How Robotics is Transforming Supply Chain Operations

Robots Get the Munchies. Bots ride the subway to restock 7-Eleven. In Shenzhen, China, the future of urban logistics just rolled into the subway—and quietly boarded the train. China has deployed 41 autonomous delivery bots to restock 7-Eleven stores located within the city’s metro system. These three—foot-tall robots with glowing LED “faces” use AI-driven scheduling algorithms and LiDAR navigation to autonomously ride trains, traverse platforms, operate elevators, and bridge platform gaps—all during off-peak hours. Vx Logistics LLC, a Vanke subsidiary, manages the operation, with the fleet serving over 100 7-Eleven stores located within the city’s vast subway network. The robots operate during non‑peak hours, replacing human couriers who otherwise need to park on the street and unload stock. This isn’t sci-fi. It’s the real-time execution of a strategic response to: • Traffic congestion and curbside chaos • Rising labor and delivery costs • The environmental footprint of last-mile logistics And it’s not just about sandwiches and soda. Shenzhen’s broader “Embodied Intelligent Robot Action Plan” positions these #robots as a blueprint for future deliveries—medical supplies, parcels, even sanitation tools—through underground infrastructure. Why this matters: If convenience stores can be restocked underground via autonomous fleets, imagine what this means for airports, hospitals, stadiums, or campuses. It’s a signal that last-inches delivery—once an afterthought—could become a competitive edge in both speed and sustainability. Somewhere between tech novelty and operational breakthrough lies the next frontier of retail logistics. AI and technology are disrupting and reinventing logistics. Don’t fall behind; mind the gap. #Innovation #RetailTech #UrbanLogistics #AI #Robotics #LastMileDelivery #SupplyChain #Strategy

Amazon is hiring more robots than human employees. Today, Amazon employs over 750,000 robots, up from 520,000 in 2022 and 200,000 in 2019. These robots work alongside 1.5 million human employees, enhancing efficiency, safety and employee experience. Proteus is Amazon's first fully autonomous mobile robot, designed for safe, smart, and collaborative operations. Proteus moves freely through facilities, assisting with tasks like moving GoCarts without the need for confined areas. Cardinal is a robotic workcell that uses AI and computer vision to handle heavy packages, reducing the risk of employee injuries. Cardinal speeds up the sorting process, making operations more efficient. Amazon Robotics Identification (AR ID): An AI-powered scanning system that eliminates manual scanning, allowing employees to handle packages more freely and safely. Containerized Storage System: This innovation delivers products to employees in an ergonomic manner, reducing the need for reaching, bending, or climbing ladders. There are numerous Employee and Customer Benefits: 1. Safety and Ergonomics: New robotic systems are designed to create a safer workplace, reducing the risk of injuries and making tasks easier for employees. 2. Productivity and Efficiency: Robots handle repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on more rewarding work, and improving delivery speeds for customers. 3. Job Creation: Despite fears of job displacement, Amazon has added over a million jobs worldwide since the Kiva acquisition, alongside its growing robotic workforce. 4. New Job Categories: The integration of robotics has led to the creation of 700 new skilled job categories, showcasing the synergistic potential of human-robot collaboration. It is interesting to see how Amazon’s investments to robotics and AI is driving advancements in supply chain operations, enhancing both employee and customer experiences. What are your thoughts on Amazon's robotics investments? #AmazonRobotics #Innovation #FutureOfWork #Automation #AI #SupplyChain #WorkplaceSafety #TechTrends #RoboticWorkforce #HumanRobotCollaboration #ProductivityBoost

In the supply chain, there’s one automation performance metric that customers never stop talking about: throughput. Faster rate means more items can be processed in a shift, lowering cost, increasing capacity, and shrinking delivery times. Of course, robots that move faster have the potential for higher throughput. But if you carefully watch people handling items, you see that the biggest speed optimization is to work smarter, not harder. Workers achieve a significant rate increase by picking up multiple items at once, amortizing the time it takes to move those items to their destination. Most robots lack this capability due to limitations in end-effectors and planning systems. Those that can, like layer pickers, require the items to be grouped together in advance. AmbiStack is the first robot that can pick up multiple items at once without advance sequencing or structuring. It uses advanced AI vision systems powered by foundation models to accurately localize items on the conveyor, with motion planning systems to determine how to pick the first item with space for the second. This means that more items can be stacked in an hour with the same hardware, improving the ROI and capacity of operations like pallet building and container loading. AmbiStack works smarter, just like people do.