DHL Supply Chain, a global contract logistics provider, and robotics company AutoStore have expanded their existing partnership to advance global warehouse automation.
It is hoped that the expanded agreement will increase customers’ access to flexible and scalable automation solutions and cater to a varying range of needs in an evolving e-commerce landscape.
Read more: DHL Supply Chain opens largest fully-automated fulfilment centre in Germany
The two claim to have deployed more than 1,000 robots so far through their collaboration and significantly boosted operational efficiency and throughput within DHL’s fulfilment centres.
AutoStore’s flagship product is its automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), which has been developed to manage and optimise inventory within warehouses.
It is designed to be modular and scalable for e-commerce customers, with the strategic goal of its DHL partnership being to increase global adoption of this solution.
Through existing agreements, the two are already cooperating at nine AutoStore sites, with DHL Supply Chain set to become one of the company’s biggest 3PL clients. The company says this cements its commitment to digitalisation and automation.
What’s more, the nine systems currently in use reportedly operate around 800,000 bins, with four projects in planning stage set to increase this figure to 1.2 million.
Markus Voss, COO and CIO at DHL Supply Chain, said: “We are pleased to expand our existing relationship with AutoStore as we continue to implement our digitalisation and automation strategy in a growing number of warehouses, allowing us to better and faster serve our customers.
“AutoStore’s standardised and modular technology perfectly aligns with our aim to make our operations more efficient, enabling swift scalability and adaptability across various use cases and end-markets – a crucial factor for us as a third-party logistics provider.
“Through a standardised approach and dedicated stock availability we will be able to significantly drive down implementation times.”
The two companies have partnered to introduce solutions in Singapore, Poland, Germany, Australia and the US, with plans to expand the level of automation at these sites in the future.
Mats Hovland Vikse, CEO of AutoStore, added: “Our longstanding collaboration with DHL Supply Chain has showcased the strength, reliability and efficiency of AutoStore’s technology.
“We are thrilled to further expand this valued partnership, supporting DHL Supply Chain’s global deployment of automated warehouse solutions. We are excited about the significant growth opportunity that this represents for AutoStore, as we continue to drive innovation in the world of logistics.”
The latest developments in robotics and automated technologies will be on show at the Robotics and Automation Exhibition, which will be held on 19-20 March 2024 at the NEC Birmingham. Register now to attend the UK’s biggest exhibition dedicated to robotics and automation, which is co-located with Britain’s biggest warehousing show, IntraLogisteX, where AutoStore will be exhibiting at Stand 500.
