The Challenge
DHL Supply Chain, part of Deutsche Post DHL Group, provides contract logistics services to customers around the world. This deployment supports a life sciences fulfillment operation in Tennessee. DHL Supply Chain needed to increase efficiency and fulfillment productivity at its Tennessee life sciences facility while continuing to meet critical customer service-level agreements. The operation required a solution that could integrate with its existing warehouse management system, reduce order cycle times, and provide the flexibility to scale as demand changed.
Because the facility handles life sciences fulfillment, orders also needed to be processed accurately and leave the facility on time. DHL needed to increase capacity without depending on a corresponding increase in workforce size.
The Solution
DHL Supply Chain began with a six-robot pilot in an 18,000-square-foot section of the facility. After integrating the Locus Robotics solution with the existing WMS and seeing immediate performance improvements, DHL expanded the deployment to 56 Locus Robots operating across 99,000 square feet.
Locus Robotics’ multi-robot solution coordinates robots throughout the facility to support efficient picking workflows. The deployment also includes reporting, which gives operational leaders real-time visibility into fulfillment activity and performance. The full solution was deployed in less than 90 days, and additional robots can be added quickly to support seasonal demand.
The Results
With Locus Robotics, DHL Supply Chain increased worker productivity by 200% and reduced order cycle time by 50%. The facility now processes more than twice the previous order volume with the same worker headcount, with productivity exceeding 150 units per hour and daily volume surpassing 20,000 units.
Training time decreased by 80%, allowing associates to begin working with LocusBots within minutes. The solution also improved workplace satisfaction and gave DHL real-time operational data to manage performance, address business challenges, and ensure orders leave the facility on time.
The innovation is very simple. It fits our model, it’s helped us gain some very good numbers in productivity. It was easy to implement, easy to maintain and train on.