How package, logistics companies are bringing robots into warehouses

Workers at DHL Group used to walk close to a half marathon each day just to classify, pick and move items across massive warehouses.

Now, their distance and efforts are greatly reduced by autonomous mobile robots that can unload containers for the package delivery and supply chain management company with a speed of up to 650 cases per hour.

“That is what we look forward to, and where we’ve been successful in deploying technology at scale over the last five years, going from when we started in 2020 with 240 projects, and now we’re up to 10,000 projects,” Tim Tetzlaff, DHL’s global head of digital transformation, told CNBC.

The company’s autonomous innovations have accelerated processes at 95% of DHL’s global warehouses. Item-picking robots in one warehouse have increased units picked per hour by 30%, while autonomous forklifts at that same warehouse have contributed a 20% increase in efficiency, the company said.

Tetzlaff said automation is important for the company because it’s such a labor-intensive business.

“We still have the ambition to grow our business even further, but if you look at where these distribution centers should be located … it’s typically very tough to find additional labor or even additional spaces just to build these warehouses there,” he said.

DHL is one of multiple fulfillment companies moving toward automation and leveraging artificial intelligence as the industry works toward greater efficiency.

On an earnings call with analysts in late January, United Parcel Service CEO Carol Tomé said the company deployed automation in 57 buildings in the fourth quarter, bringing its total to 127 automated buildings, with plans for 24 more in 2026.

“This year, we plan to further automate our network and as a result, we expect to increase the percentage of U.S. volume we process through automated facilities to 68% by the end of the year, up from 66.5% at the end of 2025,” she said.

Similarly, FedEx has said it sees automation as an opportunity to enhance its workers’ jobs, installing robotic arms to help process small packages at its Memphis hub and working with AI company Dexterity to leverage robots for loading boxes into containers. Its “Network 2.0” initiative is working to increase the efficiency of its package processes.

The company recently announced a partnership with Berkshire Grey to launch a fully autonomous robot to unload containers and optimize operations.

It estimates that the global warehouse automation market is expected to exceed $51 billion by 2030.

“We now have about 24% of our eligible average daily volume flowing through 355 Network 2.0-optimized facilities,” CEO Raj Subramaniam said on a call with analysts in December.