DHL bets bigger on shift to multiple automated warehouse solutions
DHL Supply Chain has deployed the SVT Robotics SOFTBOT platform across its global warehouse network.
THE 3PL has some 8,000 collaborative robots active across its global operations, and the new plug-and-play platform is designed to allow DHL to deploy robotic integrations up to 12 times faster than traditional custom coding setups.
Prior to implementing the technology-neutral software, automation projects required separate custom coding for every new technology, taking up to six to eight weeks to initiate new solutions. This made enterprise-wide rollouts and upgrades slow and costly. Supported by the platform’s prebuilt SOFTBOT connectors, DHL is redoubling its move away from monolithic, all-in-one systems to modular warehouse setups that accommodate multiple automated solutions and can be reconfigured as technology and customer needs evolve.
DHL Supply Chain global CIO Sally Miller, says: “The logistics industry is characterised by rapid change – whether it’s customer profile, volumes, or newly emerging technology – so our automation solutions need to adapt just as quickly. The SOFTBOT Platform gives us an effective and efficient way to connect different types of robotics to our warehouse systems, monitor performance in real time and scale solutions across sites with confidence.”
The SOFTBOT platform provides a single, multi-site dashboard to monitor system-wide operations.
Tim Tetzlaff, global head of digital transformation, DHL Supply Chain, adds: “As a standard integration layer, the SOFTBOT platform provides the glue between our warehouse management system (WMS) and our digitalisation agenda. It has enabled us to replicate Goods-to-Person solutions across Europe with integration work completed in just three hours. We’ve also added new operational technology to live operations in Asia Pacific with zero downtime. The platform’s global, real-time data access also unlocks significant opportunities to scale logistics AI.”
AK Schultz, CEO and co-founder of SVT Robotics, says: “DHL now does the majority of implementations without hands-on support from SVT. This means they can scale even faster.”
SOFTBOT’s unified data layer also enables visibility into workforce activity and automation performance.
The SOFTBOT Platform is live in 30 DHL Supply Chain sites worldwide, with plans to expand to more than 100 sites across all geographies over the next three years.
