Beacon Robot Intelligent Handling Forklifts Empower Storage Intelligence Upgrade for a Leading Russian Retail Enterprise

As one of Russia's leading food and FMCG retail enterprises, the company operates thousands of stores nationwide across multiple formats, including convenience stores, supermarkets, and discount outlets. Its business spans the entire supply chain, from procurement, warehousing, and distribution to retail. With continuous business expansion and rapid growth in e-commerce, its distribution centers are facing unprecedented logistical pressure. Tens of thousands of store orders must be picked, handled, sorted, and dispatched within tight timeframes, placing exceptionally high demands on the automation, intelligence, and flexibility of in-warehouse logistics systems.

The Dilemma of Traditional Warehousing: From Efficiency Bottlenecks to Safety Concerns

Before the introduction of automated material handling solutions, the retailer’s warehouses faced multiple operational pain points that severely constrained overall logistics efficiency.

1. Efficiency Bottlenecks in Manual Operations.Material handling tasks were assigned manually, and workflow was heavily dependent on staff fatigue levels and shift fluctuations. This made it difficult to keep pace with the high-frequency replenishment demands typical of the retail sector.
2. Logistics Congestion in Limited Spaces. The warehouses featured narrow-aisle racking systems with restricted aisle widths. During peak inbound and outbound periods, this easily led to aisle congestion and operational disruptions,significantly limiting overall throughput capacity.

Complexity and Safety Risks of Mixed Human-Machine Traffic. 
Dense mixed-traffic environmentsinvolving both pedestrians and vehicles posed significant challenges. Maneuvering traditional forklifts in confined spaces—such as reversing, turning, and passing other vehicles—was highly difficult, substantially increasing the risk of collisions.

Beacon Robot's Customized Solution

To address the retailer's comprehensive requirements in handling efficiency, space utilization, safety management, and system integration, Beacon Robot delivered a fully customized end-to-end solution anchored by its BR-F15P intelligent forklift as the core hardware. The deployment also includes automatic charging stations and a suite of software systems, including the RMS fleet scheduling system, RCS traffic control system, and WCS warehouse control system, which seamlessly integrate with the customer’s existing WMS.

1.  Core Material Handling Power: BR-F15P Smart Forklift ——Equipped with 3D LiDAR SLAM navigation technology, the system integrates a 3D LiDAR and depth vision cameras to accurately detect low-lying ground obstacles as well as overhead hanging obstructions. For comprehensive safety, it features safety LiDARs and fork-tip photoelectric sensors to provide 360° all-around protection. Additionally, a dedicated 3D camera for pallet recognition enables automatic pallet identification and autonomous alignment correction. This significantly reduces the failure rate of picking operations caused by misaligned pallets and minimizes the risk of cargo damage.
2. Comprehensive System Dispatch Framework——To achieve multi-robot collaborative operations and global path optimization, Xunji Zhihang has deployed a Cluster Robot Management System (RMS) for this warehouse. The system is capable of executing complex control functions, including map construction, path planning, automatic charging, traffic management, equipment integration, and fleet dispatching. By providing real-time monitoring of the operational status and location of each handling forklift, it ensures full-process automation and complete traceability for materials—from inbound storage to outbound distribution.
3. Continuous Operation Assurance: Smart Automatic Charging Station——To ensure 24/7 uninterrupted operation of the AMR robots, Beacon Robot has simultaneously deployed an automatic charging station system at the warehouse. When the battery level of a BR-F15P handling forklift drops below a preset threshold, the system automatically dispatches it to the charging station for autonomous recharging, requiring zero manual intervention throughout the entire process.

Project Outcomes and Customer Value

Since the deployment of Beacon Robot's AMR smart material handling solution in this retail warehouse, the project has been operating stably, delivering significant benefits to the customer.

1. Significant Boost in Logistics Efficiency.
   With a running speed of 1.5m/s and precise dispatch control, the time required for each single handling cycle is significantly shortened, resulting in a substantial increase in overall material turnover efficiency.
2. Enhanced Space Utilization and Operational Flexibility.
   Without any structural expansion or modification to the warehouse's existing layout, the system effectively activates constrained space resources, markedlyimproving overall storage space utilization.
3. Effective Reduction in Operating Costs.
   By replacing a large volume of traditional manual forklift operations with automated handling, the project directly reduces the demand for frontline forklift operators, successfully alleviating labor shortage challenges.
4. Comprehensive Improvement in Safety Standards.
   The application of multi-level safety protection systems andintelligent obstacle-avoidance mechanisms fundamentally eliminates the risk of collisions in areas where pedestrians and vehicles share the same space.

As the Russian retail industry accelerates its transition toward smart operations, intelligent material handling equipment represented by AGVs and AMRs （Autonomous mobile robot）will play an increasingly vital role in retail warehousing. As the core partner for this retailer's logistics automation upgrade, Beacon Robot has set a replicable benchmark for the industry through the successful deployment of this project, particularly for automated transformation in complex scenarios such as narrow aisles and mixed pedestrian-vehicle traffic. Looking ahead, Beacon Robot will continue to leverage its proprietary core technologies to deepen strategic partnerships with clients in Russia and worldwide, driving the digital and intelligent transformation of retail warehousing with superior smart logistics solutions.