How GEODIS Reduced Cycle Time & Increased UPH By 50%

Overview & Challenge

GEODIS is a leading worldwide provider of customized transportation, warehousing, global logistics, and supply chain solutions. They employ more than 50,000 employees across 170 countries. A GEODIS warehouse in Dallas, TX services seven different clients. The warehouse receives inbound international freight and distributes products to retail locations throughout the southern United States.

GEODIS needed to dramatically improve their picking productivity. Teammates were moving cartons of pet food weighing up to 200 pounds through the warehouse, requiring considerable overhead and effort. GEODIS wanted to shift their teammates’ productivity away from building and moving carts of food, and refocus on picking, packing, and meeting order fulfillment KPIs.

The GEODIS team decided to use autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to optimize logistics operations in the warehouse and chose Locus Robotics as their vendor. GEODIS integrated 12 Locus Vector with Cart AMRs across a 40,000 square feet picking area. The Vector AMRs are unique — they can attach and handle carts, allowing for the transportation of heavier products and increasing the throughput of orders per mission.

Results

Third-party logistics company reduces picking time with Locus Vector

GEODIS has seen remarkable results, with productivity improvements of 50%. Senior Operations Manager Jacob Shipman said, “Productivity has definitely increased with the Locus Vector bots. We've gone from 65 units per hour (UPH) to 98 UPH.”

Locus Vector AMRs have taken over physically demanding tasks from GEODIS teammates. Instead of employees pushing heavy carts through the operation, GEODIS uses Vector AMRs instead. The technology has reduced travel in the warehouse for teammates while improving accuracy. GEODIS has also improved handling ergonomics, reducing the risk of workplace injuries and emphasizing their commitment to safety and well-being.

Prior to introducing Vector AMRs, GEODIS had to audit every picked item for accuracy. Now they only audit 10 percent of the picks, because the Locus solution checks the right item has been picked two or more times.

Operations Supervisor, Kenneth Newman, Jr. explained some of the benefits of the Vector AMR system, "Before Vector, we picked using electric pallet jacks. The major issues using this equipment were the congestion they caused in the aisles, and the expensive maintenance costs to maintain them.“

Locus dashboards, metrics, and views allow GEODIS teams to plan labor, manage order volumes, and monitor throughput. Newman said, “Our teammates care about their numbers. They love coming to look at the board when they go to break to see how they're doing. It's like a mini competition for them to see who's picking the most, which supports engagement and retention.”