At the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo humanoids stole the show once again. Machines that walk, grip, and gesture like us have an undeniable magnetism, part science fiction promise, part genuine engineering marvel. Yet behind the spectacle, logistics leaders are asking whether these machines deliver demonstrable ROI, or if the industry is chasing a compelling idea that cannot yet scale.

Investment banks are certainly bullish. Morgan Stanley forecasts a global humanoid robot market worth $5 trillion by 2050, with deployment rates eventually reaching one machine for every ten humans. Those forecasts may well prove directionally right over decades. But logistics buyers don’t invest on 2050 narratives, they invest based on what can be deployed, integrated, and scaled in the next 12–24 months.

Innovation is only real when scaled

I’ve had countless conversations with CEOs in this industry who express frustration about being trapped in endless pilots and struggling to achieve meaningful traction. The pattern is familiar; exciting technology, impressive demonstrations, but no clear path to the kind of measurable, referenceable customer value that drives genuine adoption. What’s changed in warehouse automation is that customers are no longer rewarding novelty, they’re rewarding repeatable, referenceable outcomes delivered fast, in brownfield sites, under real volatility.

While there has become a hyperfocus on humanoids, most of the attention is driven by the fact that they generate a big reaction. We live in a world where reaction doesn’t equate to return on investment. Tim Tetzlaff, Global Head of Digital Transformation at DHL, captured this dynamic perfectly when he said: “Innovation is only real when scaled. Otherwise, it’s just a nice idea.” Too many robotics companies have compelling ideas but struggle to scale effectively, missing the chance to create meaningful customer impact. In practice, the winners in this cycle are the firms that scale through software-defined flexibility, not the ones chasing the most cinematic demo.

There’s a real risk that funding will dry up as ambitions collide with reality. Training robots through thousands of hours of simulation can produce impressive physical capabilities, but it grants them little genuine understanding of how the real world actually works. Warehouses are messy, stochastic environments: congestion, mixed Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), shifting priorities, human variability, and peak swings that don’t show up in lab conditions. Physical AI only becomes meaningful when systems learn from millions of real tasks in production. Purpose-built fleets do that every day, they don’t just learn how to move, they learn how the operation actually behaves. Purpose-built warehouse robots accumulate vast operational experience in the environments they are designed to serve. They know the warehouse floor because they have worked it.

The Gap Between Demo and Deployment

This gap between demonstration and deployment is the crux of the matter. Promotional videos may show humanoids performing acrobatic feats, but none can yet walk into an unfamiliar warehouse and reliably execute the complex, repetitive tasks that drive logistics operations. The most advanced humanoid models on the market today are still positioned as research platforms rather than production ready solutions. Production environments don’t just need a capable robot, they need an orchestration layer that can integrate with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), balance priorities in real time, and keep performance stable through peak periods.

As such, I expect 2026 to bring a wave of consolidation across the robotics sector, as companies locked into humanoid development face mounting pressure to demonstrate tangible commercial value. We’ll see the hype start to fade as customers and investors demand real world results, creating an environment where only the purpose built will survive.

The Opportunity in Front of Us

Here’s the reality that often gets lost in the humanoid excitement, we estimate that less than ten percent of warehouses globally have sufficient levels of automation today. The opportunity isn’t to build robots that look like humans. It’s to build the right solutions for the right tasks. That’s also why flexible automation is winning: operators want capability they can deploy in weeks, scale up or down, and reconfigure when volumes or product mix shift. In a world of uncertainty, adaptability is the real throughput advantage.

At Locus Robotics, we’ve moved beyond Person-to-Goods automation to define an entirely new category: Robots-to-Goods. Robots can now autonomously pick, move, and replenish inventory, performing tasks that previously required multiple human touches. But the hardware is only one piece of the puzzle. The real breakthrough comes from integrating Agentic AI with Physical AI to create systems that sense, decide, and act as one. The value isn’t one heroic robot, it’s a software-defined operation that keeps improving because it learns from the work. Warehouses become cohesive ecosystems rather than disconnected islands of automation.

