Robotics for Automated Kitting

The OSARO® Robotic Kitting System

The enormous growth in retail subscription products has created an avalanche of kitting demand in fulfillment centers. OSARO's machine learning-enabled robots are able to sense, pick, and precisely place a constantly changing array of goods in curated subscription boxes. OSARO robots work at a rate at least equal to manual operation but with less overhead while providing a solution to the industry's severe labor shortage. Kitting for subscription products means better revenue predictability, increased inventory control, and cost savings for e-commerce retailers and fulfillment operators alike.

At a Glance:

Primary Use and Relevant Industries

Kitting to fulfill recurring e-commerce subscription orders with regularly changing products. Relevant to 3PLs, fulfillment centers, retail e-commerce.

Core Features

Smart picking
Identifies, picks, and packs subscription kit items into boxes.
Accurate placement
Accurately places items into a curated box to ensure proper packing fit.
Adaptable
Adapts to changing inventory and new monthly items on the fly. No previous registration required.
Flexible
Easily repurposed to work with different conveyors or AMR/ASRS systems as needs change in the warehouse.

Return on Investment

Depending on the situation, smart piece-picking robot systems cost the same or less annually than a human worker when purchased through a Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) contract. Efficient kitting with the deployment of smart robots may seem like a major financial investment. However, RaaS contracts cut costs by moving investment from a costly capital expenditure to a manageable, annual operating budget.

Advantages of Robotic Kitting

√ Adaptability AI-driven robots adapt in real time to new items. The size and shape of each item builds in the robot’s memory, which enables it to handle a large inventory of constantly changing SKUs. OSARO robots have a toolbar, allowing the robot to choose a different end effector depending on the object.

√ Precision Placement OSARO robots are able to place objects in a certain place within a box, ensuring that all items will fit correctly in a monthly kit. Precise placement enables faster processing without jumbled products obstructing box closure as well as lower material and shipping costs.

√ Flexibility Robots can be attached to a conveyor or easily moved to another part of the warehouse when needs change.

√ Labor relief Subscription product assembly jobs are repetitive resulting in high turnover, costly new-employee training, and a persistent shortage of workers. Kitting robots can work 24/7 and on short notice.

√ Cost saving. Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) contracts move warehouse investment from a costly capital expenditure to a manageable, annual operating budget.

Supported Item Types:

Boxes
Dry Goods, Boxed Items, Cosmetics

Pouches / Envelopes
Prepared Foods

Bags
Loosely Packaged Items

Cylinders / Bottles
Liquids, Aerosols, Foods

Tubes
Creams, Pastes

Blister Packs
Pills, Toys, Electronics

Multi-packs
Consumer Packaged Goods

Apparel (in bags)
Shirt in Polybag

Why work with subscription products?

√ Revenue predictability Customers agree to repeated purchases, which makes revenue forecasting easier for both retailers and fulfillment operators.

√ Expanded sales and fulfillment Subscriptions allow retailers to offer more products by combining individual SKUs into larger orders that customers are urged to buy as special deals or to solve a problem, such as choosing the right group of developmental toys (they might not otherwise have identified) for a growing infant in the right month of life.

√ Improved inventory control Subscription products allow fulfillment centers to pre-assemble packages for seasonal surges to better control inventory in the warehouse. Retailers can also reduce surplus products by adding certain items as discounted extras.

√ Maintain competitive pricing By combining multiple SKUs into one box, packaging and shipping costs are reduced allowing retailers to stay competitive on price in the face of relentless online competition due to scores of product comparison websites that allow consumers to shop on price.

We Work with Trusted Partners

We work with trusted automation equipment manufacturers, integrators, software providers, AMR/ASRS robotics makers, and other vendors through the OSARO Partners Alliance to develop the best one-stop solution for our customers.