Hai Robotics is working with Sinocare, a Chinese manufacturer of blood glucose meters, to deploy a complete set of Hai Robotics’ Autonomous Case-handling Robot (ACR) systems into Sinocare’s Changsha, China warehouse.
Sinocare’s warehouse spans around 3,280 square feet, or 1,000 square meters, and could previously hold 7,500 totes. The company was interested in increasing the storage capacity of the facility without also increasing the square footage, that’s why it turned to Hai Robotics.
Hai Robotics’ ACR System provides an efficient way to manage materials and is powered by HAIQ, a warehouse software management system. HAIQ manages all of the robotic processes in the warehouse, responding to fluctuating demands while maintaining efficiency.
For Sinocare’s warehouse, Hai Robotics is implementing a custom solution to manage the movements of semi-finished products as part of the manufacturing process. The company’s ACR solution uses its HAIPICK robotics and workstations to perform picking, sorting and transporting operations.
“The strategy of digitized and intelligent supply chain transformation, with the ACR systems’ help, will continuously foster Sinocare’s business growth now and far into the future,” Li Zhi, Senior Manager of Sinocare’s Engineering Department, said.
With Hai Robotics’ ACL system implemented, Sinocare’s facility can hold 12,000 totes, with a storage density of about 13 totes per square meter. The company was able to fit more totes in the facility due to its robots being able to operate in tighter spaces, with aisles less than 4 feet wide. The system also allows for two totes to be placed in front of the other on a shelf, with two shelves placed back to back. This created double-deep shelving and reduces the total number of aisles in the facility.
The robotic system also helped Sinocare to double its per-worker efficiency rate, while reducing the strain of heavy-labor tasks. Robotic arms grab inbound goods and place them on a conveyor belt, where autonomous case-handling robots retrieve them and deliver them to the appropriate location.
Hai Robotics’ solutions are being used in over 500 projects in warehousing, distribution and manufacturing facilities around the world. The Shenzhen, China-based company was founded in 2016 and can automate warehouses in just 1-2 months.
