The robotics platform is said to significantly reduce integration time and programming efforts to on-board new automation devices into warehouse facilities, while also giving DHL customers more flexibility in selecting suitable robotics systems according to individual business needs.
The solution leverages Microsoft Azure IoT and cloud platform services.
Markus Voss, global CIO and COO at DHL Supply Chain, says: “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.”
He adds: “We have more than 2,000 operational sites across DHL Supply Chain, so we know how complex, time-consuming and costly it can be to integrate new robots into existing platforms and connect to our clients’ various warehouse management systems. This is exactly where the new platform is so effective. Our first implementation on the new platform with 6 River Systems at one of our Madrid sites is already showing a 60% reduction in integration times, but with subsequent deployments we foresee further improvements of up to 90%.”
A first implementation at a DHL Supply Chain facility in Madrid has already demonstrated that the new platform can reduce complexity and accelerate the integration of robotic systems into an existing warehouse management system, according to DHL Supply Chain. At the same time, 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 (ML)-driven task management capabilities that enable high warehouse operational efficiency.
Sam George, corporate vice-president for Azure IoT at Microsoft, says: “Building a resilient and flexible supply chain is essential to respond to constantly changing customer needs. By digitising their warehouse solutions, DHL is dramatically simplifying the integration of complex IoT systems and unlocking new business opportunities for the logistics industry. The result: greater advancements in speed, global scale, cost reduction, and security.”
Girish Rishi, CEO at Blue Yonder, adds: “By using Blue Yonder’s Luminate Platform, DHL was able to offer a solution that can be implemented across all of its distribution centre sites seamlessly through a cloud SaaS application. In the age of labour market shortages during peak season, DHL sites can now bring on a robotics vendor quickly to augment its resource capacity and support its workforce. This project was a true collaboration across all stakeholders.”