Wise Robotics and Hikrobot – Bringing robotic automation to UK SMEs
|Article by Megan Gee
Wise Robotics is very excited to formally announce our partnership with the globally leading robotics producer, Hikrobot.
Based in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in the province of Zhejiang, Hikrobot is behind several truly exceptional advancements in the field of industrial automation. With over 1,000 employees globally, 800 of whom are R&D engineers, Hikrobot leads the way in everything from warehouse robotics, machine vision, and unmanned aerial vehicles.At the beginning of 2020, Hikrobot had deployed over 1,900 of its robots around the world. End users were seeing labour costs falling by 50%, and 90% increase in overall efficiency. These kinds of numbers are why Hikrobot is synonymous with robotic advancements of all kinds. Their creations are impacting sectors as varied as electronics, semiconductors, vehicle manufacture, b2c e-commerce, 3PL, food and beverages, footwear and apparel, and pharmaceuticals.By partnering with WR, Hikrobot is looking to make robotic automation much more accessible to the small and medium sized businesses of the UK. This will be further enhanced thanks to WR’s sister company OrderWise and their experience with warehouse management software (WMS), and enterprise resource planning (ERP).
WR will be making four of Hikrobot’s goods-to-person robots available. Two of the most notable being the Q3 automated guided vehicle, and the new CTU, the Container Transport Unit which features an omni-directional forklift system able to carry up to five containers at once.
Both of these innovative, efficient, and highly advanced systems have won prestigious Red Dot awards in the category of product design. Speaking about the Q3, the Red Dot jury committee said: “Complex on the inside, compact on the outside – the sophisticated design of this automated guided vehicle conveys a high degree of reliability and appeal.”
Speaking of their excitement, Mr Shawn Huo, Hikrobot’s General Manager for overseas business, commented:
“WR has an exceptional reputation and with decades of experience in the warehouse and order fulfilment space.
“With a really strong heritage in delivering warehouse operations for 3PL, wholesale and retail customers; and developing WMS and ERP software, this is a natural alliance which will break down barriers to bring game-changing robotic automation to more UK warehouses.”
David Hallam, Chief Executive Officer of WR said:
“Ecommerce has experienced a huge surge as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This has brought into stark relief the tremendous resilience of the supply chain; but it’s also identified areas where investment could significantly increase capacity and productivity.
“Thanks to our new partnership with Hikrobot, an integrated warehouse solution with the world’s best robotic automation is no-longer out of reach for many. Faster fulfilment and increased accuracy is now possible without the need for expensive infrastructure and it’s all achievable whilst reducing operational costs too.”
To discover what these new robots can do for your business, why not come and see for yourself. WR’s new mock warehouse demonstration centre is open, fully operational, and fully compliant with all current social distancing guidelines. Find out what robotic automation can truly mean for your business.
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