6 River Systems co-founder and co-CEO Rylan Hamilton has been named a Pro to Know by Supply & Demand Chain Executive. The Pros to Know Awards recognize supply chain executives who are leading initiatives to prepare their companies for the significant challenges of today’s business climate.

Rylan co-founded 6 River Systems (6RS) to serve the quickly growing e-commerce and 3PL businesses who were being underserved by existing material handling vendors. At 6 River Systems, Rylan leads corporate and recruiting functions and is dedicated to building a team that’s smart, nimble and effective. He is passionate about mentoring, developing and retaining winning teams. Before 6 River Systems, Rylan was a member of the leadership team at Kiva (now Amazon Robotics).

Rylan has a record of seeking out challenges and “getting it done” by managing teams to the best of their abilities and working across organizations. When first launching 6RS with Jerome Dubois and Chris Cacioppo, he led the charge in finding the right team to support and build their vision, and they were able to convince early adopters of the benefits of this new technology.

“Rylan is a customer-centric leader who rolls up his sleeves and gets to work,” says co-CEO and co-Founder Jerome Dubois. “I have worked with Rylan for 10+ years and have been consistently impressed with his work ethic, creativity and dedication to providing solutions for the materials handling industry. These qualities are what made me want to co-found 6 River Systems with Rylan.”

Last fall, Rylan was instrumental in ensuring our customers had smooth peak operations. He jumped at the chance to support our client sites on-the-ground and helped improve their fulfillment processes. As a result, our client sites fulfilled more than 1 million units during the week of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

“Rylan is a leader with a holistic eye towards improvement,” says Lani Noel, Director of Talent Acquisition at 6 River Systems. “He unites his team and empowers them to recognize their own potential.”

Over the last year he’s worked closely with Lani to triple our staff from 40 employees to nearly 120 Rivs. He also implemented departmental lunch & learns to improve company-wide communication, issued quarterly employee surveys to better take the pulse of the company and developed new systems to train and promote our employees.

“All of these initiatives made our company run better, and Rylan was the driving force behind it all,” says Zoe Peirce, Office Coordinator at 6 River Systems. “With such an immense growth in staff comes great complexities in managing career development, onboarding, training and HR. Rylan deftly handled these challenges.”

This year’s Pros to Know list includes more than 200 individuals from software firms and service providers, consultancies or academia, who helped their supply chain clients or the supply chain community at large prepare to meet these challenges—and more than 40 Practitioner Pros who do the same within their own companies.

“The supply chain profession is ever-changing, with transformative technologies and evolutionary best practices driving greater efficiencies and innovations for companies. At the heart of it all are supply chain professionals,” says John R. Yuva, editor-in-chief for Supply & Demand Chain Executive.

Congratulations, Rylan!

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Read the press release from Supply and Demand Chain Executive

Interested in joining our team? Check out our Jobs page.

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While robotics adoption is growing rapidly–and coverage on the phenomenon has dominated supply chain trade publications–many distribution center operators are uncertain of robotics utilization and potential value. To answer these questions, IDC recently published a “MaturityScape” report on autonomous robotics.

JOHN SANTAGATE – RESEARCH DIRECTOR, COMMERCIAL SERVICE ROBOTS AT IDC

Key findings of the report, titled “IDC MaturityScape Benchmark: Autonomous Mobile Robots in the Warehouse and Fulfillment Center in the United States,” include:

• Very few organizations are at the highest levels of AMR maturity in the warehouse and fulfillment center, indicating there is still tremendous value to gain through the use of this technology.
• One-third of organizations are at the middle level of maturity, indicating that many are on the way to optimizing the use of AMRs in their processes.
• Nearly half of all responses are at the lowest two stages of maturity, with a lot of room to grow.

“We believe there is a tremendous growth opportunity in mobile robotics,” said Jerome Dubois, co-Founder and co-CEO at 6 River Systems. “We’re helping our customers to reach what IDC calls the ‘Managed’ and ‘Optimized’ maturity levels by deploying our solution and creating ongoing value by leveraging our experience with robotics coupled with a deep understanding of distribution operations.”

IDC segments autonomous mobile robot buyers into 5 maturity categories:

• Ad hoc: The use of AMRs is experimental, mostly sporadic, and inconsistent.
  
