Alps Logistics Confirms 4x Storage Efficiency and 2-Person Labor Savings Five Months After rBox Implementation

RAX Solutions Co., Ltd. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Rupert Catoritzki, hereafter RAX) has disclosed the operational effects of the 'rBox' automated warehouse, specialized in managing small parts and products, at Alps Logistics Co., Ltd. (hereafter Alps Logistics), five months after its introduction.

In this performance verification across two locations—Yokohama and Kazo—concrete on-site results were confirmed: a four-fold increase in storage efficiency (with a future expectation of five-fold in Kazo), labor savings equivalent to 2 personnel (with both Yokohama and Kazo expecting over 3.4 personnel in the future), the ability to handle 500 to 700 dispatch operations per day, a significant reduction in walking distances, and the suppression of picking errors. These figures and comments are based on interviews conducted after the implementation.

In conjunction with this, a video compiling on-site interviews and actual operational footage has been released on the official RAX YouTube channel. The company will also exhibit at the 'Kyushu / East Asia International Logistics General Exhibition INNOVATION EXPO 2026', held at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall B and A (partially) from Wednesday, June 24 to Thursday, June 25, 2026. Exhibition dates and venue information are provided on the official website.

▼ Click here for the on-site interview video

[Image 1: Overall view of the rBox unit] Because the height of the rBox can be designed in 5 cm increments, it effectively utilizes the ceiling height by relocating ceiling obstacles (such as alarms), achieving an inventory efficiency of 3 times or more (Unit size: 1.6m wide x 3.4m high x 15m long).

Five Months Post-Implementation: Operations that 'Don't Stop, Don't Search, Can Be Packed'

In January 2026, RAX announced that the rBox had achieved short-term operation at Alps Logistics' Yokohama and Kazo sites. While the previous announcement focused on the short startup time, operational design that prevents on-site confusion, and reduced IT connection man-hours, this follow-up focuses on how the site has changed after five months of actual operation.

At Alps Logistics, managing small, high-mix products traditionally faced challenges such as increased walking distances due to scattered storage items, tight storage space, and individualized work processes. These interviews confirmed that the rBox has begun to function not just as storage equipment, but as a core facility driving the review of work flow lines, storage layouts, and picking quality.

Yokohama Office: Shifting to 'Completing Work Without Moving'

At the Yokohama office, the realization that 'work is completed without moving' has been felt as a major advantage on-site since the introduction of rBox. Instead of workers walking around the warehouse to retrieve items, products are sequentially called out in front of the operator, realizing an operation that is less prone to stagnation and confusion.

During the on-site interviews, it was shared that while handling a volume of 500 to 700 dispatches per day, approximately 200 new receipts per day, and re-stocking accounting for about half of the dispatches, a labor-saving effect of approximately 2 personnel is already beginning to show. Furthermore, by adding more inventory items, they anticipate an effect equivalent to about 3.5 personnel in the future.

Additionally, because products in the rBox are dispatched in the order they are called, workers do not need to memorize locations. In traditional shelf storage, workers unfamiliar with the warehouse layout might get lost, but the rBox's 'call and it comes' operation has led to a significant reduction in walking distances and easier verification tasks. In the previous release, the Yokohama office praised the ease of operation—'just scan the barcode and place it'—as a factor making it easy to establish on-site. This time, it became clearer that this feature is also leading to actual operational improvements.

On-site Comments

Yokohama Office, Product Division 1, Manager Kyoko Hayashi:

'Being able to work while standing in one place allows for really smooth operations, and I like that there's no stagnation. It's also great that interrupt instructions are easy, and items are separated into the emergency retrieval port.'

'Everyone is impressed by the speed. Error handling is also easy to understand with screen displays, making the operation site-friendly. However, when going inside to get products from high places, it's safer for two people to do the work.'

Yokohama Office, Product Division 1, Team Leader Nanae Hayashi

Kazo Office: Achieving High-Density Storage Equivalent to 80 Tsubo with 11-15 Tsubo Installation

At the Kazo office, storage space had become tight due to an increase in products, and they were reaching the limits of accommodating small items with conventional shelf management. According to comments from Masaru Katsuno, Manager of the Product Division at the Kazo office, the introduction of rBox has enabled high-density storage. With an installation area of about 11 to 15 tsubo, they ultimately expect storage effects equivalent to about 80 tsubo. Even now, with the storage rate at about half, over 30 tsubo of space has already been created, and layout changes and site reorganization utilizing this freed space have begun.

In terms of work, workers previously had to walk to retrieve scattered products, but now, various types of products are gathered and presented in one place, improving work efficiency. Kana Osawa, Chief of the Product Division at the Kazo office, says, 'Because various types of items come out to the same place, I think it becomes considerably better in terms of work efficiency.'

Processing capacity is also highly rated. Voices from the site say, 'The arm is faster than expected,' and 'There are times when humans cannot keep up.' Operations handling 600 boxes per day are running completely stress-free, and client companies visiting the site have highly praised it, saying, 'It has a sense of speed different from conventional automated warehouses.'

On-site Comments

'A new thought process has emerged on how we should optimize ourselves to match the automated warehouse.'

Kazo Office, Product Division, Manager Masaru Katsuno

'It's great to be able to use the height effectively. Another highly recommended point is that once you put it in, it does the rest automatically.'

Kazo Office, Product Division, Chief Kana Osawa

[Image 2: Inside the warehouse 1] Opening the front door of the rBox reveals shelves on the left and right, with an aisle for the arm in the middle. The picking arm is equipped with a drive recorder.

[Image 3: Inside the warehouse 2] The shelf numbers of the storage shelves are replaced by barcodes on the trays, and those trays are stored in a free-address manner inside the rBox. By using multiple types of trays according to the size of the products to be stored, and vertically storing them in the depth direction on tailor-made shelves matching the height of the trays, ultra-high-density storage is realized.

A System That Prevents Picking Errors and Site-Friendly Operability

In the interviews five months post-implementation, the reduction of mis-picking and rework was also highlighted as an important effect.

Because the rBox dispatches products one by one in sequence, common errors in conventional shelf storage, such as 'grabbing the adjacent item' or 'misreading the location,' do not occur. On-site, it is evaluated that 'if stored correctly, there are no picking errors.'

Furthermore, clear error displays and a design that makes it easy to handle issues on-site based on screen and camera information are elements supporting operational establishment. While the previous release cited that the machine not becoming 'something you shouldn't touch' was a reason for its successful adoption, these interviews confirmed that this also translates to ease of daily error handling.

[Image 4: Overall view of the rBox unit 2] While securing work flow lines around the rBox main unit, shelves are also placed on the wall side. Building layout