The Challenge
Staples Canada operates a network of large fulfillment centers serving over 650,000 preferred customers across the country. But their primary warehouse near Toronto was relying on a 28-year-old conveyor system nearly three miles long, with a single drive shaft that was noisy, congested, and increasingly costly to maintain. The fulfillment team needed a smarter, more flexible solution to reduce manual strain, improve picking efficiency, and meet their signature next-day delivery promise, especially during peak seasons like back-to-school.
The Solution
Staples Canada replaced outdated conveyor workflows with Locus autonomous mobile robots to increase productivity and picking speed, improve order accuracy, eliminate QC bottlenecks, and reduce physical strain on associates. The solution enabled rapid deployment with zero customer disruption, helped associates reach full productivity within two weeks, and gave Staples Canada the flexibility to scale automation during peak seasons without changing infrastructure.
The Results
Within weeks, productivity nearly doubled, order quality improved by 73%, and training time dropped by 70%. Staples Canada cut daily operations from 13 hours to 8 while giving associates a quieter, safer, and more ergonomic workspace. With zero downtime during rollout and rapid ROI, Staples Canada expanded its Locus Robotics deployment across Canada to meet customer demand with unmatched efficiency and scalability.
This transformation wasn’t just about robots. It was about building a future-ready, associate-friendly fulfillment network.