Warehouse automation

Millions of packages flow through Amazon's ever-expanding network of fulfillment centers daily, and more and more are leveraging automation technology.

One of those sites in Kent, Washington, is capable of handling 1 million parcels daily alone, leveraging employee know-how, robotics, technology-enhanced workstations, inventory "pods" and automated packaging machines to keep packages moving.

I got to put on a pair of steel-toed shoe covers and take a peek behind the curtain to see how it all comes together. Here’s what I saw:

Welcome to the warehouse

Welcome to BFI4, an Amazon fulfillment center in Kent, Washington. Initially opened in 2016, the facility is the first in the e-commerce giant’s network capable of handling more than 1 million items per day. To process such a large volume of goods, the facility combines the power of about 3,500 associates with automation and robotics technology to stow, pick and pack products.

Items arrive at BFI4

Parcels first arrive at the facility by truck, after which staff members unload packages onto a conveyor belt to be moved and stowed into inventory. Stowing occurs at a “Universal Station,” which is operated manually by an associate. At Universal Stations, totes of goods arrive at the workspace, which employees then stow onto the corresponding inventory shelf, called a “pod.” Picking for order fulfillment also occurs at these stations.

Semi-automated workstations in action

In a typical warehouse, employees will need to walk to a shelf in order to pick or stow items. At BFI4, the inventory pods — which span four floors — are transported to Amazon Robotics Semi-Automated Workstations or Universal stations via Hercules robots. 

To fulfill customer orders, employees pick items from inventory shelving pods at ARSAWs. These workstations, which are only used in the picking process, move the selected items into bins called totes.  

Projector lights highlight specific parts of the pod to help visually guide employees to the right item to pick. Employees then place the picked items then into totes.

Hercules robots transport inventory

The inventory pods and Hercules robots stay in a dedicated fenced area of the warehouse, located next to ARSAW and Universal Stations. Amnesty Floor Monitors are critical for troubleshooting various issues in this section, such as restarting the mobile robots or clearing obstructions on the active floor.

Items are en route to the packing department

At a high level, once items are picked by employees, they are sorted into trays or totes and routed to the corresponding packing station based on order type. Single-item orders and multi-item orders follow automated paths to different sections of the packing process.

The packing process

The different packing sections also leverage automation.

For instance, a CW1000 packaging machine uses advanced sensors to measure each item and apply the exact amount of wrapping material needed for protection during the shipping process. This helps eliminate the use of excess packaging that can accompany manual boxing.

The site also utilizes manual packaging stations, where automated processes supplement human work. Orders with multiple items go to the Amazon Fulfillment Engine area, where employees pack items together. In this section, associates are guided by systems that help identify which box size to use and are equipped with automated tape dispensers.

Orders are ready for delivery

Employees then transport the packaged items to a ship dock area. The parcels are packed onto trailers to be transported to either sorting centers, which orchestrate further transportation, or delivery stations, which deliver to customers’ doors.

Dive Brief:

• Walmart is investing more than $330 million to modernize its regional distribution center in Opelousas, Louisiana, according to a Jan. 15 press release from Louisiana Economic Development.
• The retailer intends to equip the distribution center with robotics and automation, which will double the facility’s shipping capacity once complete, per the press release.
• The multiyear project is set to begin in 2026 and will occur in phases, per the press release.

Dive Insight:

The modernization project is part of Walmart’s push to upgrade all 42 of its regional distribution centers, according to the press release.

Walmart aims to retain its workforce and transition roles toward higher-skilled positions in automation, advanced technology and robotics, according to the press release. Currently, the retailer has more than 37,400 employees in Louisiana, more than 1,900 of whom work in its distribution centers.

“This will play a strategic role in supporting our goal of modernizing our vast supply chain network by increasing the speed, efficiency, and safety at which products are distributed across our regional distribution centers,” a spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive in an email.

As of November 2025, more than 60% of Walmart’s U.S. stores received some freight from automated distribution centers, which has lowered shipping costs. 

The retailer has also been pushing automation elsewhere in its supply chain, including its “next generation” fulfillment centers, where products are shipped to customers.

Walmart has outlined several ways it leverages automation throughout its supply chain over the last few years. For instance, Walmart implemented autonomous forklifts from Fox Robotics and Wiliot inventory-tracking sensors.