The Financial Times suggests Japan, with its shrinking population and cultural openness to robotics, could become one of the first major democracies to experiment with widescale humanoid adoption. Perhaps. But for logistics leaders making investment decisions today, the question is not whether humanoid robots are impressive, they unquestionably are, but whether they can deliver the demonstrable, referenceable ROI that operations demand. Purpose built robotics already can and already do.

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When Maersk set out to transform its e-commerce fulfilment operation for its Danish retailer customer Flying Tiger, it faced a familiar modern logistics dilemma: how to scale rapidly, cope with extreme seasonal peaks, and maintain service levels, all within the constraints of an existing warehouse footprint and with tight implementation timelines.

The answer at its Wrocław facility in southern Poland came in the form of autonomous mobile robotics from Locus Robotics. I was lucky enough to be invited for a tour of this impressive site which, albeit not one of Locus’ largest installations by far, nevertheless highlights in a nutshell what cutting-edge robotics can bring to a project to drive efficiency and cost savings. My visit just so happened to be during the Christmas peak, which gave me particular insight into how well things were going.

The site serves as the central European hub for all of Flying Tiger’s European online orders (retail fulfilment remains out of Copenhagen), shipping orders across the EU from a single 5,700 sqm operation. Since going live in May 2023, it has become a showcase for how robot-assisted picking can deliver speed, flexibility and cost control in a fast-growing retail environment.

High-Growth Under Pressure

Before automation, the pick process was struggling. Manual productivity was running at around 40 order lines per person per hour, well below the 120 lines per hour target. The operation was characterised by long walking distances (up to 20,000 steps per picker per day), aisle congestion, heavy trolleys, long onboarding times and a growing risk of errors and injuries.

With Q4 volumes peaking at five times the average and only 22 weeks before the next peak season, Maersk needed a solution that could be deployed quickly, scaled easily, and funded in a way that avoided heavy capital expenditure.

Bots to the Rescue

After analysing a range of goods-to-person and person-to-goods automation options, Maersk selected a
mobile robot ‘person-to-goods’ RaaS (Robots-as-a-Service) model offered by Locus Robotics. The decision was driven by several key criteria: flexibility, rapid deployment, low upfront cost, ease of integration and the ability to scale both labour and automation in line with demand.

The RaaS commercial model was particularly attractive, for instead of committing to a fixed fleet size,
Maersk can scale robots up and down according to volume. This was an important advantage for a business shaped by influencer-driven spikes and intense seasonal surges. Just as importantly, the solution could be implemented in the existing building, which has a height limit of 12.2 m and no scope for major structural changes.

From decision to go-live took just 16–18 weeks, a timeline that was later recognised by Locus as one of its fastest and best implementations in Europe.

How it Works

At the heart of the operation is a fleet of Locus Origin robots, a nimble autonomous mobile robot designed for collaborative picking. Associates remain in their aisles while robots travel between locations, presenting the next task and carrying multiple totes for batch and multi-order picking.

Orders are orchestrated by the LocusONE platform, which integrates with Maersk’s INFOR WMS and dynamically clusters tasks to optimise pick paths, balance workloads and maintain service level priorities. The system supports multiple workflows, including batch picking, pick-and-pass, and point-to-point transport, enabling Maersk to adapt processes as volumes and profiles change.

Each robot guides the associate through the pick with a clear, multilingual interface (important to have in this region of Europe, close to the Czech/Slovakian borders), product images, tote position indicators and
built-in scanning. Locus’s patented autoidentification technology recognises the worker based on proximity, automatically switching the screen language to the associate’s preferred setting, a major benefit in such a multicultural workforce.

Navigation and fleet management are handled by proprietary AI, which continuously optimises routes,
avoids obstacles and balances robot traffic across the floor. The result is a system that can be deployed in
brownfield environments with minimal infrastructure changes and no fixed conveyors.

