WHITEPAPER

MEET
FORWARDXFLEX
For Your Piece and Case
Picking Workflows

www.forwardx.com

Better
Performance
Better Value

ContentsIntroduction

04

How It Works

05

Specs

08

Industry Applications

09

Case Studies

10

About ForwardX

12

Introduction
ForwardX Flex is a roughly 3-foot by 2-foot Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) built toincrease productivity, throughput capacity, and labor savings for a wide range ofindustries. The Flex 300 robot, often just referred to as “Flex,” gets its name for its
flexibility and its 300 kg, or 661 lb, payload. Its size and payload make it the perfect robot
for piece-picking workflows as well as many case-picking workflows or a mixture of thetwo.

04

How It Works
Every Flex robot is outfitted with an intuitive touch-screen interface and can be paired withhandheld devices such as barcode scanners or RF guns. These features make it easierthan ever for employees to collaborate with the robots to ensure fast and precise orderfulfillment. Now, every pick can be checked and processed as they're made, for moreaccurate results.
Manual Picking:Long walk

In-aisle walk

Pick

Long walk

Check

Pack

ForwardX Flex Picking:In-aisle walk

PickPack

Time Saved05

How It Works
Flex AMRs move from point A to B at 4.5 mph with 360° obstacle avoidance. The robots areconstantly scanning their environment while reporting any changes or obstacles to every
robot in the fleet. Using their cameras, sensors, and constantly updated information, theAMRs can be certain to take optimal routes to each destination, saving time while ensuring asafe working environment.
Each AMR can run for about 8 hours non-stop. The f(x) Fleet Manager automates
opportunistic charging so enough robots in the fleet are always available at any given time.
When one robot heads to the charging station, it only needs about 2.5 hours to reach 95%
battery. In the meantime, another robot is entering the fleet to take its place.

On screen instructions guide the workers through every step of the process. When a robot
arrives at a picking location, the screen will display the item and its code along with any otherrelevant information such as size, quantity, etc. After an employee has scanned the correct
item, the Flex AMR will direct them where to place the item for fast and easy sorting.

06

07

SpecsPerformance

Total Payload
2nd Deck Payload
3rd Deck Payload
Max. Speed
Turning Radius

Flex 300-SCB

300 kg (661 lbs)

300 kg (661 lbs)

300 kg (661 lbs)-

80 kg (176 lbs)

80 kg (176 lbs)--

50 kg (110 lbs)

2 m/s (4.5 mph)

2 m/s (4.5 mph)

2 m/s (4.5 mph)

532mm

532mm

532mm

Guide Positioning: ± 10 mm (0.39 in)

Guide Positioning: ± 10 mm (0.39 in)Stop Positioning: ± 5 mm (0.20 in)

Stop Positioning: ± 5 mm (0.20 in)

Stop Positioning: ± 5 mm (0.20 in)

Length950 mm (37.40 in)

950 mm (37.40 in)

950 mm (37.40 in)

Width

650 mm (25.59 in)

650 mm (25.59 in)

650 mm (25.59 in)

Height360/1,300 mm

360/1,040/1,300 mm

360/1,040/1,600 mm(14.17/51.18 in)(14.17/40.94/51.18 in)(14.17/40.94/62.99 in)

Mass

100 kg (220 lbs)

114 kg (251 lbs)

128 kg (282 lbs)

1st Deck Load Surface

2nd Deck Load Surface

3rd Deck Load Surface

Battery &Communications

Flex 300-SCB(Double)

Guide Positioning: ± 10 mm (0.39 in)

Positioning Accuracy

Size & Weight

Flex 300-S

865x650 mm

810x650mm

810x650mm(34.06x25.59 in)(31.89x25.59in)(31.89x25.59in)-

810x650mm

810x650mm-(31.89x25.59in)(31.89x25.59in)--

810x650mm--(31.89x25.59in)

Operating Time

~8 hrs per charge

Charging Time

1.5 hrs to 95%

Managed Charging

Automated Opportunistic Charging
from Fleet Manager for 24/7 Operation

Safety &Sensors

WiFi

2.4GHz/5.8GHz

BluetoothBluetooth 4.0

Mobile Network

Supports 4G/5GSensors

2 LiDAR Scanners
1 Odometer
1 IMUCameras

1 forward view autopilot camera
2 side view positioning cameras
1 depth camera

SafetySound and Light Alarms
2 Emergency Stop Buttons

08Industry Applications
The ForwardX Flex range of robots were developed with small to medium sized materials inmind. Any operation that sees time being spent on transporting goods within the size andpayload range of Flex AMRs stands to benefit. The amount of time spent moving goods
and materials within an operation largely affects how much value these AMRs will add.
Current ForwardX Flex users have seen 2x–3x productivity increases with significant
reductions in labor costs and error rates.
Flex AMRs are currently aiding in wide variety of industries. With customers from fashion
and apparel, food and beverage, consumer electronics, grocery, general merchandise, andhome furnishing to name a few. The industry applications have yet to be realized for Flex
and AMRs in general, but we can be sure that Flex AMRs are equipped with everything theyneed to add value to any distribution or fulfillment warehouse across the globe.

