DHL Supply Chain deploys autonomous forklifts in the U.S. as first step toward global expansion

According to foreign media reports, DHL Supply Chain recently announced that it has deployed automatic forklifts, a type of package sorting vehicle that uses robotic technology, in its warehouses in the United States for the first time. This move will help DHL save labor and improve warehouse efficiency to alleviate the pressure of worker shortages and surges in orders during the peak season.

It is reported that the automatic forklift can take over the picking, releasing and replenishing of fully loaded pallets in the warehouse (many goods are stacked on one pallet), reducing the number of manual transfers of pallets. And it has the function of automatic raising and lowering, and can handle parcels across six layers high and two pallets deep.

It is reported that the automatic forklifts will work 24 hours a day and can move 10 to 15 pallets per hour, which can help DHL supply chain process more than one million pallets. The work efficiency can be as high as 65% of human productivity. In addition, the automatic forklifts will also assist warehouse personnel in operating together, forming a labor market where classification and robots divide the work and cooperate with each other, and work efficiency will double.

Brian Gaunt, senior director of DHL North America, said that indoor robotic transportation can improve the efficiency, accuracy and safety of double-deep pallet delivery without any major changes to the infrastructure. The deployment of automatic forklifts will accelerate DHL's digital supply chain transformation.

DHL Supply Chain is continually evaluating new technologies and solutions to facilitate and add value to its warehouse operations. The first installation of autonomous forklifts in North America represents DHL Supply Chain’s ongoing deployment of indoor robotic transport equipment in more than 2,200 warehouses around the world.

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