Oct 31, 2024

Parcel giant to invest in startup’s robots and AI, then roll them out to its network. DC Velocity Staff AI Powered Parcel giant FedEx Corp. is automating its fulfillment flows by investing in the AI robotics and autonomous e-commerce fulfillment technology firm Nimble, and announcing plans to use the San Francisco-based startup’s tech in its own returns network. The move is significant because FedEx Supply Chain operates at a large scale, running more than 130 warehouse and fulfillment operations in North America and processing 475 million returns annually. According to FedEx, the “strategic alliance” will help to scale up FedEx Fulfillment with Nimble’s “fully autonomous 3PL model.” “Our strategic alliance and financial investment with Nimble expands our footprint in the e-commerce space, helping to further scale our FedEx Fulfillment offering across North America,” Scott Temple, president, FedEx Supply Chain, said in a release. “Nimble’s cutting-edge AI robotics and autonomous fulfillment systems will help FedEx streamline operations and unlock new opportunities for our customers.” According to Nimble founder and CEO Simon Kalouche , the collaboration will help enable FedEx to leverage Nimble’s “fast and cost-effective” fulfillment centers, powered by its intelligent general purpose warehouse robots and AI technology. Nimble says that more than 90% of warehouses today still operate manually with minimal or no robotics, and even those automated warehouses use robots with limited intelligence that are restricted to just a few warehouse functions—primarily storage and retrieval. In contrast, Nimble says its “intelligent general-purpose warehouse robot” is capable of performing all core fulfillment functions including storage and retrieval, picking, packing, and sorting. The Top 5 Oct 30, 2024 Investing in artificial intelligence (AI) is a top priority for supply chain leaders as they develop their organization’s technology roadmap, according to data from research and consulting firm Gartner. AI—including machine learning—and Generative AI (GenAI) ranked as the top two priorities for digital supply chain investments globally among more than 400 supply chain leaders surveyed earlier this year. But key differences apply regionally and by job responsibility, according to the research. Twenty percent of the survey’s respondents said they are prioritizing investments in traditional AI—which analyzes data, identifies patterns, and makes predictions. Virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa are common examples. Slightly less (17%) said they are prioritizing investments in GenAI, which takes the process a step further by learning patterns and using them to generate text, images, and so forth. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the most common example. Despite that overall focus, AI lagged as a priority in Western Europe, where connected industry objectives remain paramount, according to Gartner. The survey also found that business-led roles are much less enthusiastic than their IT counterparts when it comes to prioritizing the technology. “While enthusiasm for both traditional AI and GenAI remain high on an absolute level within supply chain, the prioritization varies greatly between different roles, geographies, and industries,” Michael Dominy, VP analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a statement announcing the survey results. “European respondents were more likely to prioritize technologies that align with Industry 4.0 objectives, such as smart manufacturing. In addition to region differences, certain industries prioritize specific use cases, such as robotics or machine learning, which are currently viewed as more pragmatic investments than GenAI.” The survey also found that: Twenty-six percent of North American respondents identified AI, including machine learning, as their top priority, compared to 14% of Western Europeans. Fourteen percent of Western European respondents identified robots in manufacturing as their top choice compared to just 1% of North American respondents. Geographical variances generally correlated with industry-specific priorities; regions with a higher proportion of manufacturing respondents were less likely to select AI or GenAI as a top digital priority. Digging deeper into job responsibilities, just 12% of respondents with business-focused roles indicated GenAI as a top priority, compared to 28% of IT roles. The data may indicate that GenAI use cases are perceived as less tangible and directly tied to core supply chain processes, according to Gartner. “Business-led roles are traditionally more comfortable with prioritizing established technologies, and the survey data suggests that these business-led roles still question whether GenAI can deliver an adequate return on investment,” said Dominy. “However, multiple industries including retail, industrial manufacturers and high-tech manufacturers have already made GenAI their top investment priority.” Keep ReadingShow less