO’s warehouse manager, Catherine van Zyl, says: “With our local delivery service covering city centres as well as remote parts of the country, we face a range of different logistics challenges every day within our business. But by investing in advanced technology and equipment, such as our new LiBiao Robotics robot-based parcel sortation system implemented by Black Rhino, we ensure the shortest fulfilment times as well as providing maximum protection and safety for our clients’ packages as they pass through the supply chain.”
“In today’s ultra-competitive online order fulfilment arena a highly efficient parcel sortation operation is essential. Our mission is to provide productive, reliable, and safe solutions that allow our clients to fulfil their orders in the shortest time possible,” adds Black Rhino general manager, Mike Zhang.
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