Research from Gartner® predicts companies will need an orchestration platform for assigning work to specific-functioning robots based on near-real-time information

A recent Gartner® report predicts that "by 2026, over 50% of companies deploying intralogistics robots in the warehouse will have a multiagent orchestration platform." Multiagent orchestration platforms act like intelligent middleware that integrate and orchestrate work between various business applications, heterogenous fleets of operational robots, and other automated agents like doors or elevators within the four walls of a warehouse or distribution center operation.

GreyMatter™, from automated robotic fulfillment leader GreyOrange, coordinates and assigns the work activities of warehouse robots to maximize productivity, speed, accuracy and safety in end-to-end inventory fulfillment operations. GreyMatter matches robot agents according to work needs, including capacity and demand peaks, for seamless inventory orchestration. GreyOrange recently announced an open API (application programming interface) to GreyMatter that enables any certified vendor's robotic solution to seamlessly connect to the fulfillment orchestration platform, giving customers the freedom to choose the technology that best fits their warehouse environment.

The open API integration to GreyMatter echoes research from the Gartner report, "Predicts 2023: Supply Chain Technology," published by Dwight Klappich, Christian Titze, Tim Payne, Amber Salley and Simon Tunstall:

"As a company's fleet of robots grows, simple point-to-point API integration will not be enough. Companies will need an orchestration capability that can assign work to the right robots based on near-real-time information and the characteristics of the activity. This will reduce the time, effort and cost to onboard new robots and will reduce support cost, ultimately making organizations more efficient because work will be assigned to the robot best-suited for the task. Consequently, these companies will need a platform that can help integrate with and orchestrate the work assigned to their heterogeneous fleet of robots."

Read the full report, compliments of GreyOrange, here.

Under the API, hardware manufacturers can easily incorporate GreyMatter to orchestrate their autonomous mobile robots (AMR) fleets and other execution agents at the customer's site by joining leading hardware vendors such as HAI Robotics, Fetch Robotics (now Zebra), Mushiny Intelligence, Technica International, Vicarious and Youi Robotics, and others who are already part of GreyOrange's Certified RangerTM Network (CRN) ecosystem.

In the report, Dwight Klappich details that:

In a survey done with Peerless Research Group, when current users of robots were asked if they intended to expand their robot fleets, 86% of respondents said they will.
Also, 96% of current robot users said that they planned to expand their use of robotics to new use cases.
For companies that have already invested in robotics, the vast majority said they will expand their robotics fleets and look for new use cases.
"Research from this Gartner report mentions the growing trend towards multiagent orchestration. Multiagent orchestration is a core part of GreyOrange's value proposition and our GreyMatter platform offers a unique solution by giving customers the freedom to choose the ‘best-of-breed' fulfillment technology that fits their needs, no matter the vendor," said Samay Kohli, co-founder and CEO, GreyOrange. "At GreyOrange, we've been solving challenges for the world's leading brands for more than a decade. Preparing for both upcoming obstacles and scaling needs keeps our customers agile and pivot-ready when circumstances change."

1. Gartner "Predicts 2023: Supply Chain Technology" Dwight Klappich, Christian Titze, Tim Payne, Amber Salley, Simon Tunstall; 28 November 2022.

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