Warehouse operations face unprecedented pressures today: order volumes have surged (up to 5x in a decade), labour shortages drive inefficiencies and errors, while constrained space bogs down throughput. Manual material handling to pick, move and sort is no longer fast enough or accurate enough to cope and is notoriously labour-intensive to scale up.
Hachidori Robotics is an automated material handling system provider , a leading warehouse automation company in India, with artificial intelligence-enabled AMR solutions to turn these headwinds into tailwinds, automating tasks and workflow to make operations flow seamlessly once more.
Rising Pressures in Modern Warehouses
Boom in ecommerce and just-in-time manufacturing have ramped up the pressure for same- or next-day fulfilment. Warehouses and distribution centres now process 5x the order volume they did a decade ago. Manual picking, moving and sorting across the warehouse leads to mistakes, bottlenecks and delays, while high employee turnover (drivers, handlers) can cost 20-30% of your operating costs. Space constraints in urban warehouses limit expansion potential, with cluttered layouts reducing efficiency.
Manual material handling processes still depend on human operators to perform repetitive tasks of transporting materials from the receiving dock to the storage area, to move goods between picking zones and warehouses, or to the loading dock or dispatch area. This slows down throughput and increases injury risks, and repetitive handling strains worker health.
Automated material handling systems using robots solve these pain points by scaling operations without a proportional increase in headcount or fixed assets. Industries which are unsure of what’s the best solution for them, AMR solutions for warehouse or fixed conveyors can benefit from an open-minded automated material handling system provider to find the best, tailor-made deployment plan that integrates into current floorplans with minimum disruption.
Automated Material Handling Systems Explained
An automated material handling system orchestrates the entire workflow of goods movement across key steps: receiving dock, sorting, storage & retrieval, and dispatch. Goods arrive at the receiving docks on trucks, where fixed conveyors or AMRs scan and sort products before routing them. AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots) use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to dynamically route and transport loads without relying on QR codes, magnetic tapes or extensive floor markings for navigation.
Hachidori’s patented indoor positioning system enables the AMRs to navigate warehouses with precision, drawing on three patented inventions in wireless beacon-based location technology. These short-range wireless beacons transmit real-time, ultra-accurate 3D coordinates (accuracy up to sub 10mm) for autonomous navigation through dense aisleways, slopes and bottlenecks in your factory. The typical workflow steps are:
- Receiving: AMRs like Unit Load Carrier (ULC) (capacity 200-500kg) or Autonomous Pallet Jack (load weight: pallets/containers) lift pallets from the floor and transport them to sorting stations.
- Sorting: Dock & Convey AMRs drive into workbenches to offload/unload cartons to/from integrated conveyors for fast sorting and segregation.
- Storage: Tugger AMRs (pull-mode, for bulky goods) haul wagons to Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) to vertically optimize space.
- Retrieval and Dispatch: Light Weight (single AMR, ultra-lightweight and high-speed: up to 1.5 m/s) or Sleek Lifting AMRs retrieve orders and adapt to moving between narrow (200mm) aisles/tunnels or delivery to trolleys, transporting them to outbound docks for delivery.
Warehouse management software (WMS) integration is a critical backbone for the AMRs to interact with for automation, with Hachidori supporting VDA 5050 protocol. The fleet of AMRs is centrally managed for task scheduling, with call buttons deployed for on-demand allocation (the “Uber of AMRs”). Sensors (LiDARs, cameras) enable collision-free routing and obstacles are autonomously avoided by robots (avoiding human workers in dedicated zones). Charging stations allow AMRs to be deployed for a factory-proven 20,000+ hours with no degradation in speed or accuracy. This end-to-end automation can accelerate material flow efficiency by more than 5x, as proven by Hachidori’s deployments.
Core Benefits Driving Warehouse Automation Adoption
AMR solutions for warehouse deployment leads to quantifiable benefits. Accuracy reaches 99.9% to reduce the 0.1% picking errors in manual operations. Throughput speed increases up to 5x times faster by working non-stop to move material, with Hachidori deployments reducing material movement time by up to 40% in factories. Labor shortages are combatted by AMRs doing the repetitive picking/moving tasks while humans focus on more value-add, halving manual effort. Safety is enhanced by autonomous robots that sense workers and prevent collisions in shared zones. Visibility is gained in real-time through dashboards of key inventory, assets, predictive maintenance and even use cases like layout optimisation.
Hachidori’s metrics support this: 100% navigation reliability on brownfield sites, up to 5x faster OT integration time, and modular/scale-ready robots and infrastructure. Clients from automotive production lines report 0% downtime during deployment, while pharma and food & beverage users have lauded hygienic and traceable movement.
AMR Solutions for Warehouse Tailored for Industries
Warehouse automation companies need to consider customisation, as a single solution cannot be applied across all industry verticals:
- FMCG: Fast-moving consumer goods require just-in-time movement. Tuggers or Light Weight AMR handle cartons/bags (50kg to 1.3 tons) and work with sorters for high-volume picking. Order errors in tight SLA conditions are minimised by precise and timed product feeds.
- Electronics Manufacturing: Sensitive components need safe handling. Lift & Move or Sleek Lifting AMR navigate small spaces to transfer trolleys/baskets between assembly lines without damaging goods, increasing TAKT time and equipment utilisation.
- Pharmaceutical: Cleanliness and traceability are paramount. AMRs move temperature-sensitive materials in a contamination-free and time-stamped manner, with dynamic path changes and tote/batch-sized feeds. Autonomous Pallet Jacks are ideal for picking & placing in finished goods dispatch.
- Warehousing and Retail: Inventory inaccuracy and space constraints are eliminated with a fleet of AMRs shuttling to and from storage to/from workbenches, integrated with WMS for 360° visibility. Hachidori’s solutions optimize CapEx while maximising inventory turnover.
- Automotive and General Manufacturing: Raw material to production line, between production lines, and finished goods dispatch – Unit Load Carriers and Dock & Convey are well suited for automotive & general manufacturing covering input/output material supply disruptions and business scalability.
Hachidori has been innovating at its Bengaluru facility and deploying its AMRs across all these industries including the Carton Transfer Unit (CTU) to move multiple totes at once.
Manual vs. Automated: A Clear Comparison
| Aspect | Manual Operations | Automated (e.g., Hachidori AMRs) |
| Throughput | 1-2x baseline, error-prone | 5x faster, 99.9% accuracy |
| Labor | High dependency, shortages | 50% reduction, focus on skilled tasks |
| Safety | Frequent injuries from lifting | Sensor-based avoidance, zero incidents |
| Scalability | Fixed to workforce/space | Modular fleets, real-time adaptation |
| Cost | Ongoing wages, errors (20-30%) | ROI in 12-18 months via efficiency |
| Visibility | Reactive tracking | Real-time WMS dashboards |
Why Hachidori Robotics?
Hachidori Robotics is a premier automated material handling system provider , trusted by factories for world-class AMRs for intralogistics operations in India. It is a pioneer in the AMR industry and holds 3 patents in indoor natural navigation. Its solutions follow the “Move 360°” philosophy of agility, which has helped the company partner with automotive, FMCG, manufacturing, warehousing & logistics, electronics and pharmaceutical industries. Factories in Pune, Mumbai and Telangana that have installed Hachidori’s solutions have found that it solves pain points of downtime, improves safety and scalability.
Explore Hachidori’s AMR solutions for warehouse and ask for a free demo today. Send your queries to sales@hachidorirobotics.com to know the best fit for your use case. Achieve higher productivity, reliability and savings, automate with Hachidori Robotics.