On July 1st, Zebra Technologies announced their exciting plans to acquire Fetch Robotics. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in the third quarter of 2021. But, regardless of the closing details this Zebra and Fetch announcement is a clear indication of Zebra’s commitment to warehouse automation, robotics and the demand for autonomous inventory counts.
Fetch is a pioneer in the Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) industry and valued at $305 million. It was founded in 2014 by Melonee Wise and has approximately 100 employees generating annual revenues in the neighborhood of $10 million.
Zebra, on the other hand, provides various warehouse technology such as RFID and barcode scanners and printers, has over 8,000 employees, 10,000 channel partners and generated revenues of over $4 billion in 2020.
I am proud to say that currently A2B Tracking has partnerships with both Zebra and Fetch Robotics. We have worked closely with Zebra for decades and Fetch since 2020 to be able to provide state of the art technology to our customers.
Fetch Robotics
Fetch Robotics is a leader in automated mobile robotics and was one of the first companies to get into the game. Their AMRs are being used for optimized picking and material delivery in warehouses, fulfillment centers and manufacturing facilities around the globe.
But, more interesting in our opinion is the combination of the AMR technology with RFID to be able to perform autonomous inventory counts multiple times a day in warehouses of any size.
Autonomous Inventory Counts
The Fetch TagSurveyor AMRs are programmed to move steadily and precisely throughout the warehouse to provide consistent and reliable results. These automated robots can be programmed to operate 24-hours a day — continuously updating the inventory.
Our experience working with the Fetch TagSurveyor solution has been incredible. The level of accuracy that they provide is outstanding — essentially able to remove human error — and is able to free workers from cycle counting to allow them to do higher level work.
Zebra and Fetch Announcement
Zebra’s acquisition of Fetch Robotics is exciting on a number of levels. It’s a clear indication that Zebra recognizes the AMR market potential and that the future of the warehouse and manufacturing industries will involve autonomous mobile robots – both for picking and moving materials, as well as for updating inventory counts.
Secondly, the Fetch acquisition validates what we at A2B Tracking have recognized for a while now — the Fetch Robotics technology is world-class and truly exceptional. Their cloud-based robotics platform is unparalleled in the industry.
Lastly, Zebra is going to be a great fit for Fetch and should dramatically add credibility and provide a boost to their sales numbers. With annual revenues around $4 Billion, Zebra has a massive footprint and customer base to fuel Fetch sales.
Furthermore, Zebra has strategically positioned itself and built it’s core technology to help make manual workers more efficient and effective. The ability to now offer automated warehouse solutions to work alongside and improve productivity is very compelling. This all comes at a time when demand for skilled warehouse workers is at a premium.
What it means for A2B Tracking customers
We are very excited to be a part of this technology. Our relationships with Fetch and Zebra put us in a unique position to be able to help our customers with end-to-end automated solutions. Our experience working with Fetch to implement TagSurveyor AMRs along with our extensive experience with Zebra RFID technology puts us in a great position to be directly involved with this exciting collaboration.
