Ecommerce and Package Handling Companies Leverage Berkshire Grey AI-enabled Robotic Solutions to Meet Surging Demand Despite Labor Shortages

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By STS News Desk On Sep 8, 2021

Berkshire Grey, Inc., the leader in AI-enabled robotic solutions that automate supply chain processes, today announced that Fortune 100 retailers and multinational shipping and delivery services companies are relying on its Intelligent Enterprise Robotics solutions to increase capacity and meet surging consumer demand, even as the labor market tightens.

Retailers and logistics companies are currently experiencing a convergence of growth in eCommerce, a rise of on-demand expectations driven in part by the pandemic, ever-increasing competitive pressures across the industry, and a decrease in labor availability. This superfecta is putting even more pressure on the need to transform operations and to invest in AI-enabled automation as a tool to meet soaring consumer expectations and these other operational pressures. This need will only continue to grow as retailers head into the holiday season and hiring for warehouse jobs through the pandemic continues to deepen. According to a survey conducted by executive search firm Korn Ferry, 52% of retailers said they were having “significant challenges” hiring warehouse employees.

“The pressures today are even greater, and we are seeing a continued uptick in energy for our solutions,” said Steve Johnson, President and COO, Berkshire Grey. “In order to meet demand and scale on a variety of fronts, we have expanded our supply chain, engineering and installation capabilities. We have also announced multiple new partnerships which add both strategic and tactical capabilities.”

Berkshire Grey’s Intelligent Enterprise Robotics solutions enable enterprises to meet consumer expectations for on-demand delivery through intelligent robotic automation of eCommerce fulfillment, store replenishment and package handling. Berkshire Grey designs and delivers a complete suite of warehouse automation services including:

AI-enabled picking
AI-enabled mobility
System orchestration
Cloud monitoring and analytics
A full portfolio of professional services such as manufacturing, installation, commissioning, maintenance, software updates and operation

Berkshire Grey recent announcements and mentions include:

Increased total orders since inception to $148 million at June 30, 2021, up from $114 million as of December 31, 2020.
Increased backlog to $95 million at June 30, 2021, up from $70 million as of December 31, 2020.
Became a publicly-traded company and trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbol “BGRY” on July 22, 2021.
Announcement of Berkshire Grey’s $23M+ order with a global retailer which is focused on automated same-day grocery fulfillment of online orders.
Berkshire Grey’s package handling systems, which are busy processing eCommerce packages, were recently noted in an Enterprise AI article.
Expansion of senior management team to include Customer Experience and Investor Relations (below).
Expansion of Picking with Purpose program with the United Way (below).

Expansion of Senior Management Team

Mike Barker has joined the company as Senior Vice President of International Customer Experience and is responsible for field operations, customer service, managed services and customer success. Barker has more than 20 years of experience in senior operations roles. Prior to joining Berkshire Grey, he was Vice President of Consumer Goods at Swisslog and Vice President of Customer Success at River Logic.

In addition, Sara Buda has joined the company as Vice President of Investor Relations. Sara has more than 20 years of experience in investor relations and communications. Prior to joining Berkshire Grey, Buda was Vice President of Investor Relations for Boston Properties (BXP), the largest publicly traded developer, owner and manager of Class A office properties in the United States. Prior to Boston Properties, Buda was Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Development for Lionbridge Technologies Inc.

Berkshire Grey’s Picking with Purpose Growth & Recognitions

Berkshire Grey’s Picking With Purpose program was launched in November 2020 to address food instability in the country, which was exacerbated by the pandemic. This need inspired Berkshire Grey to serve vulnerable populations by using its intelligent robotic sortation solutions to assemble meals. Berkshire Grey recently expanded the program to serve local communities such as the Boston Public School system through United Way. Berkshire Grey teamed up with United Way to provide STEM-related supplies to support more than two thousand four hundred students in the Boston area. This program was recognized by Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas award for its important role in building a better world. Berkshire Grey donated a total of 84,000 lbs of food, or about 34,000 individual meals, to the Greater Boston Food Bank in Massachusetts and City Harvest in New York. The Picking with Purpose program continues to seek sponsors and organizations to support.