Automated Guided Vehicle in the Philippines by NuPON Technology
Since the integration of robotics into the production industry, numerous prominent companies had considered switching to an automated workforce, especially in the warehouse management division. Thankfully, some five decades ago, the United States introduced the development of the first-ever automated guided vehicle (AGV) systems. AGVs are basically custom-made vehicular robots designed to move items from a point to another without any human intervention.
This alone led to the integration of AGVs into modern logistics, making them one of the most essential and efficient parts of the business model. Automated Guided Vehicle work on the warehouse floor and are able to handle goods transportation both inside and outside. Thanks to their active and passive load handling equipment, these autonomous systems can take care of a wide variety of goods and materials. With the continuous optimization and system upgrades AGVs underwent through the years, they are convincing more and more logistics companies to adopt the technology into their own intra-logistics.
Venturing into a robotic warehouse might be the smartest move a company can make nowadays. As revealed by eMarketer, a subscription-based market research company, China’s e-commerce sales are estimated to boom to around $1.132tn in 2017 alone. This accounts for almost 50% of global online retail. With the country being the biggest robotics marketplace across the globe, it makes sense to take advantage of the benefits of Automated Guided Vehicle technology in e-commerce, making it a strategy to meet rising demands and increase efficiency in the workplace. After all, traditional logistics warehouses are known to be very labor-intensive, especially since all the scheduling, monitoring, and loading are all done manually.
Among the prominent companies that now use AGVs is the Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba. The company launched its first-ever smart warehouse back in 2017, the Tmall division based in China’s Huiyang district. The warehouse is manned by a swarm of automated guided vehicles (AGVs). They may be compact in size, but they are very much capable of preparing orders and moving goods around.
With their smart warehouse, Alibaba eliminated the manual labor altogether and replaced it with a digitized process utilizing big data, artificial intelligence, IoT applications, and edge computing. The warehouse features no less than 60 robots, manning a floor area of about 32,000 square feet. This significantly helped the warehouse staff increase their overall efficiency by three times! For example, one packing clerk used to walk an average of 27,924 steps around the warehouse every day before the robots came into the picture. Now, it was dramatically reduced to only 2,563.
Alibaba made use of the AGVs produced by another Chinese company, Quicktron. They are around the size of ordinary robot vacuum cleaners but are capable of traveling five feet per second and carrying up to a whopping 500 kg. They also feature a 360-degree rotation to easily access shelves and collision avoidance to prevent crashing into one another. Apart from being efficient, the Quicktron robots are also programmed to automatically look for a charger once they detect a low battery.
To make them work, instructions are sent to each robot via Wi-Fi. Every time Alibaba’s Tmall site receives an order, the robot is activated and automatically retrieves the item from the shelves. It then hands it over to the warehouse clerk, who is responsible for the sorting and shipping of the parcel. Once everything is done and complete, the robot then goes on standby and waits for the next order to be placed.
Robotics can be easily dubbed as the future of logistics. Alibaba’s model alone is enough proof of how AGVs can increase efficiency and sales in the e-commerce industry. In fact, the case study’s results were so good that Alibaba is set to expand its global logistics network, committing $15bn by 2022 and making their smart warehouse model the forefront.
But this doesn’t mean unemployment for the company’s workers as the robotics strategy did not eradicate humans from the warehouse completely. Instead, it only made their jobs lighter and less taxing than before.
AGV Supplier in the Philippines
When it comes to integrating AGVs into Philippine logistics, NuPON Technology is the most trusted AGV supplier in the Philippines. Since its establishment in 2000, the company has been a leading player in the high-tech tools and gadgets industry, promoting ease of living for traditional Filipinos.
They are also innovators in the Automated Guided Vehicle technology as they provide a wide array of AGV solutions for warehouses. The Quicktron AGV can carry a payload of 600 to 1000 kgs and is able to navigate around the floor area with its LiDar sensor guide, IMU, and 2D code. The Forklift AGV, on the other hand, is equipped with its own forklift, which can handle 1500 to 2000kg of payload. It can reach a height of 2.4 meters and communicates via Wi-Fi. For smaller loads, the Clark AGV is the way to go, as it is limited to 100 kg of payload and only communicates via RF International Standard.
For more information on NuPON Technology and their products, you may contact these numbers:
NuPon Technology Head Office
Filsyn Corp Compound Brgy. Don Jose, Santa Rosa City, 4026 Laguna, Philippines.
Tel: +63 49 530-1879
Tel: +63 49 530-2329
Tel: +63 49 530-1879
Email: [email protected]
WhatsApp: +639178675324
Website: www.nuponcorpphils.com
Cavite Branch
The Arcade Bldg. Blk 5 Stl 9&10, Holiday Homes, Brgy. Biclatan, Gen. Trias Cavite 4107
Tel: +63 46 512-0982
Tel: +63 46 512-0979
Subic Branch
83A 14th St., New Kalalake, OC
Tel: +63 47 223-8894
Clark Branch
Apartment#5 Jasmin St, Pineda Subd. Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga
Tel: +63 45 625-0162
Cebu Branch
158 Sangi Road, Pajo. Lapu-lapu City Cebu, Philippines 6015
Tel: +63 32 520-3285
Baguio Branch
#71 Sarok Road Camp 7 Baguio City
Tel: +63 74 246 2391
