Exotec is once again exhibiting at IntraLogisteX, showcasing its ‘ground-breaking’ Skypod system. At this year’s exhibition, the company is giving visitors to stand 220 the opportunity to find out more about the use of robotics and automation with warehouses in the retail sector.
On its stand, Exotec has introduced a new booth space where visitors are able to ‘immerse themselves completely in the warehouse of retail food and lifestyle chain Monoprix’.
The retail sector is of particular importance to Exotec, working with the likes of Decathlon and Carrefour, as well as the aforementioned Monoprix. The Lille-based company has said that it has ‘big plans for the UK market in 2024’.
Earlier this month [March 2024], Exotec announced that it has sold over US$1 billion in systems globally since its founding in 2015, claiming to be ‘one of the fastest materials handling companies to reach the milestone’.
In the build-up to the event, Simon Jones, UK Sales Executive at Exotec, said: “This year is especially exciting for us, as we have built up a lot of momentum for our Skypod system in the UK over the last two years. In fact, one of our largest-ever deployments is currently taking place in Sheffield for AAG.
“Understandably, there were a few customers sitting on their hands over the last year or so, pushing back projects until the economic outlook became clearer. We have seen a lot of these projects being resurrected in the first couple of months this year, and as they have been delayed, time is now of the essence, which is something our modular and scalable approach can help with.”
Speaking to Logistics Manager today [20 March 2024] at stand 220, Jones emphasised the benefits of the flexibility and scaleability of its solution. With acquisitions often part of AAG’s corporate strategy, Jones notes that the modular design of the Skypod system can “not only expand very quickly, but [Exotec] know how each component will perform” when added to an existing system, which can be a major benefit.
The Sheffield site will have over 250,000 storage locations and, Jones said, can be scaled up if needed further down the line.
While robotics and automation may be the focus for Exotec, it seems that people are at its core. Jones highlighted the need to understand customer requirements and pain points in order to properly address them through technology. “We’re not selling technology, we’re selling solutions,” he surmised.
On his experience of IntraLogisteX 2024, Jones said: “It has been an excellent show. Yesterday was really busy right from the word go. Today I thought would probably be a bit slower, and for the first half an hour it seemed quite quiet, and then suddenly it just exploded and we were at least as busy as yesterday. In fact, if anything the quality of visitor was even higher than yesterday so we’ve had a great show.”
