Interviews – KEBA, Fameccanica and GIRO share their latest innovations

At Parcel+Post Expo, held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, last week, CEP-Research spoke exclusively to three leading suppliers in the delivery sector to find out what new products and solutions they are bringing to the market, with the firms showcasing everything from modular and secure lockers to flexible route optimisation tools, and AI-powered robotic parcel handling solutions.

Korinna Aschauer, Product Marketing Manager, KEBA Handover Automation on the firm’s next-generation locker system:

“Our new parcel locker system, called Loxmate, is a very modular solution. Up to 26 double columns can be placed next to each other. The solution also features a seven-inch touchscreen display. The locker is supported by solar power from solar panels on the roof. This means it can be installed quickly – in around 15 minutes – and at a low operational cost, because no site preparations are needed, and it operates without an electricity connection. Furthermore, because Loxmate is modular, locker installations can be easily expanded or reduced during their lifetime to meet demand.

“The Loxmate solution has also been designed with the highest security in mind. It features a child-proof feature, where the lowest compartments can’t be closed after a specific period [about 90 seconds] so children can’t get locked in. And the housing itself is very secure.

“We also offer lifecycle management services, which means that we try and keep the lockers in the field for as long as possible. They are upgraded when new rules or regulations come into force, for example. Lockers can be a big investment, so we want to make their lifetime as long as possible for our customers. These kinds of features have been built over time based on our experiences. Today we have more than 20 million boxes installed around the world.”

“We have built an algorithm to meet this demand. It considers stability and only optimises efficiencies where required. For example, 80% of business operations are stable, and 20% is dynamic based on daily volumes. Therefore, users benefit from the driver’s knowledge, from the loading efficiency processes, etc., but still adapt efficiently to fluctuations in volumes. Finding the right balance, which depends on the specific carrier and their couriers, is essential.”

Rossella D’Onofrio, Marketing Manager, Angelini Technologies-Fameccanica on the firm’s launch into the parcel sector and its latest robotic handling technologies:

“Fameccanica was founded in 1975 and has a long history in providing high-speed machinery to produce personal care products, such as diapers. Around five years ago we decided to take on a new challenge and start the automation and robotics business, which leveraged our technical competencies. We developed a robotic application and alongside a big customer rolled out more than 100 robotic application cells within two years.

“We decided to attend Parcel+Post Expo to show the industry our offering. Our technologies include the Papick, ItPick and Depax robotics solutions, which are dedicated to the logistics and forwarding sectors.

“Depax is a depalletiser, which is a platform used in the warehouse and capable of transferring objects or packages of different sizes from a pallet. Depax combines robotics and advanced machine vision to manage the randomness of incoming pallets and perform depalletising with maximum precision. Depax processes up to 600 packages per hour with dimensions of 60x60cm and up to 30kg in weight. In addition to high efficiency, the system also can also help with ergonomics as it takes away the manual heavy lifting process.

“We also have the Papick automated sorting system for the collection of parcels weighing up to 5kg. This has been primarily designed for the e-commerce and postal sorting sectors. Thanks to AI integrated vision systems, advanced workflow management and efficient barcode reading systems, Papick can pick and sort, with a single robotic arm, up to 1,800 packages per hour with an efficiency of over 98%.

“And the ItPick is an automated system capable of picking individual products and therefore adaptable to different configurations. It has a high-speed performance of up to 1,600 cycles per hour and an accuracy of over 95%. It can effortlessly handle different product variants in terms of colour, shape, material, weight, opacity or surface flatness.”

Bastian Schilling, Business Development Director for GeoRoute, Giro on how adaptability and stability are essential in today’s delivery sector:

“Route optimisation is all about adaptability today. Carriers need to be able to adapt to changing volumes and customer demands, but what we’ve seen over the past few years is that stability is also essential. Carriers need to preserve the knowledge of their couriers, for example, so too much adaptability could increase overheads and delivery times. Because if you change delivery routes every day, couriers could get lost, and carriers don’t benefit from their on-the-ground experience.