Office supplies retailer Staples says it is developing a robotic material handling solution for their fulfillment centers, powered by Great Star.

The automated robotic storage and retrieval system incorporates two types of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) into one unified system, that brings both high and low cubic velocity items to a single pick and pack station, says Staples.

The AGV used for picking items with a low cubic velocity, commonly known as “Goods to Person” technology, is adaptable to pick from existing industry wide storage mediums and can retrieve up to five unique items per trip. Items with high cubic velocity are picked with AGVs that replace traditional manual pick carts. The new system enables “Goods to Person” pick cells to be fed by multiple AGV’s simultaneously, says Staples.

Staples has already started to utilize the new system, and is targeting to have the solution implemented across their entire network over the next 24 months.

[Image courtesy: Staples]