Shopify & 6 River: Game-Changing M&A in Warehouse Automation - IRIS

The deal reminds us of Amazon's 2012 purchase of Kiva Systems, which kick-started an arms race to automate supply chains, warehouses, and fulfillment centers. In fact, since the inception of the ROBO Global Robotics & Automation Index, logistics and warehouse automation has been its best performing subsector, returning over 220%, including more than 30% so far in 2019. With 4 deals in the past 12 months, Shopify has been on a bona fide acquisition spree. That said, the 6 River acquisition is its first warehouse fulfillment-related deal, and may well be the most important acquisition to date in the company's quest to transition into a global retail operating system that spans global fulfillment and brick-and-mortar operations from a single e-commerce platform solution provider. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Massachusetts, 6 River Systems provides collaborative mobile robots to enhance warehouse fulfillment solutions.