What’s in a name? Or more specifically, what’s in our name? We get this question a lot. Just what exactly does “6 River Systems” mean? Short answer: two things. One meaning has to do with where we work, the other with how we help warehouses work. Co-CEO and co-founder Rylan Hamilton walks us through both in this whiteboard session.
So, why ‘6 River Systems’?
6 River Systems is named after the Charles River, which is a six-river system. For those who haven’t been to Boston, the Charles River flows right through the center of the city. We think this is an awesome place to start a company. Many of us grew up here and love living in New England.
And what’s the other meaning about?
The 6 River Systems solution eliminates non-value added walking, creates in-aisle efficiencies and intelligently groups tasks. All of these benefit pickers, the primary users of 6 River Systems. So naturally, the second meaning behind our name has to do with how Chuck, our collaborative mobile robot, helps with picking.
There are seven steps to picking in a warehouse and six our collaborative mobile robot solution makes faster — hence, the ‘6’ in 6 River Systems.
Here are the steps:
- Long walk. Chucks keep pickers busy in the active pick area, eliminating long walks to packout or to pick up a new cart.
- Find bin. Chucks help pickers find the bin that contains the right item. The robot leads pickers on an optimized pick path, and parks right in front of the correct bin.
- Find the product. Chucks come with a tablet-sized screen that displays the pick item, saving pickers time idenifying the correct product.
- Grab item. Chucks do not help with this step. Chuck is a collaborative robot that helps pickers improve their job. The robot does not replace them.
- Confirm the product. Chucks have scanners that let pickers confirm a pick hands-free.
- Put item away. Lights on Chuck’s trays illuminate to highlight which tote to place products into, ensuring pickers are always assembling the right orders.
- Transition. When pickers complete a task on Chuck, the robot uses smart work grouping to seamlessly move them onto another task.
Want to learn more about Chuck and 6 River Systems? Check out our Solutions page, or call us at 1-800-60-CHUCK.
