THG boosts sortation throughput and reliability with robotic roll-out
The implementation was achieved in 35 days and comprised 430 robots, delivering 99.9% system uptime and significant cost-to-serve reductions.
ECOMMERCE FULFILMENT firm THG Fulfil pressed the button on the Libiao Robotics T-Sorter’s implementation to increase operational capacity, throughput, and accuracy.
Driven by the sustained growth of ecommerce and increasing order volumes across key sectors like beauty, nutrition, fashion, electronics and houseware, THG Fulfil proactively addressed specific operational pressures within its sortation and batching capabilities, which included capacity constraints, high peak labour dependency, and fixed infrastructure limitations.
The solution involved the strategic deployment of 14 induction stations with 80 Libiao 3D sorters, enabling dynamic sortation across 3,840 destinations. A total of 430 robots were integrated, unlocking substantial additional capacity to efficiently support batch picking operations. The adoption of a Robotics-as-a-Service model proved crucial, negating heavy upfront capital expenditure and allowing for flexible scaling precisely aligned with fluctuating market demands. This sophisticated system achieved full integration with THG Fulfil’s existing Warehouse Management System (WMS) within a 35-day timeline, with full target volume ramp-up accomplished within one week.
The Libiao T-Sorter deployment has yielded immediate and measurable operational impacts. A single facility at THG Fulfil has seen its sortation capacity surge from 250,000 to an impressive 625,000 units per day. The system now consistently achieves an incremental 11,151 units per hour throughput, marking a significant 34% increase against initial targets. Crucially, the solution demonstrates exceptional reliability with 99.9% sort accuracy and 99.9% system uptime, ensuring consistent, quick dispatch and next-day cut-off times as late as 1am. This enhanced efficiency has also resulted in a reduction of 45 full-time equivalent employees at a 200,000 daily volume, substantially lowering labour dependency and cost-to-serve while significantly mitigating operational risk during peak periods.
