DHL has launched a new warehouse robotics platform as part of a partnership with artificial intelligence-backed fulfilment provider Blue Yonder.

The new platform, built on Microsoft Azure, will integrate warehouse robotic systems into existing platforms at some of the 2,000 operational sites in the DHL Supply Chain.

DHL said the partnership would significantly reduce integration time and programming efforts to on-board new automation devices into warehouse facilities.

It added that the first implementation at one of DHL‘s warehouses in Madrid has already reduced integration time by 60 per cent.

The platform gives customers greater flexibility in selecting and integrating different robotics vendors in one system. The robotics platform is powered by Blue Yonder’s Luminate Platform with machine learning-driven task management capabilities that enable warehouse operational efficiency.

The platform collaboration is the latest part of a company-wide digitalisation strategy for DHL Supply Chain – which includes the use of DHL’s focus technologies such as robots, smart operations through wearable devices and data analytics .

Markus Voss, global chief operating officer at DHL Supply Chain, said: “The global deployment of robots and robotic systems is integral to our strategy to support our employees and improve customer operations.

“Automation and collaborative robotics help us make operational processes more flexible, ergonomic and more attractive to our employees by replacing monotonous, repetitive and particularly strenuous activities - the aim is not to replace employees over time, but to assign the more attractive and interesting tasks to our human workforce.”

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