Uniqlo is a Japanese fashion retailer that is popular in many other markets as well. The company has recently overhauled operations at one of its warehouses in Tokyo. The warehouse in the Ariake district was once mainly staffed by humans but after a recent remodeling, much of the work is now being done by robots.
Uniqlo worked with Daifuku on this. It’s a supplier of material handling systems. The robots at this warehouse can now inspect and sort the clothes as per the retailer’s requirements. This shift has allowed the retailer to cut 90 percent of the staff at this warehouse. It has also enabled the warehouse to operate 24 hours a day.
The system has been designed to transfer products that are delivered to the warehouse by truck. It can read the tags attached to them and confirm the stock number and other information. When it’s time to ship, the system can wrap products that are placed on a conveyor belt and attach labels. Only a small amount of work is left at the warehouse that’s still done by human employees.
This isn’t a one-off project for the company. It’s aiming to automate all of its warehouses in Japan and across the globe on the same model and has earmarked around $900 million for the endeavor.
Filed in .. Source: the-japan-news