AGVs and AMRs for Warehouse Automation | FORTNA

Solutions: AGVs and AMRs

Reduce labour needs with warehouse AGVs and AMRs

In a labour-constrained market, reducing excess walking or travel is the lynchpin to more efficient material handling operations.

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) can move freely around obstacles, allowing for the movement and transportation of materials without the need for additional labour or permanent conveyor systems. That enables increased productivity, reduced labour costs and damage and scalability to support growing operations.

FORTNA works with top AMR and AGV manufacturers across a variety of different solution types to design flexible, scalable, and modular operations that meet your business requirements.

Flexible. Safe. Reliable. Precise.

AGV and AMR units can be integrated seamlessly within even low-density environments and low-volume, high-complexity sorting applications. These solutions are available in a wide variety of configurations and can carry heavier payloads with greater flexibility and safety than previous generations of these technologies.

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are self-operating mobile robots utilised in distribution to transport products automatically and efficiently. AGVs do not roam independently in a warehouse but are guided by objects on or embedded in the floor such as RFID chips, barcodes or magnetic tape. Most AVGs are contained in a closed-off area.

An Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) is a self-operating mobile robot utilised in distribution to transport bins, carts, pallets and other storage media around a distribution floor. Using sensors and safety devices, AMRs can navigate around obstacles, people and production lines with little to no manual intervention, increasing efficiencies in your warehouse.

AGVs offer a wide array of compatible interfaces to work with existing equipment and facility design, while AMRs are focused on transportation use cases based on eliminating wasted travel, driving higher productivity and lowering overall fulfilment costs:

  • "Meet Me Robots" travel to meet a worker to perform a specific task like picking or replenishment.
  • "Follow Me Robots" reduce ergonomic and physical strain on workers by transporting goods alongside their human counterparts as they pick or replenish shelves.
  • "Mobile Rack Robots" bring inventory to workstations optimised for the most efficient picking or replenishment.
  • "Mobile Sortation Robots" offer greater flexibility without the need for fixed conveyor and sortation systems.
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We take a unique approach to identify best-fit technologies

The FORTNA Distribution Optimisation Framework leans into your data and our proprietary processes, tools and algorithms to design and deliver solutions using best-fit mobile solutions to meet your warehouse management needs.

We work with a deep bench of partners, but our unique approach allows for a truly innovative and holistic design that leverages best-in-class technologies, without bias toward any manufacturer or supplier. We can help you select appropriate technologies and work collaboratively with the chosen supplier to optimise your solution for exemplary business results.

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Powered by an intelligent warehouse execution system

FORTNA WES™ intelligent software optimises the design and allows you to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities for compounded gains in efficiency and insights. This unique software platform makes it possible to integrate solutions from virtually any type of equipment and swap out technologies without having to make expensive and time-consuming updates to your existing systems.

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Proof of concept and business case justification

Complex projects sometimes require a proof of concept (POC) to validate functionality and justify the business case before investing significant capital expense for the broader solution. At FORTNA, the business case is at the heart of everything we do. We will help you develop the business case, align stakeholders and obtain the Board-level support you need for your investments.

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AGVs allow us the flexibility to change routes or relocate in other parts of the building as required.

Associate Vice President

Canadian Tire

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