Autonomous mobile robots are continuing to spread through supply chain and logistics operations around the world. Geekplus Technology Co. this week announced its expansion into South America with a deployment with Walmart Chile, the largest supermarket chain in that country.

Geek+ said that it already has more than 300 global customers and that it has deployed more than 10,000 robots worldwide. Founded in 2015, the Beijing-based company has over 800 employees and claims to be the largest supplier of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) in the world. Geek+ recently won a 2020 RBR50 innovation award for its global expansion and closed Series C funding of $200 million.

Walmart Chile has 345 stores under banners Liders Hiper, Lider Express, Superbodega Acuenta and Central Mayorista.

Geek+ and Walmart deploy automation across the Americas

“After successful projects in Mexico and the USA and the opening of our Americas headquarters in San Diego, California, we are very pleased to land our first project in South America and accelerate our regional expansion,” stated Mark Messina, chief operating officer of Geek+. “We are also excited to have been selected by Walmart Chile after a highly competitive tendering process and look forward to providing their operations with more efficiency and flexibility through our goods-to-person system.”

Walmart touted its agile supply chain operations and continued investments in technology that can help it satisfy customer expectations. Robots are especially relevant to the accelerated growth of e-commerce and the need for hardware, software, and data that can enable responsive and efficient inventory management, it said.

“We look forward to the cooperation with Geek+ as we seek to further streamline our warehouse operations,” said Ignacio Gómez, supply chain and logistics technology director at Walmart Chile. “This is the first time we deploy AMRs in our warehouses, driven by the objectives of bringing flexibility and efficiency to our operations. As with the partnership seen with Geek+ solution in Walmart China, we are confident that this project, too, will be a success.”

The Geek+ Goods-to-Person Picking System is empowered by proprietary smart algorithms, said the company. It uses P-series warehouse robots to eliminate redundant walking for picking workers, improve picking accuracy, and reduce labor intensity.

The system features artificial intelligence and robot task management, said Geek+. It also has combined order optimization and picking, inventory management, dynamic wave optimization, and adjustments of inventory layouts for maximum efficiency.