Danish integrated logistics company Maersk is testing autonomous robots from UK firm Dexory at a warehouse in Kettering, England.

Maersk operates in 130 countries using containerised logistics and is working to connect and simplify its customers’ supply chains. The proof-of-concept (PoC) trial is deploying Dexory’s robots and integrated data platform into the Maersk facility, with room for expansion into other facilities.

This PoC was launched following Maersk Growth, the venture arm of AP Moller-Maersk, investing in Dexory’s most recent funding round, and serves as a proof point of the evolving partnership between the two companies.

Connecting, protecting and simplifying its customers’ supply chains is part of Maersk’s plan to harness the power of technologies, testing and scaling innovations.

The organisation recognises that for the future of warehousing there are many ways in which processes can be optimised. In this regard, the use of technology, removing the need for repetitive tasks and enabling staff to focus on key operations, using space wisely and more profitably, while attracting and retaining employees, is central.

As a customer-centric organisation, it is vital for Maersk to stay at the forefront of innovation within the supply chain and be able to offer its customers the opportunity to test the latest products as they are developed, especially as global demand and the complexity of supply chains increases.

As Maersk’s logistics operations expand alongside its warehouse footprint across the world, including in the UK and Ireland, the project brings an opportunity for a multi-disciplinary Maersk team to partner with Dexory to expand its capabilities and improve customer outcomes.

“Maersk partnered with us for our ability to help address the issues they were facing,” said Andrei Danescu, Dexory’s CEO. “Our robots and data visualisation platform will work together to help Maersk measure, track and locate goods across every logistics step, from inbound to storage to outbound. It’s reassuring to see such trust placed in Dexory from globally recognised logistics leaders like Maersk. We’re looking forward to bringing Maersk valuable data insights and expanding into other Maersk facilities”.

Dexory captures real-time insights into warehouse operations using fully autonomous robots and artificial intelligence. Using autonomous technology to unlock data and drive insights through all levels of business operations helps companies boost their performance and unlock their potential.

The fully autonomous mobile and modular robots measure, track and find goods across warehouses without workflow disruption. The data are fed in real time into digital twins, allowing logistics and warehouses to respond quickly to operational problems they face daily.

Instant access to real-time data helps optimise the present, de-risk the future and discover the intractable in each location and at every stage of the product journey through the warehouse and onto dispatch. Founded in 2015, Dexory aims to transform the data-gathering operations of warehouse environments.

• Dexory has launched DexoryView, a platform to change the way warehouses are managed using real-time data. It will be supported by Dexory’s tallest robot yet.

This platform automates data collection and builds real-time digital twins that unlock insights across all levels of warehouse operations. This allows companies up-to-date access to their inventory across the receiving, storing and dispatch stages from anywhere and at any time.

“The DexoryView platform offers a real-time representation of the state of your warehouse via an intuitive, easy to access digital format, including racking, all goods and machinery inside as well as the team working in the space,” said Danescu. “What makes the DexoryView platform unique is the way we constantly feed it with real-time information captured from warehouses through our autonomous robots.” 

The robot built to support DexoryView can extend up to 12m. With an array of 3D depth cameras and sensors, the robot autonomously navigates the warehouse using lidar to capture high-definition 3D scans of the space as well as any labels and barcodes on pallets, parcels or products.

These scans are fed straight into the platform to create real-time digital models of the status and condition of warehouse racks and items on them and are presented through an up-to-date digital twin of the warehouse.