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By AutoStore

After a decade of investment, most warehouse operators are not short on robotics. They have systems for moving totes, retrieving inventory, picking items, transporting orders, and feeding packing stations, and most of those systems work well on their own.

That is where the difficulty begins. A warehouse full of robots can still operate like a baseball team with all-stars at every position and nobody in the dugout, where each player handles their own spot well but no one is reading the whole field.

Most automation programs stall in that gap, having automated the tasks but not the decisions between them. The robots, workstations, and software are all in place, but there is no feedback loop that surfaces a problem in time to act on it.

The industry understands the stakes. The 2025 Warehouse/DC Operations Survey found average projected capital expenditure budgets rose from $1.8 million to just over $2.1 million in a year. In DHL's 2025 survey of 350 North American supply chain executives, 68% expect to rely more on robotics over the next five years and 63% expect more emphasis on coordinating supply chain resources to cut costs.

"Coordinating" is the operative word. The next round of gains will come from connecting what is already installed rather than buying more of it, so that storage, robots, software, data, and people work as one system instead of a set of separate installations. In practical terms, this is a path toward greater autonomy rather than a switch that gets flipped. A warehouse reads conditions, coordinates work across stations, and reduces manual intervention step by step, with people setting the direction throughout. Getting there rests on four building blocks.

Start with the storage layer

Physical infrastructure comes first. High-density automated storage brings inventory to the point of work rather than sending people down aisles to find it, which removes a large share of wasted movement. Density, though, is the easier half of the problem, and resilience is the harder one. SKU profiles change, order volumes swing, and peak demand rarely arrives the way the forecast described it. A system built around a single normal workflow performs well until that workflow changes and the design has to be reworked. Progress toward greater autonomy requires infrastructure that can flex without a rebuild.

Close the last manual handoff

The next step is closing the remaining manual handoffs. Piece picking is among the hardest gaps to automate because it is where physical variability meets customer expectation. Our Versa AI system combines robotic piece picking with order preparation, SKU consolidation, and buffering inside the AutoStore grid rather than treating picking as a separate automation island. The operating principle is that every handoff is an opportunity for an exception, and the more disconnected the handoffs, the more one-off human input the operation requires.

Build the decision layer

Hardware moves goods and software determines what moves next. The decision layer brings software and data together to read conditions across storage, workstations, robots, inventory, and demand, then guide how work gets prioritized. We built CubeVerse™ as a cloud platform connecting AutoStore's software applications, bringing together more than 10 data sources and more than 20 proprietary AI models and agents in a single environment.

The gains available in that layer are larger than most operators expect. In large, robot-dense grids, custom robot routing and dedicated robot highways clear congestion at peak. In one high-density system, we measured throughput rise by about 7%, from roughly 26,400 to more than 28,300 bins per hour, on the same hardware. Conditions vary, and that result is specific to that grid, but the broader point holds: the next increment of capacity may already exist inside the building, and software and data are what release it.

Design the feedback loops before deployment

Lights-out capability is difficult to bolt on later. Before installation, operators should simulate how storage capacity, robot traffic, workstations, SKU mix, and demand interact. Once the system is live, the operating team repeats the same cycle: observe conditions, compare them with expectations, adjust behavior, and measure the result.

Lights-out capability arrives gradually, and progress shows up as fewer exceptions, longer operating hours, steadier throughput, and less breakage at peak. People remain central to how the operation runs. Their role moves up, from watching and executing the process to improving it and handling the exceptions that call for judgment.

Dive Brief:

• Nestlé USA opened a 700,000-square-foot distribution center equipped with digital technologies and automation systems in Arvin, California, part of a broader network enhancement, according to a June 10 press release.
• The site is meant to strengthen the consumer packaged goods manufacturer’s West Coast distribution network and features the largest automated storage and retrieval system within the company’s global network, per the release. 
• Nestlé invested $330 million into the facility’s construction, part of its plan to spend $25 billion on bolstering U.S. operations over a 10-year period beginning in 2020.

Dive Insight:

Nestlé unveiled its latest high-tech distribution center as it continues to focus on creating a leaner and more agile business.

