At the heart of this uncertainty is a simple question: How do leaders make sure that digitalization makes a purposeful and sustainable impact on the business — and doesn’t just follow the next tech hype?

As new workplace health and safety needs surface due to the pandemic, these emerging demands require fresh, dynamic solutions. Among the potential tools to help employers adapt is robotics — a field whose focus on innovation has positioned its technology to be a perfect fit for occupational safety.

Out of over 4,000 firms surveyed in 2021, the report shows that the 10% making the biggest revenues invested heavily in Robots.

A radical rethink of the grocery value chain and long-term investment in labour productivity growth are essential. Tinkering at the margin won’t be enough, argues Ocado Solutions chief executive Luke Jensen.

With e-commerce orders pouring in, a warehouse robot picks mugs off a shelf and places them into boxes for shipping. Everything is humming along, until the warehouse processes a change and the robot must now grasp taller, narrower mugs that are stored upside down.

Amazon’s real estate footprint has increased dramatically over the past few years. At the end of 2016, the company had 97.3M SF of ground-level real estate in the U.S., according to data provided by MWPVL. The latest figures show an increase of 370%, with the company set to grow to 457.3M SF by the end of this year.

Bethlehem Steel casts a long shadow over Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. The blast furnaces remain, even though they went silent more than 20 years ago. The mill's closing took with it a big chunk of the region's high-paying blue-collar jobs, and the news at the time made it sound very final.

Although there’s nothing wrong with solely running a brick-and-mortar store or an ecommerce business, many business owners have implemented a “bricks and clicks” business model—in which they combine physical and online operations into a single retail strategy.

In Brampton, a 1.3-million-square-foot distribution centre for Canadian Tire’s online-ordered deliveries is under construction and scheduled for completion by 2023. The company also plans to expand a distribution centre in Montreal, and will pack its warehouses with new automation equipment.

Target sells things online, of course, but its primary way of interacting with customers is still through its physical retail stores. In fact, its entire online business is built not on warehouses, but on those stores. Target is using its most valuable assets, its stores and its people, to serve its customers regardless of how they want to shop.

The so far one-of-a-kind project south of Interstate 20 in southern Dallas County is an effort of two of the country’s largest warehouse developers — USAA Real Estate and Seefried Industrial Properties — to produce a more environmentally friendly building.

The line between Amazon and Walmart is becoming increasingly blurred, as the two companies seek to maintain their slice of the estimated $5 trillion retail market while chipping away at the other’s share, often by borrowing the other’s ideas.

Delivery company JOKR was also not immune to some skepticism in its early months. Last October, The Information reported that the company, founded earlier this year, “lost $13.6 million on $1.7 million of revenue, as of the end of July.

ABB GoFa™ cobot loads 1kg of bagged nuts into a carton. Working alongside employees, they match the speed of the bagging line, while ensuring staff can avoid heavy lifting.

For decades, robots have worked alongside humans. In the auto industry, for example, they’ve long been the most precise and reliable welders and painters. Sitting in place and doing the same job, over and over, has historically been automation’s sweet spot.

The Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund will focus on new technologies that will “increase delivery speed and further improve the experience” of warehouse and logistics employees, Alex Ceballos Encarnacion, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide corporate development, wrote in a blog post.

Micro-fulfillment is moving forward, but at a slower pace than previously forecast. Slowing e-commerce sales and achieving an ROI are two factors.

Micro-fulfillment is moving forward, but at a slower pace than previously forecast. Slowing e-commerce sales and achieving an ROI are two factors.

Set to open this year, the Corby, England location will serve food manufacturers and importers, and employ more than 250 people.