7 Top Takeaways from ProMat 2023

The booths are down, the McCormick Place floors are quiet (until the next tradeshow), and the LocusBots are on their way home along with their human colleagues, but the energy and memories of ProMat remain high. 

If you were there—or if you couldn’t make it and want to know what you missed—these are the top ProMat moments to remember from the team that worked our Locus Robotics’ booth. You may want to buy some fudge or Spanish food after reading some of the highlights.

Robots, Robots, Robots

There were more robot vendors than ever before on the show floor, and attendees loved seeing all of the robots in action. They also wanted to learn more about robots, as evident by the Robotics & Automation Theater at ProMat, where discussions occurred about warehouse robotics, robotic lift trucks, and more! 

Jason Walker’s Standing Room Only Session

On Tuesday, there was a record number of visitors (over 50,000!), and Jason Walker’s presentation “Automating Today’s Warehouse for Tomorrow” was a standing room only event. Walker, the VP of Market Development at Locus Robotics, discussed why you should find the best solution for your warehouse even if it’s not an autonomous mobile robot (AMR); the benefits of Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS); and how to ensure the right warehouse fit. 

The Launch of Project GreyWolf! 

The Berkshire Grey and Locus Robotics booths were abuzz with news of the Project GreyWolf solution! In the first innovative partnership of its kind, two leaders in robotic automation came together to provide customers with a no-compromise end-to-end retail and ecommerce solution, enabling them to maximize throughput, scale effectively, and optimize labor efficiency. Combining the Berkshire Grey Robotic Shuttle Put Wall (BG RSPWi) and the Locus Robotics Origin and Vector bots, customers benefit from fully automated order fulfillment, increased productivity and near-immediate ROI. This innovative collaboration transforms the supply chain into a competitive advantage, with combined near 100% typical SKU coverage, 1.5-2X picking improvement, and up to a 3X increase in productivity resulting in a 35-45% decrease in labor requirements versus manual approaches. Additionally, this full-scale automated system requires minimal fixed infrastructure, reducing the space required for consolidation by 70-80%.

Move What Matters

Did you see the bison riding around on Max in the Locus Robotics booth? (If you didn’t, you can catch it in Jake Hall’s LinkedIn video that covers all the robots at ProMat in under 10 minutes.) Hopefully you don’t have bisons in your warehouse, but we can help you move what matters, whether that material is 3 ounces or 3,000 pounds in size. No matter the size of your Brownfield or Greenfield warehouse—up to 1 million square feet or even more—we have the right bot for any task. 

I Want Candy

Ryba’s Fudge Shop in the South Hall was the place to be when a sugar craving hit for chocolate fudge, or chocolate mint, or chocolate peanut butter, among other delectable options. The sweet treats were first created by Harry Ryba in Detroit in 1936. He became known as the “Fudge King” of Mackinac Island, teaching his craft to his son-in-law, who in turn passed the recipes down to children and grandchildren to continue the tradition. 

Jose Andrés Spoke

On Tuesday, March 21st, Jose Andrés, who is one of TIME magazine’s most influential people in the world, shared his inspiring story about making the world a better place one meal at a time. Andrés, a Spanish chef, is the founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a non-profit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters as well as the Ukraine war. 

Logiwa WMS Met Sue the T. Rex

Logiwa WMS held an event Tuesday night at the world-renowned Field Museum alongside Sue the T. Rex to discuss high-volume direct to consumer (DTC) fulfillment with their current and future customers. The conversations were lively and all in attendance had a spectacular time. 

Now that you’ve seen what you missed at ProMat, you don’t have to wait until next year to improve your warehouse operations. Locus Robotics can help you now! From picking to putaway; replenishment to returns, we have the dynamic robotics automation solution to meet your fulfillment requirements. 

Talk to us and we’ll tell you more!