Paack co-founders | Image credit: Paack
US-headquartered Geek+, a logistics and warehousing robotics developer, and Barcelona-based ecommerce delivery startup Paack, announced on Thursday the launch of a large-scale autonomous mobile robot-based system in Paack’s distribution centre in Madrid.
According to a statement, it is the largest autonomous mobile robot (AMR) project in Europe and the first for the firm to manage both last-mile delivery and cross-docking activities. Over 270 sorting and picking robots have been deployed.
The distribution centre
Paack’s distribution centre is split into two sections: a picking area on the bottom floor and a mezzanine level for sorting. Using chutes, sorting robots transport packages to racks on the ground floor, where picking robots deliver the packages to the operators.
The new system allows the distribution centre to handle over 10,000 deliveries per hour and ensure order fulfilment accuracy of 99.99 per cent.
Jackson Zhang, MD of Geek+ Europe, says, “We are very proud of how the solution we developed with Paack has performed. This project underscores Geekplus’s commitment to automating the Spanish market, one of the most important to us.”
Jean Gateau, Key Account Director at Geek+, adds, “By entrusting AI-driven logistics robots with the sorting and moving of incoming parcels around the distribution centre, we feel Paack has set a new industry standard.”
Over 60 Spanish cities are served by Paack’s distribution centre, which is more than 27,000 square metres in size. The last-mile delivery for regions in and around the Spanish capital is handled by Geek+ AMRs, and cross-docking services prepare packages for long-distance shipping.
Paack also mentions in a statement that it is expanding its e-commerce operations and digitising its whole logistics process after a recent funding round in order to better service businesses across Europe. The project, one of the largest in the company’s history, represents a turning point for Geekplus’s expansion into Europe as well as for the development of smart logistics throughout the continent.
A sustainable parcel delivery company
Founded in 2015 by Fernando Benito Galobart, Suraj Shirvankar, Víctor Obradors Molins, and Xavier Rosales Cavero, Paack is a transport and parcel company with an aim to provide a high-value contribution to online sales via effective delivery time programming.
Paack operates in Spain, the UK, France, Portugal, and Italy, and offers coverage in more than 100 European cities. The company’s team is composed of more than 240 professionals who specialise in different areas, related to logistics, transport and technology.
Paack claims to deliver several million orders per month from 150 international customers, including 17 of the 20 largest ecommerce retailers in Spain such as Amazon, Apple, Inditex, AliExpress, Nike, and Nespresso, among others.
Earlier this year in January, the company raised $225M in its Series D round of funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Paack had plans to use the funds to launch new technologies, continue its expansion across Europe and implement more pieces of its sustainability agenda.
About Geek+
Geek+ applies advanced robotics and AI technologies to realise flexible, reliable, and highly efficient solutions for warehouses and supply chain management.
Over 500 global industry leaders in retail, apparel, pharmaceuticals, 3PL, automotive, lithium batteries, photovoltaics, electronics, and many other industries trust Geek+ for their automation solutions.
Founded in 2015, Geek+ has over 1500 employees, with offices in Germany, the UK, the US, Japan, South Korea, Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, and Singapore.
The company says, “We’ve helped brands like Nike, Wal-Mart, Toyota, Siemens and others to optimise their logistic solutions using powerful and reliable products paired with high-quality after-sales services. At Geek+, we work alongside companies like Microsoft and Intel to lead the next big revolution for supply chain logistics.”
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