FedEx chooses partnerships over proprietary tech for its automation strategy
Automation is coming to warehouses — fast. While some companies like Amazon are developing their own robotic fleets in-house, others have turned to outside players for their automation tech. FedEx has dabbled with both strategies. And the $84 billion company has landed on partnerships with robotics companies as the best approach to keep up with its peers in the race toward automation. FedEx’s recent multi-year partnership with SoftBank-owned robotics company Berkshire Grey illustrates its strategy: turn to the experts to develop robots that can take on repetitive, dangerous jobs for humans. Under the non-exclusive partnership, the companies developed Scoop, a bot designed for bulk package unloading, or removing large bundles of multiple parcels from a truck at once. FedEx…
