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Solution Overview
Revolutionizing Unit and Parcel Sortation
Tompkins Robotics' t-Sort solution is the world’s first portable, robotic unit & parcel sortation system.
t-Sort is a game-changing unit and parcel sortation system that performs much like a tilt tray or crossbelt sorter without a fixed track, allowing independent robots to travel freely to any divert or induction station along the shortest path, greatly enhancing efficiency and maximizing operational capabilities. Unlike traditional sortation systems that require a large upfront investment and have excess capacity that may be underutilized for years, the t-Sort system is fully modular and allows robots, chutes or induction stations to be added or removed instantaneously without any interruption or downtime. A typical installation takes five to seven months to go live, and the completely portable system can be relocated to another nearby location overnight, providing an added level of versatility.
Tompkins Robotics has 3 main robotic sortation models.
- t-Sort original model is ideal for less than 11-pound items and packages up to 27” x 18”. Used in e-commerce, retail, shipping and other applications.
- t-Sort Plus model can handle all that t-Sort can handle AND larger, heavier loads up to 120 pounds and 1.0 x 0.5 meters. Used primarily in applications for shipping, case, tote and large item sortation in a variety of applications.
- t-Sort Mini sorts items up to 7” x 7” and 5 pounds. Ideally suited for jewelry, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and similar shaped/types of products in a variety of applications.
- t-Rail – coming soon Tompkins Robotics will introduce a robotic, rail-based, overhead transport system that can be used in warehouses and in retail store environments.
Advantages
- Maximum efficiency – Robot navigation via real-time control to ensure movement along the most efficient path.
- Space utilization – Requires 25 percent or less space when compared to traditional sortation systems.
- Labor productivity – High sort density in compact space results in larger batches for greater picking efficiency and productivity.
- Complete modularity – Robots can be easily added at any time to increase throughput and all system components are modular for simple expansion and reconfiguration.
- Ultimate flexibility – Unit and parcel sortation can be used separately or simultaneously, and the system is fully portable, configurable and scalable with no fixed infrastructure or permitting.
- Lower capital investment – Robots cost 40 to 50 percent less than a traditional tilt tray or crossbelt system and can be purchased and installed as needed to postpone investment and enable complete utilization of the asset.
- High capacity – Multi-level design can more than double the volume, sort points and capacity in a single footprint.
- Faster startups – Implementation is typically ½ the lead time for traditional fixed track systems.
- Higher ROI – Lower investment, shorter lead times, faster implementation, reduced space, lower headcount, and incremental expansion/capital expenditures – all drive greater than 2X increase in ROI.
- Redundancy & risk mitigation – No single point of failure anywhere in the system. The system has mirrored servers, redundant infrastructure and an uninterruptable power supply backup.
Robotics Range of Capabilities
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Wide Range of Unit Handling – The variety of unit loads t-Sort can process is much broader than traditional sortation systems. This includes apparel, shoe boxes, general merchandise, shipping bags, small-to-medium boxes and a wide range of additional products. t-Sort offers multiple tray and crossbelt designs, optimized for different products, that can be easily changed. t-Sort can handle anything traditional unit sorters process and more.
- t-Sort can process delicate, cylindrical, round, extremely light, liquid, static prone, and other difficult items for tilt tray, crossbelt and bomb bay sorters. t-Sort is even capable of sorting glass containers and other fragile, breakable items.
- The items found in a retail store can be sorted in a special store-based mode for buy online pick up in store (BOPIS) and local e-commerce orders. Most grocery and retail merchandise items are sortable with t-Sort.
- Wide Range of Sortation Destination – As each robot makes a complete stop at the sort destination, t-Sort can perform a positive and accurate sort to a variety of destinations, including shipping cartons, totes, gravity conveyor lines, chutes, bags, and gaylords. Additionally, the destination receptacle/accumulation device and system configuration can be customized to a client’s specific requirements to ensure the design best fits the application.
- Ease of Configuration and Expansion – All components are modular, allowing the system to grow and increase its operational functionality as needed. This includes easily expanding the number of robots, sort points and induction stations, and reconfiguring the system size, shape and sort functions.
Robotics Range of Applications
- e-commerce Fulfillment – t-Sort facilitates a large batch pick of high SKU operations, allowing greater pick productivity than a put wall operation. The system also provides sortation to an individual order as opposed to a batch of orders sorted to a single location, eliminating a secondary sort. This design provides a superior unit sortation process compared to traditional fixed track systems.
- Store Replenishment – Robots sort both directly into a store-bound container or to chutes for pack out. The system can continuously track contents, cube and weight to effectively direct container closure and ensure that outbound cube is minimized.
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Retail Location Backroom Sorter – t-Sort is world’s first portable, modular, automated system for item and parcel sortation in the backroom of a retail store. The backroom system:
- Facilitates inbound sortation of mixed containers to aisles for more efficient shelf stocking.
- Enhances e-commerce order processing by allowing store batch picking by department and automated, accurate and efficient order consolidation.
- Facilitates BOPIS in the same manner as e-commerce orders to allow fast processing and minimize labor and store aisle congestion.
- Automates order consolidation, increasing customer service levels and decreasing labor requirements.
- System can also sort parcels to route to originating post offices for local e-commerce shipments, allowing next-day delivery at the lowest cost.
- Parcel Sortation – t-Sort provides a flexible and expandable parcel sortation solution that can handle mailers, bags and cartons on the same system. Items can be sorted directly to postal bags, various size gaylords or accumulation lanes for palletizing.
- Returns/Inbound Sortation – t-Sort is highly effective for returns and loose item sortation/consolidation in receiving. Sortation can be to the SKU, vendor or other defined levels for a given client.
- Large DC/FC – A single t-Sort system can sort up to 750,000 units a day and multiple systems can be integrated in a single facility. Systems provide hundreds to thousands of sort locations and can be used for e-commerce, store replenishment, returns and other flows simultaneously.
- Small DC/FC – t-Sort’s lower cost, modularity, phased installation capabilities, labor reductions and performance allow smaller companies and operations to benefit from automation. A client can start with a small system and grow it each year through expansion.
- Supplement Existing Sites – When existing automation has reached capacity, a small t-Sort system can be added to a site with minimal disruption, eliminating the need to make a significant upfront investment in money and time.