• Opportunistic: A well-defined pilot program exists. The use of AMR technology is largely guided by human directive rather than fully autonomous.
• Repeatable: AMRs are being used in strategic areas across facilities and processes. The AMR technology is not yet fully integrated, but the AMRs are taking work orders and direction digitally.
• Managed: The use of AMRs is now providing a competitive advantage, enabling quantifiable improvements in scalability and flexibility.
• Optimized: The distribution and use of AMRs is widespread across the enterprise. Business processes are designed to optimize the use of AMRs.

6 River Systems is the provider of the world’s first and only fully collaborative mobile robotics fulfillment solutions. The 6RS solution works alongside the warehouse associates, leading them through order picking processes and eliminating long walks by bringing work to the associate and delivering completed work to the next step in the process autonomously.

6RS customers report 2-3x increase in productivity, near-perfect accuracy, and up to 90% reduction in time for new workers to achieve performance targets.

Download the IDC report. 

About 6 River Systems

6 River Systems was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 2015 by Jerome Dubois, Rylan Hamilton and Chris Cacioppo. Jerome and Rylan were previously executives at Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics). The 6 River Systems engineering team has decades of automation, software and operations experience and has designed, built and deployed the world’s largest warehouse automation solutions. The company’s goal is to make fulfillment faster and more efficient by building flexible automation solutions that generate immediate and lasting value for customers.

6 River Systems is supported by world-class venture capital firms and strategic investors, including Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Eclipse and iRobot. Amy Villeneuve, former president and COO of Kiva Systems, is a member of the board.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,100 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For 50 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research, and events company.

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Supply and Demand Chain Executive named Dubois a “Provider Pro To Know.” Dubois has spent his entire career in the supply chain industry and earned his MBA in Supply Chain Management and Finance from the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. Before launching 6 River Systems, Dubois directed global sales at Kiva Systems, which was acquired by Amazon Robotics in 2012. He has a wealth of knowledge about supply chain solutions and warehouse automation, which he uses to help his clients succeed.

Jerome Dubois

“Our Pros to Know listing showcases the leaders and innovators shaping the profession and making substantial impact on their companies,” says John Yuva, editor for Supply & Demand Chain Executive. “We commend this year’s recipients for their achievements in supply chain and for paving the way for the next generation of exceptional supply chain leaders. This year’s recipients embody the commitment to transformative supply chain tools and processes, earning these individuals a rightful place in this year’s Pros to Know listing.”

This year’s list includes more than 200 individuals from software firms and service providers, consultancies or academia, who helped their supply chain clients or the supply chain community at large prepare to meet these challenges—and more than 40 Practitioner Pros, who do the same within their own companies.

About 6 River Systems

6 River Systems was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 2015 by Jerome Dubois, Rylan Hamilton and Chris Cacioppo. Jerome and Rylan were previously executives at Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics). The 6 River Systems engineering team has decades of automation, software and operations experience and has designed, built and deployed the world’s largest warehouse automation solutions. The company’s goal is to make fulfillment faster and more efficient by building flexible automation solutions that generate immediate and lasting value for customers.

6 River Systems is supported by world-class venture capital firms and strategic investors, including Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Eclipse and iRobot. Amy Villeneuve, former president and COO of Kiva Systems, is a member of the board.

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“We’re very excited to offer our warehouse automation solutions to the European market,” Chris Lingamfelter, 6 River Systems (6RS) Vice President of Sales said. “Europe has a rich history in warehouse automation. Historically, automation projects were very large and complicated and expensive to implement. Our approach offers European warehouse operators of all sizes a new, flexible and scalable way to automate.”

Meet Chuck, the collaborative mobile robot from 6 River Systems.

“Europe is very strategic for us as we want to offer our customers a global solution,” Rylan Hamilton, 6RS’ co-CEO and co-founder added. “We understand just how competitive and demanding the European market is and we wanted to do this right. We have spent the past year getting ready for this launch. We have an experienced international team and an excited European customer base.”

The 6 River Systems solution is powered by robots called “Chucks” and cloud-based software. The Chucks communicate with the software to coordinate all the tasks on warehouse floors. The result is a fleet of Chucks working seamlessly and collaboratively with associates to eliminate long walks, reduce in-aisle walking and speed up warehouse tasks, including put-away, picking, replenishment and sorting.