The Hot Pockets maker is operating with “a sense of urgency” to enhance its brand portfolio and gain market share, U.S. CEO Marty Thompson told Food Dive in 2025, months after the company announced plans to cut about 16,000 jobs across its global workforce. 

The cuts, which were set to take place over two years, include roughly 4,000 layoffs in Nestlé’s supply chain and manufacturing functions, with a goal of cutting costs by 3 billion Swiss francs, or $3.8 billion, by the end of 2027. 

As it restructures its workforce and targets expense reductions, Nestlé said its newest distribution center is designed for flexible operations and will use targeted automation to boost agility and resiliency while supporting high demand during peak seasons. 

The Arvin facility is the second high-tech distribution facility Nestlé has introduced into its network in the last two years, according to the release, joining a $675 million beverage factory and distribution center the company opened in Glendale, Arizona.

“While Nestlé has been adding digital and automation capabilities across many of its distribution centers in recent years, the Arvin, California facility and the Glendale, Arizona site represent the first new builds where these capabilities were intentionally designed into the operations from the ground up,” a Nestlé spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive in an email. 

The Arvin facility, which has been fully operational since May, features automatic storage and retrieval system crane aisles, laser-guided vehicles and layer-picking robotics, the spokesperson said. As it pushes a tech-focused approach to its supply chain operations, Nestlé is also updating its software stack, as it is currently installing a new enterprise resource planning system globally. 

Rival Hershey is also leveraging technology across sourcing, manufacturing, delivery and planning as it seeks to improve productivity and reduce inventory, Chief Supply Chain Officer Jason Reiman said during the company’s Investor Day in March. The parent of the Reese’s brand is specifically leaning on tools such as decision-intelligence software, cost modeling and automated delivery-unit assembly. 

Beyond advancing its own technology and automation initiatives, Nestlé is targeting sustainability gains with the Arvin site. It plans to source 100% of the facility’s electricity from renewable sources while operating it as a zero waste site by recycling, composting or recovering energy from waste materials, per the release.

Dive Brief:

• Walmart has deployed inventory-tracking sensors across its supply chain through a collaboration with Wiliot, providing more data for the retailer's artificial intelligence push.
• Data from Wiliot's ambient Internet of Things sensors aim to help Walmart improve its supply chain efficiency, inventory accuracy and cold chain compliance via real-time insights into stock levels and locations, according to an Oct. 2 news release.
• The sensors provide automated alerts and reduce manual tasks for employees, per the release. They are currently deployed across 500 Walmart stores, with a national expansion covering 4,600 retail locations and 40-plus distribution centers planned for 2026.

Dive Insight:

Millions of Wiliot sensors, called Pixels, are already deployed on pallets moving from distribution centers to stores throughout Walmart's supply chain, said Julien Bellanger, Wiliot's president, in an interview with Supply Chain Dive. The company eventually aims to enable tagging at the case level for Walmart, rather than the pallet level, so the retailer can track inventory in an even more granular fashion, he added.

The sensors are particularly helpful in cold chain applications, such as making sure produce is quickly moved to a cooler once it reaches a store, according to Bellanger. They also provide automatic signals that make it easier to know where a pallet is in real time.

"Positive confirmation of receipts in supply chain, as you know, is very important," he said. "No manual scanning, no paper trail, just a signal that is automatically created based on real data, and that both the supplier and Walmart will capture eventually."

Wiliot's sensors feed inventory data into Walmart's AI systems. The collaboration comes as Walmart scales up its use of AI in its supply chain, with inventory management being a key focus area for the technology.

"With Wiliot's ambient IoT technology, coupled with our AI systems, we're not only optimizing our supply chain to make faster, smarter inventory decisions, but we're also tackling one of the hardest problems in retail—knowing exactly what we own and where it is at any given moment," Greg Cathey, Walmart SVP of transformation and innovation, said in the release.

Dive Brief:

• HelloFresh has grown its chilled fulfillment capacity from 100 SKUs to 500 SKUs via an expanded partnership with Locus Robotics, according to a June 23 news release.
• HelloFresh first deployed 13 Locus Origin robots for its Factor brand in July 2025 as part of a pilot program. The robots were able to handle their fulfillment tasks — from order induction to box drop-off — in three minutes and 36 seconds on average, the release said. HelloFresh expanded the deployment within three months, adding 26 more robots to the mix.
• The SKU expansion enables greater meal variety for HelloFresh customers and unlocks new revenue opportunities for the meal kit company, per the release. HelloFresh plans to add fulfillment support from Locus Robotics to its EveryPlate brand later in 2026.

