WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Just four years since launching its solution, collaborative mobile robotics provider 6 River Systems (6RS) has been positioned as a “leader” in IDC’s first-ever assessment of the autonomous mobile robot market for order fulfillment.
The report, titled “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Autonomous Mobile Robots for Order Fulfillment 2019 Vendor Assessment” positions vendors as participants, contenders, major players and leaders based on capabilities and strengths. The IDC MarketScape named 6RS a “leader,” citing the 6RS solution’s flexibility and speed to deployment, along with the leadership team’s decades of experience in robotics as reasons for the positioning.
“6 River Systems' focus on the fulfillment process is a key strength,” the report states. “The pedigree of the organization is a key strength as well, having been founded by former Kiva [Systems] executives, giving the founders a sense of both what it takes to deliver robotics into fulfillment centers and a strong foundational knowledge of the operations for which the robots have been designed.
“This pedigree has enabled the company to take lessons learned relative to the deficiencies of one model and develop a flexible automation model that meets the needs of the parts of the market that are not a fit for Kiva-like systems.”
The 6RS solution is powered by robots called “Chucks” and cloud-based software. The Chucks communicate with the software to coordinate all the tasks on warehouse floors. The result? A fleet of Chucks working seamlessly and collaboratively with warehouse associates to eliminate long walks, reduce in-aisle walking and speed up warehouse tasks, including put-away, picking, replenishment and sorting.
“6 River Systems is one of two vendors named to the ‘leaders’ category in this report,” John Santagate, author of the IDC MarketScape said. “We have seen tremendous growth and evolution in the AMR market over the past few years and 6RS has brought to market an innovative solution designed to lead human workers though the fulfillment process. Not only is their technology innovative, the design of the product has been built out specifically to enable collaborative interaction with human workers in the fulfillment process. Additionally, the company’s system can be very rapidly deployed and enables users to quickly scale up and down to support periods of peak demand.”
6RS’ position in the “leader” category is recognized in the market. Leading 3PLs, retailers and manufacturers including DHL, XPO Logistics and Office Depot are using 6RS to fulfill millions of units a week.
“From the very beginning, our collaborative mobile robot Chuck was designed to lead,” Fergal Glynn, VP of Marketing said. “Chuck leads warehouse associates through picking. Our solution leads warehouse operators to faster training, increased accuracy and better rates. This IDC MarketScape positioning, along with continued growth in our customer base, validates our vision for the future of order fulfillment. It’s a future where fulfillment automation is flexible, powerful, quick to deploy and priced at a fraction of the cost of traditional solutions.”
To view a complimentary IDC MarketScape excerpt click here.
Source: IDC, IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Autonomous Mobile Robots for Order Fulfillment 2019 Vendor Assessment, Doc #US44843119, April 2019.
About 6 River Systems
6 River Systems was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 2015 by Jerome Dubois, Rylan Hamilton and Chris Cacioppo. Jerome and Rylan were previously executives at Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics). The 6 River Systems engineering team has decades of automation, software and operations experience and has designed, built and deployed the world’s largest warehouse automation solutions. The company’s goal is to make fulfillment faster and more efficient by building flexible automation solutions that generate immediate and lasting value for customers.
6 River Systems is supported by world-class venture capital firms and strategic investors, including Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Eclipse and iRobot. Amy Villeneuve, former president and COO of Kiva Systems, is a member of the board.
About IDC MarketScape
IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor’s position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors.