One of 6RS’ first European customers is Bleckmann, a global third party logistics leader headquartered in the Netherlands. Bleckmann specializes in fulfillment for the fashion and lifestyle sector.

“At Bleckmann we continuously search for high-end, innovative solutions that can contribute to the improvement of our service,” Steven Rymenans, Strategy and Development Director said. “After screening the market we came to the conclusion that 6 River Systems is the best fit to our operations and expectations. The solution is easy to implement rapidly, without impacting our warehouse infrastructure. This means that we can roll-out the project smoothly, bringing direct benefits to our operations.”

6RS is presenting Chuck at LogiMAT 2019 in Stuttgart, Germany, from Feb.19-21. Bleckmann and 6RS executives will participate in a ceremonial contract signing at LogiMAT on Feb.19. This event is open to the media and takes place in Hall 1 Stand K37 at 14:00 CET/MEZ.

About 6 River Systems

6 River Systems was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 2015 by Jerome Dubois, Rylan Hamilton and Chris Cacioppo. Jerome and Rylan were previously executives at Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics). The 6 River Systems engineering team has decades of automation, software and operations experience and has designed, built and deployed the world’s largest warehouse automation solutions. The company’s goal is to make fulfillment faster and more efficient by building flexible automation solutions that generate immediate and lasting value for customers.

6 River Systems is supported by world-class venture capital firms and strategic investors, including Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Eclipse and iRobot. Amy Villeneuve, former president and COO of Kiva Systems, is a member of the board.

About Bleckmann

Bleckmann, established in 1862, is a leader in Supply Chain Management (SCM) solutions for the global fashion & lifestyle industry. Bleckmann aims to provide its customers with the best SCM solutions. The logistics company has developed to an omni-channel service provider and has its offices in Europe, the United States and Asia, with approximately 300 million Euro revenue.

The post Fulfillment Automation Provider 6 River Systems Announces General Availability in Europe appeared first on 6 River Systems.

“We are humbled by this award, which comes directly from educated readers in the materials handling industry,” said Rylan Hamilton, co-CEO of 6 River Systems. “Thanks for placing your faith in us and the larger field of collaborative robotics.”

The companies championing Chuck

There is no award without our customers. One of our core values at 6 River Systems is we win when our customers win. We’ve been humbled to see their wins and celebrate gains with our collaborative robots. In fact, in the days following Black Friday, 6RS sites picked a million units with Chuck—a first for the entire industry.

We’d like to shout-out some of our newest customers:

ACT Fulfillment

ACT Fulfillment, Inc. has been providing supply chain solutions in warehousing and fulfillment services since 1994. ACT wanted to invest in an adaptable robotics solution that could be deployed quickly for one of their high profile accounts. ACT was one of the first companies to deploy a 3-level Chuck, which the 3PL uses for their shoe fulfillment business.

Meet Chuck, the collaborative mobile robot from 6 River Systems.

Healing Hands

Healing Hands develops and produces fashionable scrubs for nurses, woven to provide ultimate comfort and long-lasting performance. The business has more than 8,000 SKUs and a million units in its new 60,000 sq ft warehouse in East Rutherford, NJ. Initially the company looked at traditional warehouse automation but after doing some research decided that 6 River Systems collaborative robots best suited their business needs. The team plans to use the robots to achieve their goal of same-day shipping.

CSAT Solutions

CSAT Solutions is a Dell EMC Services Partner. CSAT Solutions was recently recognized by Dell EMC at the annual SDS Service Partner Forum, where they were granted the Global Service Parts Partner Excellence award for 2018. By incorporating Chuck robots within the CSAT parts warehouse and part fulfillment area, CSAT has doubled productivity by significantly reducing the use of manual cart picking.

Medline

6 River Systems is now in the business of supporting companies that save lives. Medline is a global manufacturer and distributor of medical products with patient-centered solutions, services and expertise across the continuum of care.

These companies and others are just a few of the many looking for a new way to automate their operations.

“Companies in new industries are increasingly looking towards collaborative robots as a way to inject flexible automation into their operations” says John Santagate, Worldwide Research Director at IDC for Commercial Service Robotics. “The market has done a great job of building collaborative robots that meet specific needs across a variety of industries. Especially in material handling industries, where non-value adding movement of materials has been a target for improvement for decades”.

