Locus Robotics

Webinar Registration: The P2G Advantage

Webinar Registration: The P2G Advantage LEARN MORE

Industrial Case Study

Brother Improves Warehouse Efficiency with Locus Robotics

Download the Case Study
"Locus has given us the ability to scale up as we go into the holiday season and see surges in orders."

Libby Wilson, Operations Manager

National Distribution Operations at Brother

Overview & Challenge

Brother International Corporation has earned its reputation as a premier provider of industrial solutions that revolutionize business and warehouse applications. 

Brother is a supplier for Locus Robotics, providing Locus with high-quality, custom robot motors for their autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). The unique partnership between Brother and Locus of supplier and customer allows the companies to leverage each other's strengths and resources to drive growth and success. 

Saddle Creek, an omnichannel supply chain solutions provider, performs Brother’s day-to-day warehousing operations. Brother worked with Saddle Creek in choosing the Locus solution to improve their warehouse operations and become more efficient in their picking. “The efficiency and accuracy of the LocusBot is a win for our customers,” said William Hardiman, Director of Product Operations in Brother’s Gearmotor Division. 

Locus deployed AMRs along with a suite of actionable reporting tools and dashboards in Brother’s Bartlett, Tennessee warehouse.

Critical Reasons for Automation at Brother

Scalability

Efficiency

Productivity

Results

LocusBots improve efficiency and accuracy for industrial warehouse associates

“The bots have really helped our productivity and throughput,” said Libby Wilson, Operations Manager of National Distribution Operations at Brother. The efficiency and accuracy of the LocusBots allows Brother to deliver products at a faster pace. Before bringing on Locus, Brother was picking at 30 UPH. After the implementation, Brother has increased productivity and is now picking at 100 UPH.

Because of the bots’ ease of use, associates can be trained in one day, becoming immediately efficient. The bots have cut down walk time for associates, reducing employee fatigue and increasing employee morale. “The bot does the hard work and the traveling for the associate, so they are not as tired from a long day of pushing and dragging products,” said Mark White, Senior Supervisor of the Saddle Creek Logistics Parts Department.

Locus’s item verification ability was another deciding factor for the Brother team. Visibility of the product on the bot’s screen to confirm the product increases its pick accuracy. 

Brother is using Locus’ Dashboard features that identify high-volume pick areas and provide visibility into associates’ individual productivity. 

Combined with live WMS dashboards, management can track employee performance and make data-driven, real-time business decisions. “The Dashboards measure productivity in units per hour for each user and the robot so we can see at a quick glance if anyone is underperforming or if there are stellar performers that need to be rewarded,” said Andy Nichols, Operations Manager at Saddle Creek Logistics. 

Brother plans to expand Locus into other warehouse facilities, including the Brother Gearmotors assembly sector.

100

Units Picked per Hour (UPH)

Increased Accuracy

Real-Time Reporting

Reduced Training Time

“We carry fewer things because the bot will carry the load for us. And with a person stationed at each area it cuts down on a tremendous amount of walking.”
Dustin Bryant
Warehouse Associate, Saddle Creek Logistics

Learn more about Locus

See how our robotic warehouse automation solution can improve your processes