Industry News

Over the past year, few industries have witnessed demand skyrocket like material handling and logistics. The pandemic forced a shift in shopping habits and challenged an already thriving industry into satisfying the sudden boom in demand from online shopping and home delivery. Amazon alone hired more than 100,000 new workers in 2020 to beef up its operations. The typical ebb and flow quickly turned into flow and even more flow.

To learn more about the state of micro-fulfillment today, I spoke to three system providers working in this space: Knapp, Bastian Solutions and AutoStore. Of course, they aren’t the only three: Swisslog and Dematic, who I spoke to for Monday’s newsletter, are also playing in this space. And there are others.

Toyota Material Handling is introducing a line of automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) that includes two automatic guided carts (AGCs), center-controlled rider and a core tow tractor automatic guided forklifts this week at ProMatDX. Toyota will also be previewing its latest future addition to its automated lineup—a three-wheel electric automated forklift.

At ProMatDX, Bastian Solutions is displaying its AI-powered robotic systems that allow robots to see, reason and act to unknown inputs and produce desired outputs.

Finding a well-planned strategy backed by data is key to creating a competitive last-leg fulfillment operation, systems integrator explains during ProMatDX seminar.

Michael Romano Title: Chief executive officer, Bastian Solutions; CEO Toyota Advanced Logistics Solutions North America Location: Indianapolis, Ind. Experience: More than 40 years in the materials handling industry.

H Mart, an Asian-American specialty grocer, has partnered with AutoStore, the Norwegian robotics technology company, in collaboration with Bastian Solutions, to introduce a fully automated micro-fulfillment center to support H Mart’s online grocery operations in Carlstadt, New Jersey.

GREENFIELD — Their clients are businesses that know what they need done. They just don’t quite know how to do it. “When you can’t buy something out of a catalog, we design and build it from scratch for our customers,” said Riley Buttry, general manager of custom automation for Bastian Solutions, a Toyota Advanced Logistics company in Greenfield. “A lot of times, what they’re asking us to do has not been done before.”

INDIANAPOLIS – Bastian Solutions, a Toyota Advanced Logistics company, will be showcasing numerous products and seminars during this years’ virtual ProMatDX trade show, April 12-16, 2021.

Where does the robotics industry stand today? Which technologies are attracting the most user interest? What does the future hold with respect to new innovations and applications? To get some answers, we asked leading experts from companies participating in DC Velocity's new Robotics & AutomationDX showcase. Here's what they had to say.

Though the pandemic slowed customer buying habits in its early days due to uncertainty, for Bastian Solutions, it came back with a vengeance in the last quarter of the year.

“We are very excited to have been nominated as a Best Place to Work in Kentucky. This honor highlights that the culture we have worked so hard to build and maintain is strong and healthy, despite external pressures from COVID-19,” said Aaron Jones, president of Bastian Solutions, a Toyota Advanced Logistics company.