The year in Chuck

As 2018 comes to an end, we’re taking time to reflect on this year’s product highlights, including new features and configurations that enhance our customers’ fulfillment capabilities.

Here’s a quick 2018 recap:

• Introducing Chuck+, a wider version of Chuck that fits even more orders than its predecessor.
• New Chuck configurations that provide greater flexibility to fulfillment operations, including three-level Chuck and support for garment on hanger and shoe fulfillment.
• Handy features like autonomous charging, floor view (which enables operators to see where robots are in the warehouse in realtime) and management consoles, where operators can view detailed analytics on their system.

We’ve got plenty in store for 2019, including a rigorous industry event and trade show schedule, along with some big product announcements. Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out our most popular video of the year, “The magic cart.”

About 6 River Systems

Today’s buying habits have changed the world of fulfillment forever. Customers demand better service but operators are stuck in the trenches, fighting today’s problems with yesterday’s tools. 6 River Systems knows that fulfillment is key to customer satisfaction. Starting with Chuck, a collaborative mobile robot, 6 River Systems is building fulfillment solutions that power the winning warehouses of tomorrow.

The post You decided: Chuck is Reader’s Choice Product of the Year! appeared first on 6 River Systems.

“This is a huge win not just for our customers, but for the entire collaborative robotics industry,” Jerome Dubois, co-founder and Co-CEO of 6RS said. “Logistics leaders have new options for automation. They don’t have to settle for traditional automation that is clunky, non-scalable and expensive.”

The 6RS solution is powered by robots called “Chucks” and cloud-based software. The Chucks communicate with the software to coordinate all the tasks on warehouse floors. The result? A fleet of Chucks working seamlessly and collaboratively with associates to eliminate long walks, reduce in-aisle walking and speed up warehouse tasks, including put-away, picking, replenishment and sorting.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday online sales consistently growing year-over-year (American shoppers spent a record $7.9 billion on Cyber Monday this year), and continued labor shortages in fulfillment, 6RS ensured its customer base, which includes the world’s largest third-party logistics providers, leading retailers and high-tech manufacturers, was prepared for Black Friday and Cyber Monday spikes.

One of 6RS’ customers is ACT Fulfillment, which provides wholesale, retail, and ecommerce fulfillment as well as value added services for major fashion brands. “We had confidence in the 6 River Systems solution for our peak, thanks largely to the continued improvement in their solution,” ACT Fulfillment’s Industrial Engineer Ryan Cox said. “We knew we were in good hands come time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.”

In addition to prepping sites for peak, 6 River Systems has been busy filling out its leadership team, including hiring VP of Sales Chris Lingamfelter and CFO Scott Ward, readying for its European general availability and doubling its engineering capacity in the last year.

Companies redefining fulfillment with 6 River Systems

Companies big and small are fed up with traditional warehouse automation options and are hungry for more flexible solutions that can get to work quicker. The following businesses are just a few of the new companies that have joined the 6RS global fulfillment network:

Healing Hands

Healing Hands develops and produces fashionable scrubs for nurses, woven to provide ultimate comfort and long-lasting performance. The business has more than 8,000 SKUs and a million units in its new 60,000 sq ft warehouse in East Rutherford, NJ. Initially the company looked at traditional warehouse automation but after doing some research decided that 6 River Systems collaborative robots best suited their business needs. The team plans to use the robots to achieve their goal of same-day shipping.

CSAT Solutions LP

CSAT Solutions is a Dell EMC Services Partner. CSAT Solutions was recently recognized by Dell EMC at the annual SDS Service Partner Forum, where they were granted the Global Service Parts Partner Excellence award for 2018. By incorporating Chuck robots within the CSAT parts warehouse and part fulfillment area, CSAT has doubled productivity by significantly reducing the use of manual cart picking.

About 6 River Systems

Today’s buying habits have changed the world of fulfillment forever. Customers demand better service but operators are stuck in the trenches, fighting today’s problems with yesterday’s tools. 6 River Systems knows that fulfillment is key to customer satisfaction. Starting with Chuck, a collaborative mobile robot, 6 River Systems is building fulfillment solutions that power the winning warehouses of tomorrow.

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