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Logistics/Supply ChainsNews

GXO expands robotics deal with 6 River Systems

Multiyear extension to place undetermined number of `cobots’ in GXO facilities

Mark Solomon
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GXO expands robotics alliance with 6 River Systems (Photo: GXO Logistics)

Contract logistics provider GXO Logistics Inc. said Tuesday it has signed a multiyear extension with industrial robotics maker 6 River Systems to equip GXO facilities with an undetermined number of collaborative mobile robots.

The robots, known as Chucks, will operate alongside GXO workers to perform specific tasks. They are designed to reduce human operator intervention, increasing overall productivity. GXO operates more than 900 6 River robots across its network. It is not known how many that GXO will order under the expanded agreement. 

Unlike traditional warehouse robots that remain stationary until a human moves them, autonomous robots can move from one working station to another using built-in navigation technology. The additional mobility eliminates the down time for employees to move the equipment between locations.

Greenwich, Connecticut-based GXO (NYSE: GXO) operates more than 900 facilities in 28 countries covering 200 million square feet. Spun off last summer from XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO), GXO is the world’s largest contract logistics provider.


Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.