International 3PL E-commerce Warehouse with RoboShuttle

Project Overview

A large international third-party logistics (3PL) provider specializing in cross-border e-commerce operations in the United States embarked on a journey of continuous innovation in warehouse automation. Four years ago, the company started with Geekplus's flagship traditional shelf-to-person system. As the business and their clients grew, the 3PL provider looked to the future and sought the next step of innovation to optimize their warehouse space and operations.

The facility handles diverse e-commerce fulfillment requirements, serving both B2B and B2C customers with varying order profiles and SKU velocities. The challenge was to maximize storage density while maintaining high picking efficiency in a facility with high ceilings that were underutilized by the previous system.

Geekplus responded with their RoboShuttle Tote-to-Person system, featuring the industry's tallest mobile robot. This advanced solution fully leverages the client's high ceiling to achieve maximum storage density, significantly enhancing the use of vertical space while taking productivity to new levels with picking rates exceeding 500 units per hour per associate.

Technical Solution

RoboShuttle Main Bot System

The RoboShuttle is the industry's tallest mobile robot, designed specifically to maximize vertical space utilization in high-ceiling warehouses. The main RoboShuttle operates within the aisle space, shuttling totes vertically and horizontally throughout the storage structure. The system employs intelligent dynamic slotting algorithms that optimize tote placement based on SKU velocity—faster-moving SKUs are allocated to totes at lower levels for quick access, while slower-moving inventory drifts toward the top. This optimization minimizes robot travel time and maximizes fulfillment efficiency throughout the day.

Key Features

The 500+ units per hour per associate picking efficiency represents a significant productivity improvement over traditional picking methods. This high throughput is achieved through the combination of goods-to-person automation, intelligent slotting, and batch picking capabilities.

The RoboShuttle system, as the industry's tallest mobile robot, maximizes vertical space utilization in high-ceiling warehouses. This capability allows the facility to achieve storage densities impossible with traditional shelf-to-person systems, effectively multiplying storage capacity within the same footprint.

The dual-robot system with RoboShuttle main bots and P40 companion bots creates an optimized workflow. Main bots handle vertical storage and retrieval while companion bots manage horizontal transport to workstations, ensuring continuous flow and eliminating bottlenecks.

Intelligent dynamic slotting continuously optimizes tote placement based on SKU velocity. Fast-moving items are positioned at lower, more accessible levels while slower inventory is stored higher, minimizing robot travel time and maximizing throughput throughout each shift.

The multi-compartment tote system with up to 16 segments per tote maximizes storage density and reduces retrieval operations. Multiple SKUs can be stored in a single tote, and the graphical interface shows pickers exactly which compartment contains their target item.

The graphical multi-lingual user interface eliminates language barriers and training complexity. The visual nature of the interface makes it intuitive for workers of any language background, reducing training time and improving accuracy.

Visual SKU verification with product images adds a quality control layer. Pickers can compare the displayed image with the physical item, virtually eliminating picking errors and improving order accuracy.

Batch picking capability for small orders dramatically increases productivity. Associates can pick multiple orders simultaneously at one workstation, achieving pick rates over 500 units per hour—far exceeding discrete order picking performance.

The real-time reporting and analytics dashboard provides management with comprehensive visibility. Supervisors can monitor current performance, plan future work, and optimize resource allocation across B2B and B2C operations.

Results & Benefits

Picking efficiency exceeds 500 units per hour per associate, representing a dramatic productivity improvement. This high throughput is achieved through the combination of goods-to-person automation, intelligent slotting, batch picking, and the intuitive user interface that eliminates search time.

Maximum storage density is achieved through vertical space optimization. The RoboShuttle system, as the industry's tallest mobile robot, fully leverages the facility's high ceilings to store significantly more inventory within the same footprint compared to the previous shelf-to-person system.

Warehouse space utilization improved dramatically by taking advantage of previously underutilized vertical space. The high-ceiling facility now operates at maximum density, effectively multiplying storage capacity without expanding the building footprint.

Picking accuracy is enhanced through visual verification. The graphical interface with product images allows pickers to fact-check items before placing them in orders, reducing errors and improving customer satisfaction.

Productivity increased across both B2B and B2C operations. The system's flexibility in handling different order profiles—from large B2B orders to small B2C orders—through batch picking and intelligent slotting ensures optimal performance regardless of order mix.

Challenges & Solutions

The primary challenge was the growing business requiring next-level innovation beyond the traditional shelf-to-person system. While the initial Geekplus shelf-to-person system served the 3PL provider well for four years, business growth and client expansion demanded greater storage density and throughput. The solution came through upgrading to the Geekplus RoboShuttle system, the industry's tallest mobile robot. This advanced system maximizes vertical space utilization in the high-ceiling facility, achieving storage densities impossible with traditional systems while maintaining high picking efficiency.

Another significant challenge was optimizing picking efficiency for diverse order types with varying SKU velocities. The facility handles both B2B and B2C orders, each with different characteristics—B2B orders tend to be larger with fewer SKUs, while B2C orders are smaller but more numerous. The solution combined multiple innovations: intelligent dynamic slotting positions fast-moving SKUs at accessible lower levels while slower inventory is stored higher; batch picking allows associates to pick multiple small orders simultaneously, dramatically increasing pick rates; and the multi-compartment tote system stores multiple SKUs in single totes, reducing retrieval operations. These combined strategies enable the facility to achieve over 500 units per hour picking efficiency across diverse order profiles.

System Integrator

Geekplus (Geek+) provided the complete RoboShuttle Tote-to-Person solution, including the main RoboShuttle robots (the industry's tallest mobile robots), P40 companion bots for tote delivery, the multi-compartment tote system, picking workstations with graphical user interfaces, and the warehouse control software with management reporting dashboard.

The project represents an evolution in the 3PL provider's partnership with Geekplus. Starting four years ago with the traditional shelf-to-person system, the relationship has grown as the business expanded. Geekplus's ability to provide the next generation of automation technology—the RoboShuttle system—demonstrates their commitment to continuous innovation and customer success.

Geekplus's expertise in goods-to-person automation and their understanding of 3PL operations enabled them to deliver a solution that addresses the specific challenges of cross-border e-commerce fulfillment, including diverse order profiles, multi-lingual workforces, and the need for maximum space utilization in high-ceiling facilities.