DHL Supply Chain Deploys Over 8,000 Robotics Systems

Sally Miller, the global chief information officer at DHL Supply Chain, said the company has deployed more than 8,000 robotics systems across its sites. The systems perform manual tasks including picking, packaging, and unloading goods. Miller said the investment has reduced costs and lowered employee turnover at locations where the robots operate.

Miller joined DHL Supply Chain in 2005 as vice president of IT for the Americas business. She became CIO for North America in 2014 and took the global role in 2024. DHL Supply Chain began testing robotics in 2017. The company works with three main vendors: Locus Robotics, Boston Dynamics, and Robust AI.

Miller said the robots have reduced the time workers spend walking warehouse floors and have taken on physically demanding tasks. Turnover has decreased and onboarding has become faster at sites with robotics. Work has shifted toward supervising robots and analyzing data from the systems.

Miller said sites with labor shortages are prioritized for new deployments. DHL Supply Chain pilots new systems in Europe, North America, and Asia before scaling them across its 2,800 global sites. The company uses SVT Robotics software to connect the different systems and consolidate data on orders, shipments, and inventory.