The largest smart automated warehouse in Taiwan is using robots from Chinese firm Geek+ so PCHome can meet next-day delivery targets amid a huge growth in online sales.

Hundreds of Geek+ shelf-to-person robots have been deployed in Taiwan’s largest intelligent warehouse, replacing the company’s person-to-goods picking operation. PCHome has measured a three times efficiency improvement.

With the help of Geek+, the 150,000-square-metre facility’s daily parcel processing capacity has doubled to an estimated 200,000 orders during peak sales periods.

PCHome was the first ecommerce platform to provide 24-hour fast delivery service throughout Taiwan, operating non-stop for 24 years. To meet these demands, it outfitted its automated facility with smart technology and automation equipment. The system can flexibly adjust the number of robots according to logistics needs, helping the company handle the surge in orders during peak periods more efficiently.

“The logistics park is equipped with AMR robots, shuttle rack systems and automatic goods yards that are rarely seen in Taiwan to enhance shipping efficiency,” said Alice Chang, CEO of PCHome Online (24h.pchome.com.tw). “Through cross-industry alliances with strategic partners, we optimise warehouse and logistics efficiency and strengthen the competitiveness of our ecommerce business.”

Geek+ has deployed hundreds of shelf-to-person robots, which shuttle full shelves of goods to picking workstations, allowing employees to work from a single station. As Taiwan’s first ecommerce platform to embrace the concept of green shopping, the Linkou A7 Intelligent Logistics Park also implements carbon reduction management.

“Geek+ robots can operate in a dark warehouse, reducing energy consumption while maintaining the tight delivery timelines that have become PCHome’s hallmark,” said Billy Siu, business development director for Geek+ in Taiwan. “Shelf-to-person order fulfilment robots also create a more sustainable environment for workers, enabling them to remain in one place while picking orders instead of walking miles and miles through warehouse aisles looking for goods.”

Geek+ (www.geekplus.com) specialises in mobile robotics technologies. More than 1000 global companies use its technology to realise flexible, reliable and efficient automation for warehouses and supply chain management.

• Geek+ in collaboration with SSI Schaefer has implemented its tote-to-person technology in Italy for Dr Max (www.drmax.eu), a European pharmaceutical chain. This is the first tote-to-person deployment in Italy.

Part of the Geek+ goods-to-person suite, it combines an eight-metre-high shuttle robot for vertical storage with a fulfilment robot for fast picking. SSI Schaefer (www.ssi-schaefer.com) and Geek+ have already implemented similar smart logistics options in several of the pharmaceutical chain’s European sites.