DPDHL Group publishes new “Robotics in Logistics” report
Deutsche Post DHL Group believes that the time is fast approaching when “robots are going to become essential in the world of logistics”.
The Group has launched a new Trend Report entitled Robotics in Logistics today (14 March) which argues that robots “may soon be picking, packing and moving goods in the logistics environment”.
Deutsche Post DHL Group uses the term “collaborative robots” – in other words, sophisticated machines that work alongside humans, rather than replacing them.
Matthias Heutger, Senior Vice President Strategy, Marketing & Innovation, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation, commented: “Robots work in many industries but haven’t made an impact on logistics yet because of the complexity of the work – handling a wide array of different things in an infinite number of combinations, close to people and in confined spaces.
“Current research shows that 80% of logistics facilities today are still manual. Recently, however, technology is just starting to catch up to meet demands for flexible and low-cost robots that could collaboratively work in logistics.”
The report argues that the development of the next generation of robots that can see, move, react to their environment and work at precision tasks alongside people, is on “a fast track powered by the explosion in labour-intensive e-commerce and diminishing and ageing workforces”.
According to DPDHL Group: “Investment from government, venture capitalists and large retailers in several countries is driving a new wave of research that is having significant impact on creating robots with logistics affinity. In addition to the US, China, Russia and Japan, Europe is firmly in the robotics race. With the European Commission’s SPARC program, the EU will invest €700m into robotics research, and a consortium of 180 European companies has pledged an additional €2.1bn by the year 2020.”
Clemens Beckmann, Executive Vice President Innovation, Post – eCommerce – Parcel, Deutsche Post DHL Group, stressed the collaborative nature of the role that DPDHL Group believes robots will play in the logistics industry: “Just like our children can’t picture a world without computers, it is likely that their children will feel the same way about robots. Developing the next generation of robots that can work around and among people will take a substantial investment to advance the technology but at DPDHL Group we believe that soon supply chains will see humans and robots working side by side to handle goods faster and more economically.”
DPDHL Group – like quite a few other logistics companies – has already started testing how robotics could further play a role in logistics, and it now expects to see a significant expansion in the use of the new technology “with new advancements and breakthroughs occurring almost daily”.
Some of these breakthroughs will be on show at DPDHL Group’s inaugural “Robotics Day” event, which will take place at the DHL Innovation Center in Germany on 7 April.
Click here to access the download page for the Robotics in Logistics report.
