Robotics efforts from Amazon and Alibaba highlight e-commerce’s automated future
Amazon and Alibaba have unveiled robots they have been developing at research facilities, and their plans to test or deploy them in warehouses and last-mile delivery. Alibaba’s logistics arm Cainiao Network announced plans to deploy 1,000 Xiamonanly robots to universities across China after having tested the unmanned delivery vehicle at 30 universities over the past year.
They found the robot could deliver 150 packages per day with a 98% customer satisfaction rate. Meanwhile, Amazon outlined the various robots it is testing at research labs in Boston and Northern Italy. Its most advanced are two “autonomous guided carts”, which the company has named Kermit and Scooter. Amazon said they would be deployed at its facilities later on this year.
Alibaba’s Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang said the pandemic brought about a “great fusion” between e-commerce and logistics. “We need to look at supply chain logistics not merely from the perspective of logistics, but as a result of digitalization,” Zhang said. As demand for e-commerce has increased, robotics companies have been looking for ways to use technology to make facilities and operations more productive.
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New COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia could exacerbate the global chip shortage issue
Fresh outbreaks of COVID-19 in Asia could create delays in the global supply chain and exacerbate the global semiconductor shortage. Taiwan, a significant hub for chip manufacturing, is currently experiencing a surge in cases, which have been on the rise since early May.
The outbreak is having a big impact on at least one major chip company in Taiwan. More than 200 employees have tested positive for the virus this month at King Yuan Electronics Co., one of the country’s largest chip testing and packaging companies. Another 2,000 workers have been placed in quarantine, cutting the company’s revenue this month by roughly a third.
TSMC, which makes chips for Apple, Qualcomm and other large tech companies, says it has not yet been affected. But the company has warned that chip shortages could last through to 2022, and it is unclear how the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan might affect that estimation.
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Home Depot charters in ship to battle supply chain pitfalls
The strains felt by retailers in the U.S. from struggling to get stock on their shelves, has taken an extraordinary turn with one of the biggest names on the American high street, Home Depot. It has decided to take matters into its own hands.
The largest home improvement retailers in the US have charted in a box ship to move its own goods. “We have a ship that’s solely going to be ours and it’s just going to go back and forth with 100% dedicated to Home Depot,” told chief operating officer Ted Decker. The charter starts from next month.
Home Depot is the third largest US importer by volume of containers, behind Walmart and Target. Retailers have struggled with extreme demand, high freight costs and many logistical shortages due to COVID-19 this year.
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