DHL Supply Chain has signed an expanded agreement with Locus Robotics, to extend its Accelerated Digitalization strategy. By 2022, the supply chain specialist plans to take on up to 2,000 robots, then being by far the largest customer of Locus Robotics worldwide, according to DHL. The assisted picking robots are mostly used in e-commerce or consumer warehouses to help with picking and inventory replenishment, reportedly increasing efficiency and accelerating delivery processes.
“It is particularly important for us to be able to consistently optimize our supply chains – assisted picking robots are very effective in this respect,” said Markus Voss, Global CIO & COO DHL Supply Chain. “So far, more than 500 assisted picking robots are already in industrial use in our warehouses in the USA, Europe and the UK. By the end of 2021, another 500 robots are to be added in a total of more than 20 locations. The collaborative picking technology has clearly proven its effectiveness and reliability in modern warehousing. More locations have already been identified with concrete implementation roadmaps for the remaining robots, which we will deploy in 2022. However, the overall potential for assisted picking robots in our DHL warehouses is much bigger, so we are confident that we will meet the targets we have set ourselves together with Locus Robotics”.
Further implementing these robots is one step in DHL Supply Chain’s Accelerated Digitalization Strategy. Assisted picking robots help reduce time spent on maneuvering pushcarts through warehouses, lower physical strain on employees, and increase picking efficiency, according to DHL. Assisted picking robots display images of goods to be picked, intended to calculate optimal navigation routes and reduce required training time. Also, they can be integrated into the warehouse system landscape via DHL Supply Chain’s Robotics Hub and are well received by staff, stated DHL. In addition, during peak operational periods the robots provide a solution for capacity expansion, due to little onboarding effort to the existing fleet.
“Our expanded partnership with DHL reflects the increasing demand for warehouse digitalization worldwide to meet today’s exploding fulfilment challenges,” said Rick Faulk, CEO, Locus Robotics. “Locus is proud to be a valued technology resource that is helping DHL realize their strategic vision of digital transformation.”
In addition to these tangible robotic solutions, DHL Supply Chain uses software and cockpit solutions that can provide real-time information on the status of the global service logistics network of their customers.
Source: DPDHL
