Chinese autonomous mobile robot (AMR) company Geek+ has deployed smart sorting robots in the warehouse of Athinaiki, a logistics and transport service provider specialising in last-kilometre deliveries in Greece.

The installation was implemented in partnership with FDL Group, an integrator for supply chain technology and the exclusive distributor of Geek+ AMRs in Greece and Cyprus. This is the company’s second project in the region.

“We are very excited to see our sorting robots provide Athinaiki with the speed and accuracy needed for excellent last-mile delivery services,” said Jackson Zhang, vice president of Geek+ in Europe. “With Geek+ and FDL, intelligent automation is easily accessible to Greek companies.”

Set in a 562 square metre warehouse, 29 sorting robots support warehouse employees by handling sorting of 1400 to1500 parcels per hour. Employees put ordered goods onto sorting robots that will automatically transfer them to one of the 104 sorting cages bound for different destinations following a simple chutes layout made up of QR codes. With no need for wires or fixed infrastructure, companies can flexibly scale operations should there be a sudden change in throughput demand by simply adjusting the number of robots and sorting destinations.

“We see it as our responsibility to explore new technologies that can help streamline supply chain operations and work together with local pioneers like Athinaiki to facilitate the transition from physical stores to ecommerce,” said Vassilis Karakoulakis, chairman of FDL. “Geek+ flexible sorting robots provide us with an efficient tool that widens our reach, allowing us to help SMEs and big brands alike meet customer expectations for accurate and efficient services to compete and grow.”

The technology can be immediately set up into existing facilities, saving infrastructure costs and leading to fast RoI. Controlled by the RMS robot management system and powered by algorithms, the system monitors robot traffic and balances the task of each robot to achieve maximum sorting efficiency, allowing three times more productivity and 99.99% sorting accuracy.

Geek+ has 300 global customers and has deployed more than 20,000 robots worldwide. Founded in 2015, it has more than 1500 employees and is headquartered in Beijing, with offices in Germany, UK, USA, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

FDL serves its customers in Greece through eleven distribution centres in Athens and one in Thessaloniki. The group’s activities are also expanding in Cyprus with five distribution centres, while maintaining a strong international transport network in France, Spain, UK, Portugal, Netherlands, Poland and Italy.