09

Omnichannel

Grocery

Ecommerce

Home Furnishing

Wholesale

Fashion & ApparelConsumer Electronics

Food & Beverage

Case Studies : ITOCHU Logistics China
ITOCHU Logistics China (ILC) was established in 1994 as a wholly owned subsidiary ofITOCHU Corporation. It specializes in providing 3PL services to a wide range of industries
from apparel and cosmetics to automotive parts and electronic components.
ILC’s Tianjin distribution center serves as a crucial link across its domestic logistics
network. The Tianjin warehouse is over 53,800 square feet. It distributes to retail stores
across northern China and handles thousands of SKUs.
The warehouse was fully manual, using paper-based picking methods prior toimplementing ForwardX Flex AMRs into their operations. The pain points it was looking toaddress were low picking productivity, high error rate, high labor costs, and inability tomeet seasonal peaks.

The Solution:

The Results:

ITOCHU Logistics China chose a ForwardX Flex
solution, consisting of a fleet of Flex 300 AMRsand f(x) Fleet Manager software, to automate
picking and packing workflows in its Tianjin
location. The solution enables an all-in-one
pick, check, and pack functionality through an
on-board RFID scanner and label printer. Thesolution was designed to minimize travel,
reduce cognitive fatigue, lower labor
dependency, and allow for rapid scalability.

Deployment took only about two weeks andimmediately started delivering excellent
returns. Picking productivity more thandoubled, allowing the center to reduce cycle
times and meet demand spikes without
unexpected costs. Furthermore, it was able toreach 99.99% picking accuracy, reducing
financial loss from order errors while also
cutting its labor costs by more than half.

2.13x

99.99%

52%

Productivity Increase

Picking Accuracy

Labor Cost Reduction10Case Studies : SF Supply Chain China
SF Supply Chain China, in partnership with DHL and hereinafter referred to as SFDSC, is
one of the globe’s top 3PL providers. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, the company has
warehouse and logistics facilities and operations in over 80 cities.
SFDSC’s Beijing warehouse provides warehousing and distribution services to one ofChina’s largest coffee brands and supports roughly 400 retail locations across China. The
distribution center is over 75,000 square feet and handles about 1000 SKUs.
Before implementing ForwardX Flex AMRs, the warehouse used tradition manual picking
methods with paper pick lists and manual pick carts. As a result, order pickers covered
long walking distances every day and picking productivity was limited. With such a large
volume of similar SKUs, the error rate was high.

The Solution:

The Results:

SFDSC chose a ForwardX Flex solution that
consolidated the distribution center’s picking,packing, and sorting workflows into a single
seamless process. f(x) Fleet Manager
orchestrates the AMRs and order pickers toact independently yet work together. The AMRs
travel where directed, meeting order pickers intheir zones and directing them through thepicking, packing, and sorting workflows toensure accuracy and speed.

Initially using only 5 robots to service about
100 stores, the ForwardX Flex 300 AMRs
automated all the material movement within
the operation. Immediate results followed andthe warehouse decided to quadruple its orderbringing in 15 more AMRs to service 400 retaillocations. SFDSC was able to reduce laborcosts by 43%. It was able to achieve an
improvement in productivity by a factor of 3
while seeing a significant improvement inaccuracy.

3x90%

43%

Productivity Increase

Error Rate Reduction

Labor Cost Reduction11About ForwardX Robotics
ForwardX Robotics is a global technology leader in the fields of AI and Robotics. Throughits flexible automation platform comprising of intelligent mobile robots and AI-enabled
software, ForwardX delivers material handling solutions for warehousing andmanufacturing facilities that offer better performance at better value. The company iscomprised of over 300 members hailing from top universities and leading enterprises
around the world. As shown by the 200+ patents pending and its award-winning researchwork, such as 2 1st-Place Prizes at TRECVID and the 1st-Place Prize at IEEE’s VOT-RT,
ForwardX’s team boasts some of the world’s top computer vision scientists and robotics
experts.
With offices in China, Japan, and the US, along with partnerships around the globe,
ForwardX is expanding and applying its proven solutions to warehouses andmanufacturers worldwide.

Faster

12- to 24-Month ROI

Stronger

661 to 2,645 lb Payload Capacity

Smarter

2 to 3x Productivity Increase12ForwardX Flex AMRs are designed to give you better
performance at a better value. Start the conversation
with our team to learn more by emailing us atsales.us@forwardx.com and find a plan that fits withyour business.

Sales
sales.us@forwardx.com

Supportsupport.us@forwardx.com

PR & Mediapr.us@forwardx.com

Websitewww.forwardx.com

ForwardX Robotics
ForwardX Robotics@ForwardX_US