Dive Insight:

HelloFresh's fulfillment model is a demanding one, with high volume and variety plus temperature-control requirements, Jasmine Lombardi, Locus Robotics' chief customer officer, said in the release.

Robots fulfilling orders in a refrigerated environment can also see reduced battery efficiency over time due to the lower temperatures. Locus developed a heated motor enhancement and charging modifications to ensure its Origin robots could reliably operate in the cold storage conditions. The robots are designed for high-volume order fulfillment, offering collaborative in-aisle picking with humans for fast-turning items, according to a company fact sheet. 

"The implementation was extremely smooth, with much of the testing completed virtually before go-live," Brad Mesloh, HelloFresh's associate director of strategic design, said in the release. "Once the robots were on the floor, final validation took only a few days, making the deployment much quicker and simpler than our legacy systems."

Locus Robotics currently supports about 12,000 square feet of chilled fulfillment space for HelloFresh, including two meal kit picking lines, per the release. The robots move orders directly from induction to drop off in some instances to accelerate product movement. They are deployed at HelloFresh’s chilled fulfillment facility in Phoenix, a Locus Robotics spokesperson said in an email to Supply Chain Dive.

The expanded deployment comes as HelloFresh pushes for improved efficiency within its operations. The company's fulfillment costs as a share of revenue improved by 0.8 percentage points year over year, excluding the impact of impairment and share-based compensation, CFO Fabien Simon said in a Q1 earnings call in May.

"This is a direct output of the network optimization and productivity improvements we have been embedded into the operating model," Simon said.

Kroger deployed Corvus One for Cold Chain drones across its ambient and sub-freezing cold chain distribution operations, Andrew Burer, head of marketing at Corvus Robotics, told Supply Chain Dive in an email.

The drones, which are supplied by Corvus Robotics, autonomously scan pallet locations across freezer zones, enabling weekly inventory visibility across the facility instead of relying on full physical counts, Burer said. They help with a variety of applications, such as best practices like first in, first out.

“For cold chain operations in particular, this reduces the need for associates to perform manual counts in sub-freezing environments while improving shrink control, FIFO compliance, and data reliability for short shelf-life goods,” Burer said.

Corvus One drones do not require infrastructure modifications and can tap directly into existing warehouse systems, Burer said. The drones, which can handle freezer environments down to minus-20 degrees Fahrenheit, can also operate without WiFi, localization markers, lighting modifications, special barcodes or a human operator, according to the Corvus Robotics website.

He further noted that Corvus One has been working with Kroger “across multiple phases, progressing from initial validation into operational deployment.”

Burer was unable to comment on which Kroger warehouses are using the inventory drones, the fleet size per site or long-term rollout timelines.

Warehouse drones have been gaining momentum as inventory visibility and accuracy become a bigger priority in supply chain operations.

In 2023, for instance, ocean shipping giant Maersk deployed Verity drones to help shippers better track inventory. Sportswear brand On also partnered with Verity to bring real-time inventory tracking to its warehouses and stock management operations, as well as UPS in a bid to streamline inventory processes.

Corvus Robotics also offers non-cold chain drones, which are leveraged by brands such as Asics, ArmorAll and GNC, according to the company's website.

Dive Brief:

• United Natural Foods, Inc. will roll out its Relex Solutions supply chain planning platform in roughly a dozen distribution centers this month, executives told investors on a March 10 earnings call.
• The wholesale food distributor expects to deploy the AI-powered technology across its entire distribution network by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends Aug. 1, CEO Sandy Douglas said.
• “As our Relex implementation progresses, it's helping us to improve customer service, fill rates and inventory management, which is, in turn, improving our free cash flow,” Douglas said.

Dive Insight:

UNFI’s Relex Solutions system rollout, which started in 2023, is part of a broader supply chain overhaul that pairs advanced planning technology with automation and a standardized lean operating model. The model is built on a lean management philosophy that prioritizes continuous process improvement.

Over the last year, the company has added automation equipment to at least four facilities and implemented a lean framework in at least 34 of its 49 distribution centers.

