Rigid systems can’t keep pace with modern fulfillment demands. Tompkins Robotics is changing that with modular, easily scalable robotic solutions that boost throughput and adaptability. In this Q&A, Jim Serstad, VP of Robotics Engineering, discusses how Tompkins’ innovations and its collaboration with GreyOrange are helping warehouses work smarter and faster.
1. Can you tell us about Tompkins Robotics and your role within the company?
Tompkins Robotics is at the forefront of warehouse robotic automation, specializing in sortation solutions that make fulfillment operations more flexible, simple, and powerful. As VP of Robotics Engineering, I lead the development of our robotic systems—from concept through deployment—ensuring that every solution we design delivers measurable gains in throughput, space utilization, and labor efficiency for our customers.
2. What types of customers benefit the most from robotic automation?
Companies should consider robotic automation when manual processes start limiting growth, accuracy, or speed. If order volumes are increasing, labor is hard to find or retain, or seasonal peaks are difficult to manage, robotics can make a measurable difference.
Operations that deal with high SKU counts, frequent order changes, or space constraints often see the biggest gains. Robotics brings flexibility and scalability over traditional systems that rely on heavy machinery—allowing you to ramp capacity up or down as demand shifts, while maintaining consistent throughput and reliability.
3. We’re seeing more warehouses move from rule-based systems to AI-driven orchestration. What’s driving this shift, and how does it benefit customers?
Modern fulfillment operations deal with constant change—shifting order volumes, product mixes, and customer expectations. Traditional rule-based systems can’t keep up.
That’s why companies are turning to AI-driven, PC-based software powered by smart algorithms. These systems make real-time decisions, directing the right robot to the right task at the right time. The result is higher throughput, less idle time, and faster, data-driven decisions on the warehouse floor.
4. Tompkins is part of GreyOrange’s Certified Ranger Network (CRN). What are the benefits of being part of the CRN?
Being part of the Certified Ranger Network extends the capabilities of our robotics ecosystem. It allows us to integrate seamlessly with GreyOrange’s GreyMatter platform, combining our robotic automation systems with their advanced orchestration and AI.
Together, we can deliver fully unified fulfillment solutions—where every robot, workflow, and decision is optimized in real time.
5. How would you describe the role that GreyMatter plays for our shared customers?
GreyMatter acts as the intelligent brain behind the operation. It connects Tompkins’ robotic systems, like tSort and xChange, with other warehouse technologies, orchestrating activity across the floor.
This ensures continuous flow, optimal resource utilization, and unified control—regardless of how complex or dynamic the fulfillment environment becomes.
6. Why are flexibility and scalability critical for fulfillment operations, and in what ways do Tompkins x GreyMatter solutions deliver those benefits?
Flexibility and scalability are essential because customer expectations and order volumes change constantly. Static systems can’t adapt fast enough.
Tompkins’ modular robotics—combined with GreyMatter’s intelligent orchestration—give customers a system that adapts automatically. You can start small and scale up by simply adding more robots or modules, all coordinated seamlessly by the software. That means faster deployments, lower risk, and automation that grows in lockstep with your business.
7. What do you think the future of warehouse automation will look like?
We see the future as software-defined and robot-driven. Hardware will continue to get smaller, faster, and more modular—but the real transformation will come from orchestration and intelligence.
Automation will no longer be a collection of isolated systems—it will be an interconnected ecosystem of smart, mobile robots and adaptive software that can reconfigure itself instantly to meet any fulfillment challenge. That’s exactly what we’re building toward with Tompkins Robotics and GreyOrange together.