United Drug and Locus Robotics Honored at Robotics & Automation Awards for Best Use of Cobotics

United Drug, Ireland’s largest pharmaceutical distribution company, and Locus Robotics, the market leader in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for fulfilment warehouses, have been named winners of the “Best Use of Cobotics” award at the prestigious Robotics & Automation Awards in London.  The award recognises the innovation and significant added value of the Locus AMR solution to improving efficiency and productivity at United Drug’s Baldonnel distribution centre, while also improving the overall workplace ergonomics for workers. The LocusBots’ seamless integration with the warehouse team has enabled United Drug to efficiently meet growing e-commerce demand and double productivity.

Paul Malone, Head of Operations for UDD & UDC at United Drug Ireland, added: “Locus has been an invaluable partner in scaling our operations to help meet our customers’ growing demands. The LocusBots truly partner with our warehouse team to drive optimal efficiency and create better jobs and allow our employees to thrive in an optimised and safe environment. We’re thrilled to see this work recognised.”

“Locus is honoured to receive this prestigious industry recognition alongside our customer, United Drug. Our commitment to innovation, proven usability and fast time to value has helped them to optimise their fulfilment productivity and efficiency to meet ever-increasing order volumes,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “This award further validates our mission to provide cost-effective and highly productive robotics automation solutions for the e-commerce and fulfilment industry around the world.”

The Robotics & Automation Awards highlight innovation demonstrated by both British and international organisations in the application of robotic or automated systems throughout the supply chain, across logistics, manufacturing, retail, food and beverage, aerospace, cleaning and sanitation, construction, agriculture industries. Locus and United Drug continue to make great strides in optimising and improving efficiency across all areas of their partnership. By maintaining a dedicated focus on customer needs and closely managing margins, they have achieved significant gains in supply chain optimisation, inventory management, and order fulfilment.

United Drug Partners with Locus Robotics to Deploy AMRs to Improve Warehouse Productivity, Accuracy and Safety

United Drug, Ireland’s largest pharmaceutical distribution company has partnered with Locus Robotics, the industry leader in autonomous mobile robots (AMR) for warehouse fulfillment, to deploy 21 LocusBots at their Baldonnel Dublin distribution centre to improve customer order fulfillment productivity. The innovative, robot-driven warehouse automation system will also ensure order pick accuracy and improve workplace quality, ergonomics, and safety. The Dublin site deployment is the first of its kind in Ireland.

With the rapid increases in online volume, coupled with the lack of available labour, health care distributors have been challenged to rapidly scale to meet growing wholesale and consumer demand for quick, accurate, and cost-effective order fulfillment. Deploying Locus AMRs within United Drug’s Baldonnel warehouse will proactively position them to meet these demands with a scalable, proven, and cost-effective solution.

“This partnership reflects our ongoing commitment to deploy innovative logistics solutions that use advanced technology to address increasingly complex fulfillment challenges,” says Paul Malone, Head of Operations for UDD & UDC at United Drug Ireland. “In a tight labour market, the Locus solution helps us to efficiently optimise productivity across our existing labour force so that we can enhance our customer service levels.”

“We are proud to partner with United Drug to deploy our powerful and efficient multi-bot solution to support their warehouse operations in Baldonnel, Dublin,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Our purpose-built robotics solution seamlessly addresses the needs of United Drug’s distribution warehouses by eliminating unproductive worker walking time to dramatically improve picking volumes and shorten order cycle times. In addition, Locus helps to ensure key worker health, ergonomic, and safety.”

Powered by LocusOne, the industry’s smartest, fully integrated warehouse orchestration and execution platform, LocusBots are engineered for maximum warehouse efficiency, delivering optimal productivity utilising the latest navigation and vision system technologies. LocusBots navigate autonomously through the warehouse working closely and safely with associates to improve order picking productivity and throughput efficiency. They can be flexibly and seamlessly deployed as demand changes, supporting a diverse range of picking strategies and workflows.