Transformational Results

The impact at Wrocław has been dramatic. Pick productivity has increased from 40 to 140 order lines per hour – a 250% improvement, if my maths is right. Onboarding time for new staff has been reduced from three days to just 20 minutes. Average walking distance has dropped from 20,000 steps to around 8,000 per day, significantly reducing fatigue.

The number of active packing stations has been increased from 16 to 40, and despite a reduction in available aisles for picking, overall throughput has increased substantially. Service performance has improved too, with 60–100% of parcels now shipped within 24 hours, and the Christmas cut-off date brought forward by six days compared to 2023. As I stood there watching order pass by in front of me, Flying Tiger seemed to be doing a – pardon the pun – ‘roaring’ trade in seasonal wrapping paper.

From a financial perspective, the results are equally compelling. Maersk has said that the introduction of Locus has significantly reduced pick process costs, equating to a 33% saving even after including the robot service fees. Forecasts for full-year 2025 point to a further 24% cost reduction.

There have also been significant soft benefits. For example, the site has recorded zero push-and-pull
injuries, sick leave has fallen by 15%, and employee retention has improved by 8%, reflecting a more attractive, less physically demanding type of work. I love to hear about those sorts of benefits.

Flexibility and Scale

For Locus, the Wrocław project is a textbook example of its core value proposition, namely unmatched flexibility and unlimited throughput. Unlike fixed automation, the Locus approach allows Maersk to add or remove robots in minutes, introduce new workflows without disruption, scale from dozens to hundreds of robots as volumes grow, and operate across multiple shifts or 24/7 without physical reconfiguration.

The platform has already proven capable of supporting 25,000+ units per hour on a single site and handling 150,000 lines in a single day in other deployments. While the Wrocław operation does not yet operate at those extremes, the architecture ensures that throughput can grow well beyond current requirements.

Crucially for Maersk, this flexibility aligns perfectly with Flying Tiger’s volatile demand profile. Whether
reacting to a viral social media trend or preparing for a Q4 surge, capacity can be adjusted simply by deploying more robots.

European Blueprint

The Wrocław project was Locus’s first major automation deployment in Europe with Maersk and is already being viewed as a blueprint for other sites. The modular nature of the installation makes it easy to replicate in additional warehouses. From Maersk’s perspective, the collaboration has demonstrated that high levels of automation do not require long lead times, heavy CapEx or purpose-built facilities. Instead, robotics can be layered onto existing operations to deliver rapid, measurable improvements.

For Flying Tiger, it means faster order fulfilment, better service levels for customers across Europe, and the confidence that its logistics partner can keep pace with growth.

A Modern Model

As European ecommerce continues to grow, and as labour markets remain tight, the Maersk–Locus–Flying Tiger partnership offers a compelling model for other retailers and 3PLs. By choosing a flexible, rapidly deployable robotic solution, Maersk has transformed a struggling manual process into a highperformance
fulfilment engine capable of absorbing growth, coping with volatility, and delivering measurable financial returns.

For Locus Robotics, Wrocław stands as a high-profile demonstration of how its technology can support complex, high-growth operations in real-world conditions. And for Flying Tiger’s customers across Europe, it simply means their colourful household items, party accessories and impulse buys will arrive faster and more reliably than ever.

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Infios, a global supplier of intelligent supply chain execution, has announced the successful expansion of its long-term partnership with Dental City, deploying an advanced Autonomous Mobile Robotics (AMR) solution fully integrated with Infios Warehouse Management (WM).

Infios successfully deployed and optimized a robotic fulfillment system at Dental City‘s 40,000 square-foot distribution centre, achieving transformative results within just three months. Built as a natural extension of Dental City’s longstanding use of Infios WM, the integration doubled operational capacity, enhanced order accuracy and extended the facility’s lifespan by up to five years – without the need for expansion. This milestone was enabled by Infios’s integration of AMRs within its intelligent warehouse platform, further strengthening a partnership that began in 2008.

