GROUND Inc. on June 26, 2017 concluded a capital and business alliance contract with Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd., a leader in the business of building homes and commercial facilities. Furthermore, on June 27, GROUND raised funds totaling 1 billion yen (9 million USD) by issuing new shares for allotment to Daiwa House.

Purposes of the capital and business alliance

According to population statistics for 2016 released by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, while the productive-age population is predicted to decrease by half over 50 years from 2010 to 2060, a labor shortage is becoming a pressing issue for the logistics industry as the number of parcels delivered has been increasing year by year due to the growth of the e-commerce market and other factors. Under these circumstances, GROUND plans to fully utilize of the latest capital and business alliance to jointly develop with the Daiwa House Group the next-generation "Intelligent Logistics Center (ILC)," which is a combination of the following: advanced logistics facilities developed by Daiwa House, the "Warehouse Management System" developed by Daiwa House Group firm Frameworx, Inc. (*1), the "Butler (R)" (*2) logistics robot provided by GROUND, and logistics resource optimization software called "Dynamic Allocation System (DyAS)" which uses artificial intelligence. By doing so, GROUND will significantly improve the productivity of logistics facilities.

(*1) Frameworx, Inc. formed a capital and business alliance with GROUND in June 2016.

(*2) Butler (R) was developed and produced by India's GreyOrange, and GROUND holds an exclusive distribution right for the product.

About GROUND Inc.

- Overview of business activities: Engaged in creative projects for "intelligent logistics" based on logistics technology

- Established: April 2015

- Address: 2-7-4 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan

- Representative: President Hiratomo Miyata

- Capital: 1 billion yen (as of June 27, 2017)

- Website: http://www.groundinc.co.jp/en/

About Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.

http://www.daiwahouse.co.jp/English/index.html

Reference:

Logistics robot "Butler (R)" and logistics facilities developed by Daiwa House

(Photo1: GROUND: Logistics robot "Butler (R)"

http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M104449/201706263094/_prw_PI1fl_rKkpMSE4.png)

(Photo2: Daiwa House Industry's DPL Ichikawa

http://prw.kyodonews.jp/prwfile/release/M104449/201706263094/_prw_PI2fl_3OduPGeE.png)