When I returned from ProMat in 2023, I wrote that based on the number of automation solutions I saw at the conference focused on this application, “loading and unloading trailers/containers is apparently a killer app for warehouse robots.” In my post, I highlighted solutions in this area by ArcBest, Pickle Robot Company, Boston Dynamics, Slip Robotics, and Mujin Corp.
Fast forward a couple of years and trailer loading/unloading remains “The Holy Grail of Automation,” as Esther Fung refers to it in a recent Wall Street Journal article. Here are some excerpts:
New advances in robotics are [enabling the automation of truck loading and unloading]. Improved sensors and algorithms, advancements in AI and faster image-processing technology are making these robots proficient players in tasks that are like a game of 3-D Tetris.
DHL now has a total of seven Stretch robots in supply-chain facilities in three states and has trained nearly 100 associates to operate them. In Columbus, Ohio, one Stretch robot that DHL staff named “Johnny 5” unloads around 580 cases an hour, almost twice the rate of a human unloader [emphasis mine].
DHL in May signed an agreement with Boston Dynamics for 1,000 more robots. United Parcel Service is also increasing automation at its facilities, including for loading and unloading trailers—a move that will help the company cut costs, UPS executives said in April. FedEx has been testing and refining the truck-loading process in one of its facilities with robotics company Dexterity since 2023. Walmart also has introduced robots that can unload a truck.
When it comes to loading a truck, however, there is another important factor besides the amount of labor involved: making sure you’re optimizing the amount of product that can go into the trailer or container.
In June 2023, we surveyed members of our Indago supply chain research community — who are all supply chain and logistics executives from manufacturing, retail, and distribution companies — and asked them, “How certain are you that the trucks leaving your warehouses are loaded to their maximum legal capacity?”
Of the member respondents who ship via truckload, almost a third (32%) said they are only “Slightly Certain” (11%) or “Not Certain At All” (21%) that the trucks leaving their warehouses are loaded to their maximum legal capacity – that is, that they have fully optimized the amount of product that can go into a trailer, accounting for space, weight, state regulations, and other constraints.
Therefore, the “Killer App” or “Holy Grail” is not just about how quickly or efficiently a robot can load or unload a truck trailer or container; it also includes using load optimization software to ensure you are fully optimizing the amount of product that can go into a trailer/container.
That said, it’s clear based on the investments DHL, UPS, FedEx, Walmart, and others are making in trailer loading and unloading automation solutions — and the number of solution providers targeting this application — that the days of humans doing this laborious job are likely numbered.
What do you think? Are you using robots to load/unload trailers or containers? Do you agree that this is a “killer app” for warehouse robots? Post a comment and share your perspective!
For related commentary, please read “The Tipping Point And Business Case For Warehouse Robots” and “Riviana Foods: Using Optimized Load Building To Reduce Transportation Costs And Improve Sustainability.”