“As a smaller distribution centre, remaining competitive with larger players requires smart, strategic innovation,” said John Mathys, President, Dental City. “With Infios, we saw immediate results from the AMR integration – tripling our pick rates and enabling same-day fulfillment and two-day delivery guarantee nationwide. We initially projected a three-year ROI, but it’s now tracking closer to just over a year.”

Infios led the full integration of Locus Origin and Vector robots into its WM platform, enabling smarter cartonization, optimized zone picking and frictionless navigation via QR-coded mapping. These innovations have cut order cycle times to just minutes and reduced physical strain on employees while increasing overall workforce engagement and improving overall customer satisfaction.

“Our nearly two-decade partnership with Dental City continues to evolve, driven by our shared commitment to continuous improvement and operational excellence,” said Matt Gregory, SVP EMEA Growth & Global Hardware. “Order accuracy now stands at an impressive 99.85% – a testament to the power of intelligent automation and collaboration.”

The success of the Infios-driven transformation was recently recognized with Dental City awarded ‘Best Use of Robotics’ at the Supply Chain Excellence Awards USA, underscoring the impact of their intelligent warehouse modernisation.

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Denis elaborates on the benefits of AMRs, emphasizing their ability to adapt to various warehouse processes, from point-to-point transportation to complex picking tasks. This adaptability is crucial for businesses facing fluctuating demands, as AMRs can be scaled up or down to meet seasonal peaks or troughs. The discussion also introduces the innovative subscription model, Robots as a Service, which provides businesses with the flexibility to adjust their automation levels as needed. This model keeps AMRs off the balance sheet, offering a cost-effective solution for dynamic business environments.

The episode further explores the integration of artificial intelligence within Locus Robotics’ operations. Denis explains how AI enhances the navigation and decision-making capabilities of AMRs, enabling them to operate more efficiently and effectively. With over 16,000 robots in operation, Locus Robotics is at the forefront of leveraging AI to drive value for its customers.

Looking ahead, Denis shares insights into the future growth of Locus Robotics, highlighting the untapped potential in regions like North America and Europe. As the company continues to innovate and expand its product offerings, the future of warehouse automation looks promising. This episode provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape of logistics, offering valuable insights for businesses seeking to stay ahead in the competitive world of automation.

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AI is becoming increasingly embedded in warehouse operations, driving efficiency and delivering measurable return on investment (ROI). It is therefore unsurprising to learn that Locus Robotics, a company renowned for its global deployment of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), is at the forefront of this transformation, leveraging AI to optimise warehouse workflows and enhance operational performance.

Dr. Oscar Mendez Maldonado, director of AI and data science at Locus Robotics, brings a unique perspective to the table. Having spent a decade in academia running a robotics and AI research lab, Mendez transitioned to the commercial sector two years ago, drawn no doubt by the sheer volume of operational data Locus collects. “Data is the thing that you want. Ninety per cent of AI is just data science – manipulating data, getting data, understanding it, and then building AI on that,” he explains. His academic background informs the company’s sophisticated approach to AI, blending research-grade expertise to create and develop practical warehouse applications.

Within logistics, Mendez is quick to highlight the nuances within the AI sphere: “AI means different things to different people. It’s a bit of a moving goal post, or a marketing term,” he observes. The current buzz around language models and generative AI mirrors earlier waves of excitement in computer vision, he says, with companies initially adopting AI as a black-box replacement for existing processes. “You will get to a point where you have to crack open that black box and inject some domain expertise,” he warns, emphasising that understanding operational workflows is key to extracting genuine ROI.

Performance Gains

At Locus, AI is designed to deliver tangible benefits across the warehouse floor to its customers. One example is System Directed Labour, a software-driven approach that guides associates’ picking routes in real time. “From the user’s point of view, it’s a very small change. All they get is a screen that says, ‘Go to aisle eight,’ or ‘Go to aisle seven,’” Mendez explains. Behind the scenes, a sophisticated AI engine optimises routes based on the location of all robots and personnel, yielding performance increases of five to 10 per cent on deployed sites. Beyond productivity gains, the system also reduces training time for new associates, supporting flexible labour models and accelerating onboarding.

