Thought Leaders in Automation

Jim Rock

Chief Executive Officer
Seegrid

Interview Posted: April 21, 2021

Jim Rock is Seegrid's Chief Executive Officer. A progressive leader of growth-stage technology companies, Jim's expertise spans 30 years in high-tech industries, including robotics, AI, enterprise software, voice recognition technology, and semiconductors. Prior to joining Seegrid, Jim served as President of Vocollect Healthcare, Inc. (acquired by Honeywell), Co-Founder and CEO of Akustica, Inc. (acquired by Bosch), SVP at Cambridge Technology Partners, Inc. (acquired by Novell), and VP at Carnegie Group. Jim holds a BS in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering from Penn State University.

QUESTION

How has COVID-19 impacted warehouse automation?

ANSWER

Automation demand year-over-year is rising, and the pandemic further accelerated that trend. COVID-19 also highlighted the tremendous pressure supply chains are under and the ways automation can help alleviate that pressure: increasing throughput productivity, improving employee and facility safety, reducing labor and operation costs, and driving continuous improvement.

QUESTION

How has this boom impacted Seegrid’s business and bottom line?

ANSWER

Seegrid continues to experience incredible growth, with more companies than ever turning to automation solutions like Seegrid Palion autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for material handling. In 2020, we doubled our revenue year-over-year for the second year in a row, closed a $52 million growth equity financing round, acquired a robotics technology company, and increased our employee headcount by 40 percent. We plan to continue expanding our team and product offerings to meet the growing automation needs of our customers.

QUESTION

With economists forecasting larger uses of robotics and automation especially coming out of the COVID-19 landscape, this potentially means a lot of new customers. What would you tell business leaders about getting started with automation?

ANSWER

Always prioritize safety. The pandemic put a spotlight on the importance of worker safety — not just productivity and speed. The benefit of automation solutions like our Palion AMRs is that they provide a flexible approach by increasing both employee safety along with productivity and speed. Our customers’ success and safety record proves just how important safety is to Seegrid — our collective Palion AMR fleet reached more than four million autonomous miles driven at customer sites without a single personnel safety incident.

QUESTION

What does the future of automation in manufacturing and material handling look like?

ANSWER

Demand for automated solutions will continue to increase as customers adapt to changing supply chain pressures. Beyond COVID-19, which has had real implications for warehousing, logistics, and manufacturing operations, the material handling industry will need to continue adapting to changing consumer demands, ongoing labor shortages, and evolving disruptions. The bottom line is that more and more companies who rely on efficient material handling want holistic automation solutions that provide real business value and enable them to adapt to supply chain disruptions today while continuing to grow and become more efficient in the future.

QUESTION

What technology is going to have the biggest impact and be most disruptive over the next 3-5 years?

ANSWER

Autonomous mobile robots will continue advancing in their capabilities over the next several years. A key component of that enhanced capability is more human-like situational awareness technology. Having a better understanding of the environment around them enables AMRs to be even more effective and productive while further increasing safety. Businesses that implement a material handling solution that combines advanced robotics technology with actionable analytics will be empowered to achieve Industry 4.0 goals faster and with greater precision.

QUESTION

Do you see this move to automation being a permanent shift or will this fade following the pandemic?

ANSWER

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed us past a tipping point when it comes to implementing robotics and automation for material handling. Challenges will continue to evolve over time, even outside of a global pandemic. The adoption of automation will only further accelerate over the years to come. Flexible automation solutions like Seegrid Palion autonomous mobile robots enable companies to optimize and adapt, while facilitating continuous improvement that is critical for manufacturing, e-commerce, warehousing, and logistics companies to meet customer needs and remain competitive. Our Palion AMRs and enterprise software help establish successful human-machine partnerships that deliver profitability for customers worldwide to drive safety, productivity, and efficiency.