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Modern consumers increasingly demand the ability to buy anything, anytime from anywhere and get those things quickly. This challenges every retail supply chain. Despite this growing demand, retailers continue to manage their backend operations using legacy approaches that strain product delivery and availability. Manually-driven and traditional automation supported order fulfillment is too slow and inefficient to keep pace with today’s consumer expectations. To get the right product to the right place at the right time, retailers need advanced robotics that can overhaul their distribution operations.
Based outside Boston, Berkshire Grey (BG) offers diverse, AI-enabled robotic technologies that transform omnichannel fulfillment operations. “Supported by AI and machine learning systems, BG’s robotic picking solutions pick hundreds of thousands of different products to assemble eCommerce and store replenishment orders,” says Pete Blair, VP of Marketing at BG. The solutions combine an array of sensors, computer vision, and novel gripping technologies to autonomously pick an incredible variety of items from apparel to toys to electronics and more. Additionally, these robotic solutions integrate with pre-existing distribution infrastructure and workflows, making them an easy and viable upgrade for most warehouses.
Whether retail distribution centers employ conveyor systems, automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), or manual order picking processes, BG’s robotic picking solutions fit in to pick items with high efficiency. There are several solutions in BG’s portfolio. Some are conveyor integrated. Others make use of the company’s flexible mobile robots to convey and sequence both inventory and orders. The mobile robotic solution handles various totes simultaneously, while its integration with the customers’ warehouse management systems (WMS) allows easy prioritization of orders, allowing faster order completion. Besides completing orders for store replenishment and e-commerce, the solution is well suited to support order-online-pickup-in-store needs as well.
How do they work? The picking robots rely on software that uses computer vision, sensors, and machine learning to see the items in front of them and make decisions about the best way to handle them. As the systems work, they learn and store that knowledge in the cloud. When presented with unknown items or changes to the environment, BG’s robots determine the best way to react in real-time.
“We understand the real-world challenges of working with product data. We expect item data to be incomplete, inaccurate, or missing. We designed our systems to quickly learn about new products as they see them and adapt to the situation,” says Pete. “Through actual use, our systems constantly learn and get better at handling products, both known and unknown, which makes them especially suited to perform in cluttered and dynamic environments,” adds Blair.
Our intelligent robotic solutions pick individual items to automate omnichannel fulfillment in ways never before performed by machines in commercial settings
A Berkshire Grey solution is integrated with a customer’s conveyor-based distribution operations. The customer’s automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) delivers totes of items to BG’s robotic picking solution, and each robot picks 30 orders simultaneously. As orders complete, they automatically move from the BG solution to shipping areas in another part of the facility while new order containers are continuously and automatically added to the pick line. Multiple systems deployed in parallel complete hundreds of orders in a short time. Without any human intervention, orders for store replenishment and eCommerce are picked, sorted, and completed with speed and accuracy.
The company envisions the transition of warehouse operations from ‘person-to-goods’ and ‘goods-to-person’ workflows to scalable, reliable ‘goods-to-robot’ operations. To that end, BG provides continual support to its existing customers and plans to introduce more inventive solutions that make use of its core picking technology in the future.
Berkshire Grey Enters into Definitive Merger Agreement with SoftBank Group for Go-Private Transaction
Monday, April 17, 2023
BEDFORD, Mass.,: Berkshire Grey, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGRY), (“Berkshire Grey” or the “Company”) today announced that the Company has entered into a definitive merger agreement with SoftBank Group Corp. and its affiliate (together, “SoftBank”). Under the agreement, SoftBank will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of the Company not currently owned by SoftBank for $1.40 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $375 million. SoftBank, a strategic investment holding company with stakes in AI, smart robotics, IoT, telecommunications, internet services, and clean energy technology providers, has been an investor in Berkshire Grey since 2019.
“After a thoughtful review of value creation opportunities available to Berkshire Grey, we are pleased to have reached this agreement with SoftBank, which we believe offers significant value to our stockholders,” said Tom Wagner, CEO of Berkshire Grey. “SoftBank is a great partner and this merger will strengthen our ability to serve customers with our disruptive AI robotics technology as they seek to become more efficient in their operations and maintain a competitive edge.”
“As a long-time partner and investor in Berkshire Grey, we have a shared vision for robotics and automation,” said Vikas J. Parekh, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “Berkshire Grey is a pioneer in transformative, AI-enabled robotic technologies that address use cases in retail, eCommerce, grocery, 3PL, and package handling companies. We look forward to partnering with Berkshire Grey to accelerate their growth and deliver ongoing excellence for customers.”
The agreement, which has been unanimously approved by Berkshire Grey’s board of directors and represents a premium of approximately 24% to the closing stock price as of March 24, 2023, the last trading day prior to the date of this announcement. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the approval of Berkshire Grey’s stockholders and regulatory approvals.
Maersk Selects Berkshire Grey's Advanced Robotic Solutions for UK Showcase Warehouse, 2023 Deployment
Tuesday, August 06, 2024
BEDFORD, Mass. and LIVERPOOL, U.K.,-- Berkshire Grey, Inc., a leader in AI-enabled robotic solutions that automate supply chain processes, and Maersk, an integrated logistics company working to connect and simplify its customers’ supply chains, today announce their first collaboration in the UK. The project, to be deployed ahead of peak in its 685,000 sq ft facility at SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway, is part of Maersk’s key visions of leveraging cutting-edge technology to integrate logistics and offer flexible and resilient end-to-end solutions to its customers.
Details of the project:
• Maximize SKU coverage across a variety of Maersk customers / use cases
• Increase resilience and flexibility to the supply chain
• Continue to build on Maersk’s commitment to sustainability
• Fast deployment and minimal interruption to the existing warehouse infrastructure
The BG technology, deployed across multiple industry use-cases throughout North America, easily integrates into existing fulfillment processes to sort orders 3X faster, improves upstream batch inventory picking by up to 33% and handles 100% of typical SKU assortments, order profiles and packages. The successful deployment of the BG Robotic Shuttle Put Walls (BG RSPW) will enable Maersk to further optimize its warehouse operations and strengthen Maersk’s position further by providing a larger array of services for their customers.
"Berkshire Grey's AI-enabled robotic solutions have a proven track record across various industries in North America and we are delighted to tap into these benefits for our customers in UK now," says Fergus Whinham, Area Head of the "Fulfilled by Maersk" product in UK & Ireland. "This sophisticated, flexible system reflects our commitment to optimizing processes and better serving our customers in rapidly evolving markets."
"This project represents an opportunity for BG to collaborate with the Maersk team on their vision to take its customers’ supply chains to the next level; streamlining processes and enhancing productivity through cutting-edge technology,” said Steve Johnson, President and COO of Berkshire Grey. “We are excited to collaborate closely, leveraging our expertise and passion for automation, to create a transformative impact for Maersk and their customers."
Company
Berkshire Grey
Management
Fionna Jeff, CFO
Description
At Berkshire Grey, our game-changing solutions combine AI and Robotics to automate omni-channel fulfillment for retailers, eCommerce, and logistics enterprises serving today’s connected consumers.By transforming pick, pack and sort operations, our technology is a fundamental engine of change that moves you forward
