AutoStore Redefines In-Store Automated Micro-Fulfillment For Consumer Electronics eCommerce Orders

by admin December 7, 2019

eCommerce growth in consumer electronics retailing continues to expand. Consumers are demanding more choices, and are more willing to change brand allegiance to get better value and service. To remain competitive, electronics retailers, whether big box or independent, require a presence across multiple channels stores, online, social networking and mobile.Same-day delivery and immediate local-store pick-up are no longer perks for eCommerce consumers, they are expectations.

eCommerce fulfillment presents a significant challenge for consumer electronics retailers. From the moment an online order is placed, to when it is picked, delivered or made ready for pick-up, every step in the fulfillment process must be handled accurately and efficiently to maintain a positive customer experience.

Managing eCommerce fulfillment of consumer electronics, components and parts from regional distribution centers cannot accommodate todays customized needs of consumers, nor can it sustain cost efficiency.

The solution: Micro-fulfillment at the retail store level.

Modular, Scalable, Flexible in Design

Perfectly suited for consumer electronics in-store micro-fulfillment is AutoStore, a modular, highly-automated eCommerce fulfillment system that is compact enough to be placed almost anywhere in-store, equipped to fulfill online orders fast and efficiently.

AutoStore delivers the flexibility and scalability needed for streamlining automated online fulfillment of consumer electronics, which is absolutely critical to accommodate increasingly higher numbers of SKUs, and seasonal spikes in ordering, said Karl Johan Lier, CEO and President of AutoStore in a statement. It gives retailers the flexibility to make more targeted decisions about where they believe automated eCommerce fulfillment will be most beneficial.

AutoStore provides the highest density of cubic space utilization of any automated storage and pick system. For example, 15,000 SKUs can be stored within 6,500 square feet. Modular in design, it can easily be configured to fit different store ceiling heights and obstacles.

Multi-Fulfillment Capabilities

AutoStore consists of a three-dimensional aluminum grid system of self-supporting bins that are moved to pick stations by independently-operating robots, providing swift and accurate movement of orders.
Each robot has two sets of wheels that enable it to move along perpendicular axes.

This makes it possible for all robots to reach any position, and any bin on the grid independently virtually eliminating the possibility of single-point system failure, providing near 100 percent system availability.

The efficient design and functionality of AutoStores pick-up points play a critical role in maintaining high-volume throughput for output workstations. Associates can consolidate eCommerce orders in less than 10 minutes, and put them back in the system for customers to collect at any time. Orders can be retrieved from the system in just a few minutes.

Customers can decide their preferred option to collect pre-picked orders, whether in-store, curb-side, or home delivery.

Focus on eCommerce

Twenty-three years ago, AutoStore pioneered the world of high-density storage with its now famous robotic cube-based, automated storage and retrieval system, continued Lier. This set a new course for high-density/low-footprint storage of single-item and small-case SKUs in hundreds of industry applications, including eCommerce fulfillment.

AutoStores technology and extensive use-case experience is now being leveraged for micro-fulfillment in eCommerce, where once again it is on the forefront providing automated solutions for electronics retailers, added Lier.

Founded in 1996, AutoStore is a global robot technology company that invented, and continues to pioneer, Cube Storage Automation. With more than 400 systems installed in 30 countries over a wide range of industries, AutoStore focuses on marrying software and hardware with human abilities to create the future of warehousing.

For more information, visit www.autostoresystem.com.