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In the ever-evolving world of robotics and automation, it’s crucial to understand how companies are shaping paradigms and harnessing technology to redefine the way we think about fulfillment. In a captivating podcast excerpt, our conversation kicks off with a deep dive into the founding story of Kiva Robotics, offering a profound look into the origins of the company and the core principles that underpin its innovative approach to automation.
Unpacking the Kiva Robotics Founding Story:
The conversation begins with a question from Aaron Alpeter, the founder of Izba, who expresses his fascination with the founding story of Kiva Robotics. He introduces the concept behind Kiva’s revolutionary design and delves into the framework that guided their thinking.
Kiva Robotics posed a fundamental question: What if labor costs were no longer a concern? What if they were inexhaustible resources? These questions sparked their journey to design a system not constrained by labor expenses. In their thought experiment, they envisioned two extreme scenarios.
In the first scenario, where labor was exorbitantly expensive, the focus was reducing the amount of time people spent walking. They conceptualized a system where inventory would come to the workers, minimizing unnecessary foot traffic.
Conversely, in a world where labor was free and infinite, they imagined a system where each item had a dedicated human handler. These handlers would sit in a row, and when required, they would walk to deliver the items.
Kiva’s brilliance lay in its solution that could adapt to both extremes. They introduced robots with defined storage capacities and a structured approach. These robots sat in a queue, ready to act when needed. It’s this innovative approach that defines Kiva Robotics and its distinctive journey.
Paradigm Shifts in Robotics:
As the conversation continues, Aaron shifts the focus to the broader landscape of robotics and the changes happening in this field. Jonathan Briggs shares his insights into the evolving paradigms and key technologies that are reshaping the industry.
Traditionally, companies primarily focused on labor costs and activity throughput when building ROI models. While these aspects remain significant, new considerations are emerging. Companies are increasingly looking beyond labor costs and activity throughput, taking into account the physical dimensions of their warehouses.
One of the critical shifts in perspective relates to warehouse space utilization. Warehouses are now being constructed with soaring heights, reaching up to 36-40 feet, but the actual productive workspace is often limited to the first six or seven feet. This paradox has given rise to innovative solutions like Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), focusing on the efficiently using vertical space. This perspective change empowers businesses to reduce their operational footprint, a particularly valuable proposition in an era of rising property costs and inflation.
Furthermore, the conversation highlights the importance of looking beyond throughput. While many fixate on throughput optimization, there’s a growing realization that this approach overlooks the factors that feed into the overall system. Delays due to dependencies between processes, waiting times for bots to arrive, and travel time are all essential considerations that can significantly impact efficiency.
A concept known as “Islands of Automation” has gained prominence, emphasizing the need for a more holistic view of the fulfillment process. Automation should seamlessly integrate all processes, recognizing that there might be several activities before and after a specific task. In essence, this approach acknowledges that fulfillment is not a series of isolated activities but an interconnected chain.
Nimble’s Approach to Paradigm Shifting:
Jonathan Briggs provides insights into how Nimble has adopted a paradigm-shifting approach. Nimble has introduced a unique measuring stick called raw UPH (units per hour) that evaluates productivity comprehensively.
This measurement includes shuttle time, picking time, and packing time, as well as accounting for downtime, wait times, and interactions with the system. By rethinking how productivity is measured, Nimble aims to optimize efficiency and throughput by accounting for the entire fulfillment process.
The company approaches robotics infrastructure with a set of core principles that prioritize adaptability, scalability, and comprehensive efficiency. Here’s how they are revolutionizing the industry:
Emphasis on End-to-End Efficiency:
Nimble has identified that the key to a successful fulfillment operation goes beyond simply optimizing a single aspect, such as picking or packing. Their primary goal is to enhance overall throughput, accounting for all elements of the fulfillment process. They recognize that to achieve true efficiency, you must consider every step involved in the journey of a product through the fulfillment center.
Their approach involves a measuring stick known as raw UPH (units per hour). This metric is all-encompassing, considering shuttle time, picking time, packing time, and any potential downtime or waiting periods. By measuring efficiency across the entire process, Nimble ensures a holistic understanding of productivity. This comprehensive measurement allows them to create efficiencies by reducing bottlenecks or wait times and optimizing throughput.
The Reevaluation of Traditional Kitting:
Nimble also challenges the conventional thinking around kitting processes. While kitting—gathering multiple items together for a single order—has typically been handled manually, Nimble explores ways to bring automation into this realm. Instead of merely focusing on the picking and packing stages, they consider the entire fulfillment cycle, even examining scenarios where pre-kitting is not the best solution. The flexible application of automation is central to Nimble’s philosophy.
By recognizing that not all kitting processes require robots, Nimble helps its partners find the balance between automation and manual labor. In situations where pre-kitting is essential, Nimble has solutions that can minimize the need for manual kitting and improve efficiency. This adaptive approach ensures the best outcome for the unique needs of each fulfillment operation.
Focusing on High-SKU Complexity:
One of Nimble’s distinguishing features is its emphasis on high-SKU complexity scenarios. Traditional robotic solutions have often been designed for high-volume, low-SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) environments, like those found in mega e-commerce giants. However, Nimble recognizes that the vast landscape of the logistics industry includes many small and medium-sized brands with highly complex SKU profiles.
These brands often deal with numerous SKUs, each with different characteristics, dimensions, and demand patterns. Nimble’s robots, equipped to handle this complexity, address a wider spectrum of the market, ensuring that even smaller or medium-sized brands can enjoy the benefits of automation. Their system’s adaptability is a game-changer for companies that might have considered their operations too complex for robotic solutions.
Conclusion:
The podcast excerpt paints a vivid picture of the changing paradigms in the robotics and automation industry. The founding story of Kiva Robotics exemplifies innovation that stems from challenging fundamental assumptions. Kiva’s ability to adapt to scenarios with drastically different labor cost considerations highlights the power of flexible thinking.
Furthermore, the conversation underscores the importance of reevaluating traditional ROI models and looking beyond labor costs and throughput. Maximizing warehouse space, considering square footage costs, and addressing the complexities of the fulfillment process are key trends shaping the future of fulfillment.
In conclusion, the podcast excerpt offers a glimpse into the ever-evolving world of robotics and fulfillment, emphasizing the need to challenge conventional thinking and embrace a more holistic perspective on efficiency and optimization. The future of robotics in fulfillment holds immense potential for companies willing to adapt and innovate.
Watch the Full Conversation here.
