June 2020

30 n ROBOTICS, AUTOMATION AND MACHINE-BUILDING June 2020 www.drivesncontrols.com Mobile robots are in fashion at Superdry S ince it was founded in 1985, the Superdry fashion brand has experienced phenomenal growth, and now has 768 stores in 65 countries. In 2019, it reported revenues of £871m. Maintaining high product availability, efficient fulfilment and the rapid processing of returns are essential for Superdry’s multiple channels – retail, wholesale and e- commerce. This requires fast, accurate and efficient picking of products from its range of more 60,000 SKUs (Stock Keeping Units), held at three regional distribution centres in the UK, Europe and the US. Keeping pace with demand during peak periods can place a heavy burden on manual picking, especially when labour resources are tight. The company is therefore transforming its distribution operations using automation to boost the capacity and productivity of its order-picking processes. No walking In a significant departure from its traditional approach to warehousing, which has relied mainly on manual processes, Superdry is rolling out goods-to-person robotic systems in its distribution centres. These robotic vehicles work with manual pickers, selecting and lifting modular pick-walls automatically and transporting them to pick-to-light stations where a predetermined pick-face is presented to the workers. Guided by the pick-to-light technology, they select, scan and place items for maximum speed and accuracy. Walking is eliminated, allowing the workers to perform up to 600 picks per hour, with 99.9% accuracy. “The adoption of robotics has come about through a requirement to cut operating costs and to reduce our reliance on labour,” explains Gordon Knox, Superdry’s director of logistics. “The headcount we needed to attract during peak periods was resulting in us having to adjust our pay structure beyond what we ideally wanted to pay. “To increase outbound capacity, it wasn’t just a matter of hiring 10 more pickers,” he adds. “It was a case of ramping up other activities, such as replenishment, to support those additional pickers.” Superdry was not originally planning to use robots. A few years ago, faced with The Superdry fashion brand is using automated transporters to transform the order-picking and put-away operations at its UK hub as part of a phased global roll-out of goods-to-person robots designed to boost productivity in its fulfilment centres.