Automated storage and retrieval system

So when we look at auto picker versus grid picker, and I guess I described auto picker, so I'll describe grid picker as well.

Grid picker is like kind of what you would expect in a cube-based ASRS, but you've added kind of the mobile manipulation technology on top of the grid, right? So the...

The robot is going through, it's going to the bin and it has a gripper on it, right? And it's going into the tote, the bin and grabbing the individual piece unit and then putting it into an order tote, right? As it goes along.

So when we look at those two, you know, side by side, like, well how do you determine like you just mentioned you know okay i don't i don't want to go get a new warehouse right because it's a big investment like we talked about right and uh you know how do i determine okay i want to use i should use auto picker or i should use grid picker like what's the determining factor or like what's the right use case for for either one

... multi-shuttle.

We had a, uh, crane ASRS.

We actually just, uh, decommissioned that, and we're in the process-

Oh

But, but I mean, y'all do have a lot of kind of advanced technology going on, as you, as you talked about there.

Mm.

Um, you, you talked a little bit about the, the total cost of ownership assessment and, you know, specifically around, like, Exotec, but I'm curious, uh, you mentioned that you're moving from, like, a, a crane-based ASRS, right, to, to the-

Yep

Um, really the analytics part, but, you know, I know I've been in that warehouse, um, and that distribution center.

I know they have ASRS and they have other technologies they use to actually improve that process.

Continues to actually evolve, saying, "How can I actually make sure..." Because if you think about it, a pallet of the wine, how heavy is that? So back before, you used a forklift, either a power jack.

Now, how do I eliminate any safety issues-

I think one gap in the industry that I have yet to have seen a technology fill in production, but we're really excited about getting one in the lab, is when you build a mixed case pallet, Every supplier out there requires the cases to be in a perfect sequence in order to build that pallet.

And that's really great if you have an ASRS case storage solution, but 3PLs operate in a little skinnier terms than that.

So we're going to be testing a technology that could enable random pallet building with mixed SKUs.

And that is going to unlock a huge opportunity for 3PLs and supply chain in general to is to alleviate the need for sequencing on that.

They're kind of low cost, easy entry, no infrastructure change, right? So for those...

operators that are like risk averse like oh my god i don't want to stop my whole business and cut out this part of my warehouse to put in something right that's an easy starting point is is amrs and they work right and they're designed for certain things um we'll talk about case flow and case picking in the aisle but that's another one we can get into but i think those are things i think about then i start to think about okay i'm maybe a little more sophisticated maybe my volumes are higher Maybe I start thinking about ASRS, right? Things like AutoStore and Exotech.

Those companies are scaling like crazy now.

You know, 10 years ago, they were early adopting things.

You either have huge volumes like a Walmart or one of the large grocery chains or what have you, and you've installed a Symbotic or a Weetron and you're spending $150 million, right? So that's like the high-end, super big infrastructure.

Most companies avoid that because they don't have the volume and expenses there and the ROI doesn't work for them, right? So there's really not a lot of in-between unless you say, okay, I'm going to go for...

an ASRS, like a auto store, an Exotec, and I'm going to spend 10 to $50 million and I've got to shut down part of my building.

And again, I've got some expense there.