Nordstrom leverages robotic technologies to provide a seamless shopping experience for customers.

Tompkins Robotics, a business unit of Tompkins International, has teamed up with Nordstrom to design and deploy cutting-edge parcel sortation systems to help streamline and optimize the fashion retailer's distribution operations at a few sites throughout the U.S. The revolutionary robotic solution utilizes Tompkins Robotics' t-Sort autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to support e-commerce and retail replenishment needs.

"In today's dynamic and evolving marketplace, it is more important than ever for retailers to make rapid delivery a reality for customers," said Jim Tompkins, chairman and CEO of Tompkins International. "Tompkins Robotics offers Nordstrom a flexible solution that is capable of adapting and scaling to meet evolving customer and supply demands."

Ideal for small to large distribution operations, t-Sort is a portable, scalable robotic sortation system that operates similar to a tilt tray or crossbelt sorter without a fixed track, consisting of free moving robots along the shortest route possible to sort items and packages by shipping order, destination or service level. Capable of handling parcels and units as small as a penny and up to 66 pounds. While automation can sometimes require a large upfront investment, the t-Sort system is fully modular and additional robots can be added or removed instantaneously without any interruption or downtime, enabling Nordstrom to easily to ramp up for peak seasons.

Nordstrom is utilizing Tompkins Robotics' t-Sort system to handle unit and item sortation of e-commerce and store fulfillment orders as well as the provider's larger t-Sort Plus robots for parcel and carton shipping sortation to outbound carriers and modes. The retailer is currently using the t-Sort robotic solution to fulfill west coast beauty orders.

"We have developed a market approach to our supply chain enabled by our combined technology of Tompkins Robotics and Attabotics," said Ngoc Phan, vice president of supply chain systems and engineering at Nordstrom. "This approach helps us continue to get customers the right product at a faster speed and reduce out of stocks, extended fulfillment times and shipping delays, and we look forward to continue leveraging this technology to enhance our fulfillment operations to provide a seamless shopping experience for customers."

The t-Sort system integrates with other innovative technologies to offer a true end-to-end order fulfillment solution for Nordstrom. When combined with new storage and retrieval automation, the integrated solution uses up to 90% less footprint within the retailer's distribution facilities.

"This project represents collaboration between multiple innovative organizations applying digital transformation and revolutionary robotic systems to supply chain operations to drive speed, accuracy and profitability," said Mike Futch, president of Tompkins Robotics. "The end result is shorter delivery times, improved in-store stock positions, reduced operational and freight costs and an enhanced overall customer experience."

About Tompkins Robotics
Tompkins Robotics, a business unit of Tompkins International, is focused on the robotic automation of distribution operations. Our primary system, t-Sort, consists of autonomous mobile robots that sort a wide range of items and parcels to consolidation points. t-Sort is a portable, automated material handling sortation system that is creating a huge paradigm shift in the supply chain and how the basic distribution function of order fulfillment is accomplished. We continue to expand this core system with complementary robotic systems to automate processes in fulfillment operations. Our systems maximize performance with mobile, scalable and flexible robotics solutions that grow and change on demand to meet customer needs. We create profit and value for our clients; making them more agile and adaptable to the highly dynamic changes in the marketplace. For more information, please visit http://www.tompkinsrobotics.com.

About Tompkins International
Tompkins International is a global supply chain consulting and solutions firm dedicated to helping clients achieve supply chain excellence and profitable growth. Founded in 1975, Tompkins has integrated its decades of experience in strategy, commerce, logistics and technology into an ecosystem of six business units: Supply Chain Consulting, Material Handling Integration, Robotics, Applied Technologies, Fulfillment Services and Digital Commerce. By combining best-in-breed services and technologies, Tompkins delivers a true end-to-end supply chain solution enabling clients to improve the customer experience and ensure long-term success. Tompkins is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina and has offices throughout North America and in Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit http://www.tompkinsinc.com.