#69: Collaborative robots in the warehouse (Mike Johnson, Pres/COO/Founder and Al Dekin, SVP/Founder at Locus Robotics)

Locus Robotics is globally leading provider of collaborative mobile
robots and warehouse automation solutions. The founders were early
adopters of robotics technology to improve warehouse productivity.
We have two of those founders on today's episode of the BVL.digital
Podcast: Mike Johnson, President, COO, Co-Founder and Al Dekin,
Co-Founder and SVP of Locus Robotics. The US-based company has very
ambitious plans for the European market. Together with our host
Boris Felgendreher Mike and Al discuss the following topics: - How
the founders were first inspired by early generation Kiva robots in
2008 - The early days and successes at Quiet Logistics, the
tech-enabled 3PL Mike and Al founded - How Mike and Al experienced
Amazon's acquisition of Kiva Systems and the consequences for their
business - How the removal of Kiva from the market created the
momentum for launching Locus Robotics - The evolution of
collaborative robots over time - How e-commerce has evolved and
created new challenges and pressures for fulfillment operations -
State-of-the-art collaborative robots in 2021 - What's the special
sauce, the core differentiator of Locus Robotics - The value of the
data being generated in the warehouse and how it can be leveraged -
The importance of robot-human interaction: How the warehouse
associates interact with the collaborative robots - Integrating
multiple systems inside the warehouse - Plans for the expansion
into Europe - The war for talent heating up - The future outlook on
collaborative robots and on Locus Robotics - and more For more
information about Locus Robotics: https://locusrobotics.com/ For
more information about BVL.digital: https://bvl-digital.de/ For
more information about BVL: https://www.bvl.de/