Exotec, a French provider of warehouse robotics, and the E80 Group, an Italian provider of automation technology, announced a strategic partnership on September 10. Both companies, according to a press release, are developing a joint solution that integrates Exotec's characteristic Skypod AS/RS system with the pallet handling systems of the E80 Group. The collaboration is intended to enable customers to unite the handling of boxes and pallets in a single, scalable automation ecosystem. It should also offer end-to-end solutions for warehouse automation, reducing complexity by eliminating unnecessary equipment.
The partnership aims to reduce the increasing pressure on supply chains, according to the providers. E-commerce, retail, and wholesale activities are to be consolidated at fewer locations along the supply chain. In addition, the collaboration is intended to help strengthen process
security and efficiency as well as to meet rising service requirements. Until now, warehouse operators had to rely on separate container/box and pallet systems that required complex integration, duplicated infrastructure, and labor-intensive handoffs. By combining their technologies, Exotec and the E80 Group now aim to address this fragmentation and enable a seamless flow of pallets and boxes from inbound goods to outbound goods.
Focus on food and consumer goods
These challenges, the cooperation partners are convinced, occur especially in the consumer goods and food sectors, where warehouses must quickly turnover large quantities of full pallets, mixed cartons, and individual items. Against this backdrop, Exotec and the E80 Group intend to focus their joint efforts initially on these industries and offer tailor-made solutions for integrating pallet, carton, and item handling
in a single system.
Exotec delivers modular, turnkey warehouse solutions based on a range of building blocks, according to the press release. The “Skypod” system is to serve as the central engine for single-item and carton picking. The company’s own warehouse management software “Deepsky” acts as the conductor and coordinates product movements via automated devices inside and outside the system. The E80 Group, in turn, contributes its know-how in end-to-end intralogistics for production facilities and distribution centers: from unloading raw materials and finished products from trucks, through picking and storage, to final shipping with automatic loading. Control is performed by AGVs/LGVs and is coordinated centrally via the company’s own software platform “SM.I.LE80.”
“Exotec and the E80 Group not only offer complementary technologies—but we also share the same philosophy of
reducing complexity through intelligent, product-oriented design,” says Romain Moulin, co-founder and CEO of Exotec. “That is why we have invested heavily in the partnership with the E80 Group to jointly develop a solution that will set new standards for end-to-end automation in the food and beverage industry as well as for consumer goods—and beyond.”
“This partnership is an important step forward for the intralogistics industry,” said Gabriele Grassi, Deputy Chairman of the E80 Group. “Together we are not only integrating two systems, but also rethinking how goods can move seamlessly from production to store shelves or to the end customer in e-commerce. The combination of Exotec's flexible AS/RS with our end-to-end solutions creates a new automation model that is optimally aligned with the future of retail and the needs
