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RaaS: Robots As A Service for Lower Barriers to Automation ROI
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RaaS: Robots As A Service for Lower Barriers to Automation ROI
What drove Kindred’s decision to use a RaaS model?
Kindred offers customers the option to use the Robots as a Service (RaaS) model so they can pay for services, such as the number of items or parcels picked, minimizing the capital investment of working with robotic systems. This benefits the customer in many ways, while also encouraging the adoption of robotics in the supply chain.To get more news about Logistics Robotics, you can visit glprobotics.com official website.
· RaaS aligns the cost of operating AI-enable robotics with the volume the robots are picking. The customer pays only for the picks the robots execute. As the Kindred CORE/AutoGrasp™ reinforcement learning platform improves, becomes smarter, faster, and thus picks more items each day, the customer pays the cost of the increasing number of picks as the volume increases.
· The same is true for peak seasons. RaaS allows the customer to match the cost of picking and sorting to their peak season activity. Like paying for water or electricity companies can manage their costs relative to their business fluctuations.
2. What is the value add for this RaaS enhancement?
RaaS gives retailers the flexibility to adjust their fulfillment centers to meet rapidly shifting market conditions. By combining RaaS with moveable robotic systems, companies can adapt their warehouse configurations in a matter of hours. The flexible payment right size their robotic workforce without making enormous, possibly unexpected, capital outlays.
Kindred’s unique Smart Robots as a Service (RaaS) model gives e-tailers the opportunity to trial and implement robotic solutions without making a large capital purchase. With a pay-per-pick model, e-tailers can quickly scale up and down based on capacity needs – essential during supply chain challenges and new promotional periods.
3. Can you explain how the RaaS works?
Similar to water or electricity, e-commerce, package fulfillment, logistics and delivery companies can use robotics solutions like a utility service, without the upfront cost of purchasing equipment. With a RaaS model, retailers can quickly trial robotic solutions without making a large investment and experience invaluable benefits over time that mirror human capabilities. Additionally, a RaaS model with AI capabilities improves the equipment’s capabilities with each pick and can quickly scale up and down based on capacity needs.
6. What are your expectations going forward for RaaS in the overall supply chain/material handling industry?
According to Research and Markets’ Logistics Robots Market Report, the global logistics robots market surpassed $5.4 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow with a 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the next six years (2021-2026). Robotics as a Service is a powerful trend that will support how robots are adopted, deployed, and purchased during this explosive growth period.
Distribution and fulfillment robots previously considered “unproven” are coming into their own, with retail brands like Gap Inc., Under Armour and J. Crew Group having already validated that AI-powered robots work to increase efficiency. The RaaS model helps these e-tailers address fluctuations in demand that happen during peak seasons and year-round.
Today, retailers are deploying robotic solutions to fulfill the ever-increasing demand of e-commerce orders. Using AI-powered Kindred SORT robots, customers automate fulfillment and supply chain operations while increasing throughput. One employee can manage 3-4 SORT systems at a time, effectively tripling throughput, which is a win for both the employee and employer.