Staples is partnering with a Boston robotics company to bring AI-powered robots to fulfillment centers across the U.S.
The Framingham-based office-supply giant signed a multiyear deal with RightHand Robotics of Charlestown to automate e-commerce order fulfillment, enabling next-day delivery as an option for 98% of U.S. customers, according to a news release from RightHand.
RightHand Robotics robots use piece-picking technology and artificial intelligence to select the correct items for orders. Its robots can fulfill orders 24-hours a day, according to the company, which will speed up the time between order and delivery. The robots can complete end-to-end warehouse operations, RightHand said.
RightHand developed specific item-recognition capabilities for Staples, according to the news release, which reduces the number of required human interventions.
The robots are not intended to replace employees at fulfillment centers, but rather are being used to address a worker shortage in fulfillment centers, according to RightHand.
Roles at the fulfillment centers will shift to involve interacting with the technology to facilitate its use.
“This move isn’t about replacing workers; it’s about empowering them, enhancing their roles, and ensuring job satisfaction," RightHand said in a statement. "Fulfillment centers often entail repetitive, mundane, and potentially unsafe tasks, which face a shortage of available labor."
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We have always valued automation, and we see it as the future of e-commerce picking,” Staples chief supply chain officer Amit Kalra said in the release.
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