Despite this progress, UNFI is still in the early stages of its lean transformation and believes there is significantly more value to unlock for customers, suppliers, associates and shareholders in the months and years ahead, CFO Giorgio Tarditi said on the latest earning call.

As part of this broader transformation, the Relex inventory system was first installed in the company’s natural foods distribution centers, with implementation now underway in its conventional food facilities, Tarditi said at the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference on March 12.

The technology complements UNFI's move to decentralize its procurement model, in which small teams at each distribution center read local demand signals to quickly adjust purchasing decisions, Tarditi said.

The procurement approach and technology investments sit within a broader plan. In 2024, UNFI launched a multiyear transformation strategy to build a next-generation supply chain through improved processes and advanced technologies, Douglas said at the company's analyst and investor day last December. The project aims to better serve customers and suppliers while reducing operating costs.

Denmark-based Pandora is modernizing its warehouse operations across North America, Europe and Thailand using Hardis Supply Chain software and technology, according to a March 25 press release.

The jewelry retailer aims to optimize end-to-end network workflows using the Hardis warehouse management system, which is customized to accommodate Pandora’s operating model.

On the distribution side, the WMS will help support operational flows from manufacturing into distribution centers and then to consumers through owned stores, franchises and other sales partners, according to the release.

The WMS will also provide Pandora with real-time visibility through configurable dashboards, per the release. Meanwhile, role-based reporting will provide the jewelry retailer with end-to-end insight on inventory, throughput and performance.

The WMS rollout is also able to integrate with Pandora’s enterprise systems, such as the retailer’s migration to SAP S/4HANA Cloud and a new transportation management system to help stabilize operations during peak season, according to the press release.

Overall, Pandora aims to leverage the WMS to make faster data-driven decisions, respond to demand signals, cut back on idle inventory and improve overall service levels, per the release.

The rollout is part of Pandora’s larger end-to-end supply chain modernization program “spanning ERP, WMS, TMS, and global visibility platforms to support rapid growth, sustainability goals, and an increasingly digital retail ecosystem,” per the press release.

Pandora is deploying the WMS across its global operations in phases, with plans to implement the technology at its owned-and-operated distribution center in the U.S. in July, a Pandora spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive. 

The jewelry retailer is in the process of relocating the facility from Columbia, Maryland, to a new facility in Anne Arundel, Maryland, according to a September 2025 press release. The upcoming 107,000-square-foot facility, which will expand Pandora’s distribution footprint by nearly 80%, is slated to open in the first half of 2026. Pandora also recently opened a distribution center in Canada. Previously, e-commerce orders destined for Canada were handled from its U.S. distribution centers.

The WMS rollout will take place after operations are moved to the new distribution center being built in Maryland. The technology has already been deployed at Pandora’s distribution centers in Thailand and Germany.

“The implementation of Hardis technology within our distribution centers is to support our OMNI channel initiatives and enable our growth strategy,” the spokesperson said. “By the end of this summer, we will have completed the first round of implementations to support B2B in all three of our owned and operated distributions centers.”

Mondelēz International plans to deploy automation and AI at up to five distribution centers serving its direct-store-delivery network and remake a portion of its U.S. manufacturing operations.

With automated fulfillment centers, the snack and confectionery manufacturer expects to reach the points of sale faster, reduce stock and cut costs across the 55 branches the centers serve, EVP, COO and CFO Luca Zaramella said on an April 28 earnings call.

Mondelēz is also focused on bolstering its manufacturing. About 60% of the U.S. network has been modernized, Zaramella said, while some plants in the remaining 40% run on high waste and at a level of productivity "below expectations."

"We have come to terms that some of the plants will have to deal with much simpler lines as opposed to having complex state-of-the-art lines," Zaramella said. "And so we will play to the strength of the plant."

In addition, the company wants to cut costs by taking in-house the manufacturing of lines of businesses currently served by co-manufacturers, Zaramella said, adding, "We will save quite a bit of money."

The company also wants to bring all packaging for mixed packs of cookies and crackers in-house, which is important for competing in the club channel, Zaramella said. Doing the packaging itself will remove the rigidity and inefficiency of the current system.

