More robots have started working in the promotional products industry.

Counselor Top 40 supplier Gildan (asi/56842) announced June 12 that it recently began using what it described as 19 “putaway and picking” robots at its distribution center in Eden, NC.

Counselor Top 40 supplier Gildan (asi/56842) has deployed 19 “putaway and picking” robots in its facility in Eden, NC.

The artificial intelligence-powered bots work in conjunction with human employees, assisting with the transportation of full product cases. This, Gildan said, minimizes the need for people to manually move product throughout the facility.

The vertically integrated apparel maker said this arrangement improves human safety and operational efficiency.

“I’m excited for our distribution teams to engage with this new automation technology,” said Bill Griffin, director of distribution operations. “In addition to improving operator and facility safety, this technology is expected to improve efficiency and quality of the workflow.”

“Robot-assisted transportation is an important step towards digitizing, innovating and optimizing certain components of our distribution processes.” Tripp Parks, Gildan (asi/56842)

The robots are not humanoid – look more like transport carts, you might say – but they certainly have some muscle. Gildan said the bots can lift loads of up to 600 pounds, circulating quietly through the facility as they team up with humans to move product cases between carts and assigned locations for processing.

“Robot-assisted transportation is an important step towards digitizing, innovating and optimizing certain components of our distribution processes, enabling us to expand our capabilities and better service our customers,” said Tripp Parks, Gildan’s director of process improvement and project team member of the robotics initiative.

Human job loss always looms as a question when robotics come into play. Gildan, however, said the bots provide “new paths for growth and career development for employees, who are offered training and equipped with the skillset required to engage with the new technology.”

Robots aren’t taking over distribution centers in the promotional products industry, but their presence is undoubtedly on the rise.

In 2023, ASI Media reported how the use of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) by several suppliers was boosting efficiency and safety, signaling a new era in industry logistics. Last year, ASI Media visited a Counselor Top 40 supplier S&S Activewear (asi/84358) distribution center to report on its PopPick advanced mobile robotics system in action. S&S has the efficiency-boosting AMRs in warehouses around the country.

Based on estimated 2023 North American promotional product revenue of $739.3 million, Gildan ranked fourth on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest suppliers in the industry. The new list comes out this summer.