As the largest drug distributor in the United States, McKesson is responsible for a third of the pharmaceuticals used every day in North America.

Operating in the medical industry requires a high level of adherence to strict handling and processing guidelines as mandated by national and local authorities. Like all pharmaceutical wholesalers, McKesson faces steep cost pressures. The company was looking for a way to lower costs and fill labor gaps as they increasingly struggled to find qualified personnel.

To increase performance, McKesson turned to KNAPP

On the hunt for increased performance, McKesson turned to KNAPP, a global provider of intelligent automation solutions for intralogistics and manufacturing.

One such solution is the KNAPP Pick-it-Easy Robot, a warehouse-ready, intelligent picking solution that can pick virtually any item regardless of its properties. The Pick-it-Easy Robot is relied on in warehouses across the world.

Since the Pick-it-Easy Robot has been deployed at McKesson, it has run around the clock to make up for the shortage of workers while also helping McKesson keep their delivery promises and comply with the legal requirements of the DSCSA.

Brains and brawn: KNAPP partners with Covariant to deliver intelligence and performance

Covariant's universal AI platform, the Covariant Brain, provides the intelligence the robot needs to recognize different packaging features on pharmaceutical products, which come in many shapes and are often small and difficult, if not impossible, for traditional hardcoded robots to pick. With the robot, McKesson's orders are processed fully automatically while fulfilling all the legal requirements - helping the company increase the reliability of its processing to ultimately get prescriptions into the hands of patients at a price they can afford.

Source: KNAPP and Covariant Partnership Advances AI Robotics for more Efficient Warehouses; KNAPP and Covariant Partnership Advances AI Robotics for more Efficient Warehouses