The supply chain update provided on the earnings call came several months after executives told analysts Mondelēz had launched a multiyear supply chain improvement program designed to upgrade the company's U.S. biscuits operations.

The program is expected to increase capacity on biscuit, cake and pastry production, modernize packaging capabilities and increase network flexibility, Mondelēz Chairman and CEO Dirk Van de Put said at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York Conference in February. Van de Put expected the company to realize the benefits of the supply chain enhancements at the beginning of 2027.

Mondelēz is halfway into a $1.2 billion, multiyear overhaul of its supply chain and ERP system. The company launched the project in 2024, planning to roll it out in phases until completion in 2028.

Robotics and artificial intelligence, usually tools reserved for billion-dollar enterprises with sprawling supply chains, are increasingly becoming accessible to a wider swath of companies. So, while giants such as Walmart and Amazon continue to pursue the cutting edge of supply chain technology, smaller operators are taking advantage of the economics that naturally come with technological development and scale.

Record-breaking attendance at MHI’s ProMat event last March and the robotics that flooded the show floor provide proof of the trend, according to Sonya Snellenberger, VP of partnerships at Conexus Indiana, an economic development nonprofit focused on advancing the state’s manufacturing and logistics sectors.

“That's a huge indicator for there's an appetite for this,” Snellenberger said. “It's not just all the big companies.”

As-a-service fuels adoption

One major reason robotics, specifically, have become more accessible for warehouse operators is the development of as-a-service platforms, according to Jayesh Mehta, managing executive of industry groups at MHI. These subscription-based setups, both robotics-as-a-service and software-as-a-service models, are particularly helpful for midsized companies and have been gaining more traction in recent years.

A 2025 study conducted by MHI, Peerless Research Group and The Robotics Group found that 48% of participating organizations were using robots in their plants and/or warehouses in 2025, up from 23% three years earlier. The study surveyed 216 respondents between January and February 2025, with more than half companies with less than $50 million of annual revenue.

Running parallel with the rise of warehouse robotics use, in the 2024 version of the survey, 64% of responding companies said they were using a RaaS or SaaS system, up from 46% two years prior. 

Mobile accessories distributor Superior Communications is working with Brightpick to integrate 37 autopicker muliti-purpose robots into its Tennessee distribution center. Superior CEO Solomon Chen highlighted the ability to purchase the equipment through a RaaS scheme as a decision-making factor when choosing a robotics partner, further noting that the autopickers will optimize throughput and reduce fulfillment costs.

Meanwhile, parcel carrier UniUni, which operates over 100 warehouses in North America, started its robotics journey in 2023 through a partnership with Global Robotics Services. The UK-based technology firm offers a RaaS model, which it says requires a lower upfront investment and reducing fixed costs, alongside flexible lease terms.

According to Peter Lu, CEO of UniUni, the first processes the company automated were parcel sorting and sequencing, which he described as “two of the most labor-intensive and time-sensitive stages of warehouse operations.”

The company then made its GRS partnership public in April 2025, announcing it would use two AI-powered sorting tools that integrate with an existing warehouse execution system. 

“This trend is exciting,” Lu said in an email. “It’s driving innovation throughout the industry, encouraging both large and small companies to rethink how technology can enhance efficiency and service quality.”

Peer success spurs domino effect

When companies consider technology upgrades, identifying and achieving a path to return on investment is the top barrier to spending, according to a whitepaper from Pennsylvania State University, commissioned by MHI, analyzing the trade association’s 2024 study. 

For UniUni, growing parcel volumes and the staying power of e-commerce gave it such a business case. Meanwhile, lessons from its story can help others push past the investment barrier, according to Snellenberger, even if vendor sales teams from vendors and service providers provide ROI data. 

“I can hear all day from a tech integrator what they believe the ROI is,” Snellenberger said. “But I want to hear from my peers.” 

As increased interest in warehouse robotics pressures more companies to invest, the end results will benefit the greater logistics ecosystem, Lu said. In that way, growing adoption of warehouse robotics, alongside more accessible financing, begets more adoption, even if every robotics solution won’t make sense for every warehouse.

“[Small- to medium-sized enterprises], or anyone for that matter, need to thoroughly investigate if they need to implement robotics and if this is helping them become more efficient, or is this just automating a task with little to no difference,” Mehta said, warning firms to avoid a “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality.