Marlborough Demo Highlights Role of AGVs in Sustainable Winegrowing
The air was unseasonably crisp in the upper Wairau Valley in mid-December as two autonomous ground vehicles moved methodically through the vines, spraying each row in turn.
The company says the technology has enabled a 48% increase in the number of recipes customers can choose from each week and improved both productivity and picking accuracy across the business.
My Food Bag invested $5 million to bring the technology to the North and South Islands for its My Food Bag, Bargain Box, Made and Fresh Start brands.
Mark Winter, chief executive of My Food Bag, says the business has seen an instant change since the installation of automated pick technology.
“Every week we are already packing more than a million food items across our distribution centres and this technology enabled us to do more,” Winter says.
He says the technology enables a “vast improvement” in customer choice, productivity, and quality.
“It was important to us that all our customers have the benefit of this technology because the automation simplifies the process of packing our boxes and ensures each meal kit is methodically packed how we want it.”
Winter says that after the first week of deliveries using the system, customers have been proactively thanking the company for the change in how the boxes are packed.
“The automated pick technology has also enabled us to offer around 1.5 times more recipes each week, with more than 60 different meals to choose from a week. It also means we can extend the range depth and breadth within our Kitchen offering,” he says.
Winter says that after the technology was rolled out in the Auckland distribution centre in April this year, there was an increase in the accuracy of picking ingredients.
“Now we have completed our Christchurch installation, we expect to see similar results in the South Island.”
