The days when logistics service providers did not consider automation and robotisation because of long payback periods are behind us. In Mönchengladbach, DHL Supply Chain shows what choices it is making when it comes to robots for horizontal transport, compact storage, order picking and unloading shipping containers. "By 2030, we want to have a total of 1,000 Stretch robots at work," he says.
The 66,000-square-metre warehouse in Mönchengladbach is full of fast fashion from an Irish retail chain. From this building, DHL Supply Chain dispatches some 1,500 pallets a day to 40 branches in the Netherlands, Belgium and northern Germany. "As much as 90 per cent of the clothes come from the Far East and are brought in via the Netherlands in sea containers. The remaining 10 per cent comes by road from factories in Turkey and North Africa," says DHL branch manager Markus Birkhahn.
Every day, the warehouse receives several dozen sea containers with a total of 30,000 to 40,000 boxes. Most of these loose-loaded containers are still unloaded manually by DHL employees, but they have recently been getting help from two Stretch robots from Boston Dynamics. "These robots can unload around 400 to 500 boxes per hour. Together they account for around 12,000 boxes per day," says Jan-Willem de Jong, head of innovation and digitalisation at DHL in Europe.
One thousand Stretch robots
Each robot is equipped with a gripper with 50 suction cups, all of which can be individually controlled. Based on the photos the robot takes of the container contents, an AI system calculates whether the gripper picks up one, two or four boxes at a time and which suction cups are needed to do so. The boxes are then placed on a conveyor belt towards the warehouse. There, one or two employees are ready to stack the boxes on a pallet. "In theory, we could also robotise that process, but the Stretch robots are too expensive for that," De Jong explains.
The distribution centre in Mönchengladbach is not the only DHL site where robots are working. The logistics service provider is also experimenting with Boston Dynamics robots in the UK and the US. "There are several companies providing robots for unloading containers, but Boston Dynamics is ahead of the competition," believes De Jong. "Moreover, this is a partner we can scale up globally with. In the next six months, we are going to install them in another four or five warehouses in Europe. By 2030, we want to have a total of a thousand Stretch robots in use."
Depending on order profile
The example of the Stretch robots shows how ambitious DHL is when it comes to automation and robotisation. Across Europe, the logistics service provider has 330 warehouses with a total area of 8.7 million square metres. In these warehouses, 2200 projects on digitisation, automation and robotisation have been implemented. "In as much as 60 per cent of all picks, we use robots. For example, 1,700 Locus Robotics robots drive around all over Europe," says Rainer Haag, CEO of DHL Supply Chain in Europe.
In Mönchengladbach, De Jong shows that DHL is not only betting on robots from Locus, but also those from other partners such as 6 River Systems. Both robots basically do the same job: they walk with order pickers through the warehouse and take care of transporting the picked goods to the packing and shipping department. "The robots from 6 River Systems are larger than those from Locus, allowing us to process more and larger orders. Depending on the order profile, we decide which robot to deploy."
Horizontal transport
DHL is also looking at deploying autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for horizontal transport. De Jong shows a yellow one from Jungheinrich, basically a self-propelled electric pallet truck. Agilox's green AMR is already a lot sleeker and more manoeuvrable. Even more innovative are Filics' AMRs. These consist of nothing more than two synchronised forks that disappear completely under a pallet. "The shape is an important factor," says De Jong. "It determines how manoeuvrable the robots are, but also enables new applications. With several Filics robots, we can theoretically slide a complete pallet load out of a truck in one go."
Even when it comes to compact storage systems, DHL chooses the best solution for each situation. This has now led to the installation of five AutoStore systems in Europe. According to De Jong, these are ideally suited to situations with a clear distinction between fast movers and slow movers. In situations with less difference in turnover rates, other solutions are more suitable, such as Exotec's climbing robots. "We currently have one warehouse in Italy with an Exotec system," De Jong knows. "In addition, in the Netherlands we have a system from Grey Orange, where robots bring complete shelving units to order picking stations. Also an interesting solution, but one with a lower storage density."
Discharging dirty water
Incidentally, DHL is not only deploying robots for primary processes. In Mönchengladbach, De Jong demonstrates mopping robots that not only independently clean the warehouse floor, but also independently discharge dirty water and refuel clean suds. "We also deploy automation for inventory control," De Jong says. He mentions Dexory, a mobile robot with extendable mast that is full of cameras and can scan 10,000 pallet locations per hour. "For shuttle systems, we are testing solution from Sick that uses cameras to count the contents of a bin. In this way, we can also increase the inventory reliability of shuttle systems."
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