Core Principles

AI’s impact extends beyond picking efficiency. Locus employs AI for obstacle detection, enhancing robot navigation in complex warehouse environments, and for improving responsiveness in customer service by parsing large datasets to enable quicker decision-making. “It ranges from really hard, lines-per-hour increases, all the way to soft benefits, improved robot navigation and improved response times,” says Mendez.

Mendez describes three core principles underpinning Locus’s AI development: physical, trustworthy, and holistic. Physical AI must manifest tangible improvements in operations, directly affecting robot behaviour and interactions within the warehouse. Trustworthy AI ensures explainability and accountability; every component can be tested and understood, avoiding opaque black-box solutions. Holistic AI considers the warehouse as a whole, optimising performance for the site rather than individual pickers. “Sometimes that means a picker might have to walk a longer way, but overall you’re increasing the throughput of the warehouse,” Mendez explains.

“AI Sprinkles”

A key focus for Locus is the ability to be able to demonstrate early ROI. Mendez outlines two strategies: what he calls “AI sprinkles” and climbing the “ROI complexity ladder.” AI sprinkles target specific operational pain points rather than overhauling entire processes. “You build something that is targeted to just fill that gap… that bit in the system that doesn’t have a good analytical or optimal solution,” he says. This approach allows rapid deployment, efficient use of data, and the delivery of immediate value to customers while maintaining system explainability.

The ROI complexity ladder involves layering AI capabilities incrementally, building on smaller interventions to enable more sophisticated applications. A simple object detector, for example, can improve robot navigation and safety, while successive layers of AI can achieve pixel-level segmentation and advanced environmental reconstruction, ultimately contributing to a fully agentic, AI-driven warehouse. “Each one of them is delivering ROI. Each one of them is training your teams. And as you build more of those, they unlock new capabilities,” Mendez notes.

Despite the sophistication of the technology, customers do not need to understand AI to benefit from it. Locus operates on a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, delivering performance enhancements without requiring clients to be AI experts. “They don’t need to know about AI. They need to know about their operations, which they do. And then we build them AI that accounts for these things,” says Mendez.

The company’s approach appears to be giving it a competitive edge. Locus currently operates 350 sites with 120 customers and 15,000 robots, collecting continuous operational data. “That gives us a huge advantage when it comes to building AI,” Mendez explains. Compared to industries like autonomous road vehicles, which face a vast open-world problem with far fewer miles of training data, Locus benefits from a controlled yet highly variable warehouse environment and rich contextual information, creating an ideal setting for AI optimisation.

Ongoing Progress

Even as the company achieves milestones, such as recently surpassing six billion picks, Mendez stresses that progress is ongoing. “There are always huge advances to be made when it comes to AI. The field moves incredibly quickly, and there’s always something new around the corner,” he says. The combination of abundant high-quality data and constrained operational environments provides fertile ground for innovation and continuous improvement.

For those hesitant to embrace AI, Mendez offers pragmatic advice: start small. “You don’t have to start with the most complicated, giant AI system you’ve ever heard of. You can start small, with really small bits of AI that unlock tiny bits of value, and build capability from there,” he says. This incremental approach enables companies to realise benefits at every stage, avoiding the risks of wholesale replacement.

One of the most compelling examples of Locus’s AI vision is ARRAY, a platform designed to manage the entire warehouse workflow. It exemplifies what Mendez calls “physical AI,” integrating autonomous robots, AI-driven decision-making, and real-time optimisation across the logistics pipeline. ARRAY demonstrates how a thoughtfully constructed AI system can enhance efficiency, safety, and adaptability while remaining transparent and accountable.

Locus Robotics is one of those companies which appears to be defining what it means to integrate AI in logistics. By combining extensive data, targeted interventions, and a commitment to explainable and holistic systems, the company provides customers with measurable performance improvements while paving the way for increasingly autonomous warehouse operations. As Mendez observes, AI is not a threat but a transformative tool: “It’s here to stay. It’s an incredibly powerful technology, and it’s going to keep giving better ROI to the people that actually engage in it.”

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“Our growth is driven by our customers’ success,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Retailers, 3PLs, and healthcare providers are seeing measurable impact faster than ever — scaling productivity in weeks, not months. Staples Canada, for example, hit one million picks just 70 days after going live, proving the immediate ROI our platform delivers.”

So far this year, Locus Robotics has seen 30–40% year-over-year volume growth, with throughput reaching 200–300 units picked per second — roughly 45 million picks per week. Locus Robotics is on track to hit 60 million per week during Q4 peak season. In addition, deployments of incremental, peak-season bots have surged nearly 50% year-over-year, underscoring both the scale of adoption and customers’ increasing reliance on the highly flexible technology to handle demand spikes.

The 6 billionth pick was made at The Quality Group in Elsdorf, Germany. This site is Locus’s largest site in the EMEA region, where more than 350 LocusBots operate daily to fulfill customer orders.

“Being part of Locus’s six-billion-pick milestone reflects how innovation and collaboration can drive real results,” said Felix Köhler, Project Lead, Elsdorf Site, The Quality Group. “It’s a proud moment for our team and a testament to the performance we’ve achieved together.”

Technology and AI Differentiation

At the core of this acceleration is LocusONE, the company’s advanced, AI-powered orchestration platform. By analyzing billions of data points across robots and tasks, LocusONE continuously optimizes throughput, fleet productivity, and network efficiency, while lowering costs and delivering a better employee experience. This intelligence enables customers to scale fluidly during high-demand periods (like Peak Season), seamlessly adapting to ongoing labor shortages, and bolstering overall resilience in the face of growing global supply chain pressures.

Global Market Leadership

With tens of thousands of robots deployed across North America, EMEA, and APAC, Locus Robotics runs one of the world’s largest and most productive autonomous robot fleets. Recent industry recognition, including being named in five Gartner Hype Cycles, making the RBR50 list, and winning the 2025 Fortress Cybersecurity Award for the second consecutive year — underscores its leadership and innovation.

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For a country seeking to boost productivity and global competitiveness, this is a wake-up call. Other governments have successfully closed similar innovation gaps by combining targeted SME funding with investment in digital and technical skills, accelerating automation adoption while creating new opportunities for workers.

Denis Niezgoda (pictured, below), Chief Commercial Officer, International at Locus Robotics told us what he thinks this report means for the UK’s industrial competitiveness:

“Until earlier this year, the UK had no national robotics strategy, which puts the country behind global peers like Germany, the USA, Japan and South Korea. Those countries have paired clear digital transformation roadmaps with SME funding, worker training, and tax incentives, and the results speak for themselves – faster automation adoption and higher productivity.

“SMEs are the backbone of the UK economy, yet between 20,000 and 27,000 SMEs still operate with virtually zero automation in their manufacturing environments. That should be a wake-up call.
 
“The challenge isn’t only financial; it’s cultural. Many SMEs lack exposure to the breadth of automation possibilities and the change management support needed to embrace them. Historically, automation meant huge upfront capital investment that only larger firms could justify. But with Robotics-as-a-Service models pioneered by companies like Locus Robotics, the barrier to entry is lower than ever. Businesses can treat automation like a mobile phone contract, scaling it up or down as their needs change, without being locked into rigid systems.
 
If the UK is serious about boosting productivity, it needs a dual approach: targeted government support for SMEs, and a strong focus on training and digital skills so employees can confidently work alongside robotics. That’s how the UK can make automation a driver of growth and put the UK industry back on the front foot globally.”

Second opinion

Adrian Negoita (pictured below, right), CTO, Dexory, also commented on the report:

“Robots won’t save UK manufacturing, people will. The Make UK report proves a harsh reality – as global competitors push ahead with automation and AI, Britain is falling behind. Not because we lack the technology but because we don’t have the skills base nor enough people who know how to use AI. It’s a critical gap.

“We need a national skills blitz. We must flood the pipeline with robotics-savvy engineers, retrain workforces to work alongside AI and ensure SMEs get practical support to adopt new technologies. That means school-to-work bootcamps, advanced manufacturing apprenticeships and making AI and automation a core part of the curriculum. Without this, our global standing will keep sliding. With it, we power a high-skill, future-proof manufacturing sector, and put the UK back on top.”

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Powered by semi-autonomous ‘picking’ robots, developed by Locus Robotics, the warehouse has become the epicentre of physical music distribution in the UK, playing a key role in the ongoing ‘vinyl revival’. Moving independently all across the warehouse following worker input, the robots ensure a seamless blend of automation and manual precision.

Handling more than 70% of all physical music and 35% of home entertainment products sold in the UK, the 270,000 sq. ft facility distributed upwards of 20 million units across all product lines in its first year. It supplies some of the world’s largest retailers, including Amazon and HMV, as well as more than 400 independent record stores. The DP World facility at Bicester has also seen significant growth in e-commerce sales, distributing approximately 2 million units direct to customers in 2024.

Neil Lander, Business Development Director, EMEA – DP World Logistics, said: “The milestone shipment of Bicester’s 10-millionth vinyl record is testament to the work of our team to help support the revival of Britian’s physical music and home entertainment sector. With over 80 semi-autonomous ‘pick robots’, we have built a highly scalable and efficient operation, and we are very excited to continue supporting the UK’s thriving physical music industry, especially as we approach Record Store Day on 12 April.”

Christopher Crellin, CFO of Sony Music UK, said: “Fans love consuming music in multiple ways, especially on vinyl. DP World’s state-of-the-art facilities are industry-leading and play a crucial role in supporting physical formats as an integral part of an artists’ career, which strengthens the music ecosystem for all.”

David Sharpe, COO at Universal Music UK, said: “DP World developed an incredibly impressive facility in record time, and are now operating with near-perfect service levels. Their quick delivery and impeccable work has been a real driving force behind the UK’s much-celebrated vinyl resurgence.”

With vinyl sales continuing to grow year-on-year, DP World’s Bicester warehouse has become a key part of Britain’s physical music supply chain, facilitating the ongoing ‘vinyl revival’. Since opening in August 2023, it has distributed 10.5 million records, 13 million CDs and 8 million DVDs, with further growth expected across all three product types in 2025.

In addition to its hubs at Southampton and London Gateway, DP World’s end-to-end solutions include logistics, forwarding and European transport capabilities, all seamlessly integrated into the company’s global network. Operating in 78 countries, DP World handles 10 per cent of global containerised trade, driving supply chain efficiency worldwide.

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Locus showcased a range of next-generation AI advancements developed through LocusLABS , the dedicated R&D division of Locus Robotics, at LogiMAT in Germany and ProMat in Chicago.

“At Locus Robotics, we are not just deploying robots — we’re delivering intelligence,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “Our investment in AI, software, and next-generation automation technologies sets us apart as the leader in warehouse efficiency and fulfillment innovation. Through LocusINTELLIGENCE and LocusLABS, we are continuously developing solutions that allow our customers to maximize throughput, scale with confidence, and adapt to the evolving logistics landscape.”

The AI Powerhouse

LocusINTELLIGENCE is the advanced AI and analytics engine that powers the LocusONE platform, leverages machine learning, predictive analytics, and real-time operational data, LocusINTELLIGENCE continuously adapts and optimizes fulfillment operations at scale.

