DHL Supply Chain has announced an AUD150 million (USD100 million) investment in warehouse robotics solutions and automation at its Australian warehouses. This will support faster delivery to customers, improve operational efficiency and reduce employee workloads.

This is the largest investment in robotics and automation DHL has made in Asia Pacific, with 1,000 robots to be deployed by 2025. 

In addition to the investment in robotics, DHL Supply Chain aims to grow its Australian workforce over two years and will provide retraining and development opportunities to existing employees.

Oscar de Bok, chief executive officer at DHL Supply Chain, says: "This is a very exciting announcement, reinforcing our commitment to the Australian market and continuous technological innovation. Global supply chains have been under immense pressure these past few years, and some disruption may persist.

“But we have invested in supply chain digitalisation worldwide, and by leveraging this global expertise, we will continually develop innovative solutions to help our customers overcome any challenges on the horizon.”

The robotics solutions DHL Supply Chain will deploy by 2025 include:

• Assisted Picking Robots in a multi-customer environment
• State-of-the-art picking platform, which increases storage density and order processing
• Goods-to-Person robots, which support teams’ ability to pack more customer orders
• Automated inventory management robot, which was developed by an Australian DHL employee
• Point-to-point picking robots, which support a diverse range of picking strategies.

“This investment in robotics will provide more resilient, flexible and scalable supply chain solutions to our customers, who will be better equipped to service their own customers independent of the sector in which they operate,” says Steve Thompsett, chief executive officer, Australia and New Zealand, DHL Supply Chain.