SoftBank Robotics America and NISSCO Announce Partnership to Bring Whiz, the Autonomous Vacuum Sweeper, to Distributor Members Nationwide
Group purchasing organization fast-tracks technology and innovation focus with world’s top autonomous commercial cleaning robot.
SAN FRANCISCO — July 28, 2020 — SoftBank Robotics America (SBRA) today announced a Preferred Supplier partnership with the premier group purchasing organization, NISSCO, to deliver the autonomous vacuum sweeper, Whiz, to its distributor members and national accounts. The partnership unites NISSCO’s long-standing expertise in the janitorial supply and services industries with SoftBank Robotics’ global leadership in commercial robotics.
“As the janitorial supply and service industry continues to transform, SoftBank Robotics’ innovative approach to automate repetitive tasks in the commercial real estate space reflects a shared vision and understanding of the needs of building services contractors, property owners, and building managers to improve both their service and financial performance of building maintenance requirements and budgets,” stated Chad MacDonald, Chairman of NISSCO. “For over 35 years, NISSCO has been a trusted leader in the janitorial supplies industry. By integrating SoftBank Robotics to our supply and service management platform which features online supply procurement, work order management, and smart building solutions; we are further enhancing our real-time, data-driven approach to improve the effectiveness and efficiency for thousands of integrated building service contractors servicing thousands of commercial real estate locations across North America. At NISSCO, we are constantly looking towards the future of the industry and empowering our distributor members and national accounts with premiere products and solutions. We are excited to welcome SoftBank Robotics and Whiz to NISSCO’s Preferred Supplier Program.”
Effective today, Whiz is available as part of NISSCO’s preferred supplier program, bringing cobotics -humans and robotics working together- and automation to an industry that is transforming itself during a period of heightened global awareness and rapidly developing requirements to deliver clean and disinfected spaces. By partnering with NISSCO, SBRA will broaden the reach and impact that Whiz has on the industry. The national partnership allows distributors to assist building services contractors, property owners, and building managers to reimagine their workflows and deliver healthier environments, while delivering substantial direct cost savings. Adding to Whiz’s accessibility and ease of business integration is its robotics-as-a-service, or RaaS, subscription model, which replaces a heavy upfront one-time capital expense, with a monthly subscription-based operating cost. By combining the vast task of vacuuming commercial spaces with real-time analytics, Whiz enables building services contractors, property owners, and building managers to build a foundation of automation that supports their workers and their business.
“NISSCO understands the value of automation, innovation, and our breakthrough business model for the cleaning industry as demonstrated by its decades of industry leadership,” said Brady Watkins, SVP and General Manager of SBRA. “As a standalone product, Whiz’s disruptive vacuum hardware, intelligent navigation, and analytics application are already essential to today’s janitorial services. Combined with our RaaS subscription model, Whiz is a comprehensive solution to challenges such as the cost of equipment, demand for additional sanitization tasks, and a limited workforce.”
Whiz is powered by BrainOS®, the award-winning commercial robot operating system. Launched in North America last fall, Whiz recently hit a major milestone by becoming the most widely used autonomous professional cleaning robot by sales*, with more than 10,000 units deployed globally and capturing 55 percent market share. Worldwide, Whiz has cleaned floor spaces equivalent to over 208,000 miles, or nearly 8.5 laps around the world. It has also earned the 2019 ISSA Innovation Award for Equipment and was the silver winner for the 2020 Edison Awards in the category of Electronics and Information Technology.
To inquire about Whiz units, visit: nissco.com/whiz.
To learn more about SoftBank Robotics and commercial cleaning, visit softbankrobotics.com/us/solutions/commercial-cleaning
* Sales volumes of autonomous professional vacuum cleaning robots used for commercial applications (according to Grand View Research, as of June 26, 2020)
About SoftBank Robotics America
SoftBank Robotics is driving technology forward as a worldwide leader in robotics solutions. Rapidly expanding with offices in Tokyo, Paris, London, San Francisco, Boston, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, and Sydney, SoftBank Robotics is constantly exploring and commercializing robotics solutions that help make people’s lives easier, safer, more connected, and more extraordinary. There are currently over 30,000 SoftBank Robotics robots used in more than 70 countries worldwide offering innovative applications relevant in the fields of retail, tourism, healthcare, finance, education, facilities management, and cleaning.
About NISSCO
NISSCO is a premier leader in supply chain management and procurement solutions connecting local distributors to leading manufacturers across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Since 1985, NISSCO connects leading manufacturers representing thousands of brands in the Janitorial, Paper, Packaging, Chemical, Safety, Food Service, and Equipment industries to hundreds of independent distribution companies and national accounts. NISSCO provides our members with strategic and innovative solutions that assist them in driving sustainable, profitable growth. To learn more about NISSCO, go to: www.nissco.com