• AI-Powered Decision-Making – Dynamically manages task allocation, workflow optimization, and multi-robot coordination to efficiently align fulfillment priorities with real-time demand.
• Scalable & Adaptive Performance – Enables LocusONE to seamlessly adjust to fluctuating order volumes, seasonal spikes, and labour constraints, ensuring warehouses always operate at peak efficiency.
• Real-Time Operational Insights – Gives operators deep visibility into throughput, worker performance, and predictive maintenance, enabling proactive, data-driven decisions.
• Seamless WMS & ERP Integration – Works natively within existing warehouse management systems, allowing for rapid deployment and immediate productivity gains.

Through LocusINTELLIGENCE, LocusONE delivers an even more powerful, AI-enhanced orchestration platform, providing warehouses with an intelligent automation ecosystem that continuously learns, adapts, and improves.

Warehouse intelligence

LocusLABS, the dedicated R&D division of Locus Robotics, is at the forefront of AI innovation, continuously advancing warehouse automation capabilities. At LogiMAT and ProMat 2025, Locus unveiled several AI-driven breakthroughs, including:

• AI Object Detection & Avoidance – Advanced perception AI enables Locus robots to intelligently recognize and react to warehouse assets, ensuring seamless, real-time navigation and workflow optimization.
• System-Directed Labour Optimization – AI-driven optimization engine that intelligently directs associates to the next best task, increasing productivity and fulfillment speed.
• AI-Powered Simulation & Workflow Optimization – Adding the ability to test and refine warehouse layouts, workflows, and robotic interactions before implementation.
• RFID-Based Inventory Accuracy – Integrating RFID technology to deliver greater accuracy for next-level real-time order validation and inventory tracking.
• Large-Item & Non-Conveyable Automation – Flexible large-item conveyance, picking, and putaway, enabling automation beyond traditional, fixed conveyor-based workflows.
• Humanoid Collaboration with Reflex Robotics –Locus and Reflex Robotics are exploring the potential for humanoids to augment existing warehouse automation workflows such as induction, putaway and more.

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Currently operational at multiple sites, Locus Vector is actively deployed across leading 3PLs and a premier global apparel and footwear retailer in Europe. With this certification, Locus demonstrates its ability to manage complex multi-step processes, accommodate larger payloads, and seamlessly adapt to a wider range of order dimensions, strengthening its position as a leader in flexible and scalable warehouse automation.

Unlimited Throughput

Powered by the LocusONE platform, Locus Vector complements existing Locus Origin fleets, allowing customers to seamlessly expand their automation capabilities for workflows requiring higher payloads or specialized handling, such as case picking, replenishment and returns. LocusONE enables real-time fleet optimization and visibility, productivity tracking, and integration with third-party systems like WMS and ERP, allowing incremental expansion and unlimited throughput without infrastructure overhauls.

Locus Vector, combined with Locus Origin, highlights Locus’s advantage in flexible automation over traditional systems like AS/RS and G2P, which struggle with heavier items and orders, complex SKUs, and brownfield applications. By picking directly from pallets, both Vector and Origin eliminate decanting and reduce labor costs, making it ideal for dynamic, high-throughput environments.

Driving Customer Success Across Industries

“This CE certification for Locus Vector allows us to bring the benefits of our flexible warehouse automation solution to more customers globally,” said Denis Niezgoda, Chief Commercial Officer, International, at Locus Robotics. “Vector’s exceptional payload capacity, mobility, and seamless integration into LocusONE make it the ideal solution for robust automation in industries like 3PL, retail, and healthcare. Customers are already seeing increased flexibility and efficiency by deploying Vector alongside their Locus Origin fleets or standalone.”

Expanding Applications and Value

Locus Vector enables seamless warehouse process automation across operations. For example, a UK-based 3PL uses Vector for wine distribution, automating bottle picking directly onto mobile pallet dollies. Meanwhile, a leading retailer in Czechia uses Locus Vector for large-volume replenishment while Origin robots handle picking tasks. The LocusONE platform orchestrates these workflows in real-time, optimizing operations and improving productivity.

With Locus Vector’s CE certification, Locus Robotics continues to advance flexible automation, meeting the growing demand for innovative and high-performing solutions globally.

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