The Logistics of Logistics The Micro-Fulfillment Opportunity with Julien Seret
Julien Seret and Joe Lynch discuss the micro-fulfillment opportunity. Julien is the Vice President of Network Supply Chain at Attabotics, the world's first 3D robotics supply chain system for modern commerce.
About Julien SeretJulien Seret is Attabotics' Vice President of Network Supply Chain, where he oversees the fulfillment and delivery services business model. He is working with Microsoft, Accenture, and other partners to deliver a multi-tenant supply chain model that leverages data, the cloud, and shared pay-for-use robotics facilities, to allow consumer goods to reach customers next or same-day at the cost of standard delivery. The first fulfillment and delivery centers will start operations this year. Prior to Attabotics, Julien held multiple senior leadership roles at SoftBank, most recently serving as the Vice President of Global Product. With a focus on growth and scalability, he created and brought to market new robot-based products and services, in multiple markets including retail, hospitality, commercial cleaning, logistics and material handling.
About AttaboticsAttabotics is the world's first 3D robotics supply chain system for modern commerce. Inspired by the framework of ant colonies, Attabotics replaces the rows and aisles of traditional fulfillment centers with a patented storage structure and robotics shuttles that utilize both horizontal and vertical space, reducing the company's warehouse needs by 85 percent. By empowering retailers to place fulfillment centers near high-density urban areas, Attabotics helps create jobs and decrease carbon emissions by closing the last-mile delivery gap. Attabotics has been adopted by major brands including luxury department store Nordstrom and other retailers across apparel, food and beverage and home goods. Attabotics is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with fulfillment centers across the United States and Canada.
Key Takeaways: The Micro-Fulfillment Opportunity- Julien Seret is the Vice President of Network Supply Chain at Attabotics, the world's first 3D robotics supply chain system for modern commerce.
- In the podcast interview, Joe and Julien discussed the micro-fulfillment opportunity – and some of the challenges that comes with it.
- Increasingly consumers expect same-day, and next-day delivery, which means inventory must be located close to consumers who typically live in urban and suburban neighborhoods.
- Since warehousing space in urban and suburban neighborhoods is expensive and hard to find, 3PLs who manage fulfillment for brands are buying/leasing smaller locations hence the term micro-fulfillment.
- Micro-fulfillment locations are by definition smaller so they must use their space more efficiently.
- Attabotics has developed a 3D robotics supply chain system that enables warehousing companies to save up to 85% of their space. Example: a micro-fulfillment company that is using 100,000 square feet can reduce the space used to 15,000 square feet.
- The Attabotics robotic warehousing sortation and fulfillment system interfaces with existing and future warehouse management systems.
- Attabotics' unique structure configuration enables full sortation, sequencing and buffering capabilities within the existing footprint – stripping out the cost and space requirements for external sortation and providing this functionality within the existing footprint of the structure.
- The configurable geometry of the Attabotics system allows any robot to pick any bin. The system is extremely dense and is completely scalable.
- Robotic functions, including storage, retrieval, inventory, sortation, returns/replenishment, buffering capabilities, and workstations, etc.