Designed Conveyor Systems and URBX partner on high-density, robotic AS/RS solution

Designed Conveyor Systems (DCS) and URBX have signed an agreement making DCS the first material handling systems integrator authorized to implement URBX’s high-density/high-throughput goods-to-person robotic automated storage and retrieval (AS/RS) solution.

Initially developed at Mass Robotics — the leading robotics incubator of Amazon Robotics, iRobot, and Locus— URBX formally introduced its solution to the fulfillment market in 2023. The URBX system leverages robotics and automation to serve omni-channel retailers with the unique ability to pick and pack multi-item orders in minutes, DCS explained.

The system’s vertical construction can reach heights up to 125 feet with 75 levels of totes stored in a double-deep configuration. Accessed by multiple, free-roaming, dual-robots, the system fills orders up to eight times faster than competitors’ equipment. Thanks to the system’s random access to all inventory and high-density storage, 50-line orders can be fulfilled in less than 3 minutes.

The two companies are currently working together to develop a pilot installation for a DCS customer, said Matt Ferguson, President of DCS. “We are excited to be the first to offer our customers access to this innovative solution,” he said. “The URBX system is truly a strategic game-changer in the retail space because it enables high-speed, on-demand fulfillment of both e-commerce and store-level replenishment orders.”

Additionally, the flexibility and scalability of the URBX solution complements the flexibility and scalability of DCS’ brand-independent, warehouse execution system (WES), DATUM, Ferguson continued. “The needs of our customers’ warehouses, distribution centers, and parcel handling operations continue to grow more complex,” he said. “Having the ability to integrate the URBX system into the brand agnostic solutions we design and deliver to our customers — along with our new WES — will position them with an even more strategic advantage in their markets.”

“Our goal at URBX is to bring automated, on-demand retail fulfillment to everyone. By partnering with DCS, we have an opportunity to help their customers enhance their competitiveness by meeting the intense demand for compact, high-speed fulfillment,” added Lincoln Cavalieri, CEO of URBX. “We look forward to collaborating with DCS now and into the future as they solve their customers’ unique order fulfillment challenges.”