Demand for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) remains strong but has slowed a bit this year amid economic uncertainty and volatility in global trade policies. But despite the headwinds, the long-term outlook remains solid, driven in part by demand for robotic sortation solutions that are being used to speed operations and streamline workflows in warehouses and distribution centers (DCs) around the world.
Recent market research highlights the trend. The robotic sortation solutions market is expected to increase by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 17% between 2023 and 2032, according to a report from industry research firm Dataintelo, published earlier this year. The report cites the adoption of robotic sorting technologies for use in e-commerce, warehousing, manufacturing, and logistics as “a critical driver” for the market. Underlying factors include scarce labor resources and high costs associated with hiring manual labor.
Part of the reason for the positive long-term outlook on AMR use is that installations are still in the very early stages. Another researcher, London-based Interact Analysis, said in a January report that just 13% of warehouses will have deployed at least one fulfillment AMR by 2030—leaving plenty of room for growth.
Amid those trends, sorting robots are finding their niche in DCs that handle a wide variety of items across a range of industries. Two recent projects—one in retail and one at a third-party logistics services provider (3PL)—illustrate the point.
ENABLING CONSOLIDATION
Among the early AMR adopters is South Korea-based health and beauty retailer Olive Young, which installed a fleet of sortation AMRs at a greenfield facility in metropolitan Seoul last year. The robots have helped Olive Young keep up with growing demand for its “K-beauty products,” an umbrella term for skincare products from South Korea that focus on health and hydration. Among the chief benefits of the project: Olive Young has consolidated shipping of key product lines from three distribution centers (DCs) down to one since adding the AMRs last summer.
Olive Young operates more than 1,300 stores and is expanding its online marketplace, which serves consumers around the world. The retailer installed sortation AMRs from China-based Libiao Robotics to accommodate that e-commerce growth, a move that has allowed it to keep pace with rising export volumes while adding same-day delivery options for customers in metropolitan Seoul. The company’s new 355,000-square-foot DC opened in September 2024 with the ability to fill nearly 2,200 customer orders per hour—again, all from a single DC.
At the heart of the DC is Libiao’s T-Sort solution, a goods-to-person system in which 320 “mini yellow” AMRs collect ordered items from one of four induction stations and feed them to one of 32 workstations. (For this particular project, the “mini yellows” were custom produced in bright green to match Olive Young’s brand color.) The AMRs are equipped with a customized plate and conveyor belt that allows them to seamlessly move and sort fragile items—and they are powered by intelligent automation that allows them to navigate from the induction points to the workstations. The system was installed with the help of Olive Young’s local 3PL partner, Seoul-based CJ Logistics.
The customized solution automates sorting as follows: The robots deliver boxes of items to workstations, where workers place ordered items into the boxes. The robots then move to the next workstation, repeating the process until the order is complete. The robots then transport the boxes to a conveyor belt that delivers them to a packout station.
“This model effectively avoids issues such as dropping, colliding, or breaking that cosmetics may [be subjected to] during traditional sorting processes, significantly reducing damage rates for fragile items and ensuring product safety and integrity throughout [the logistics process],” according to a spokesperson for Libiao and Olive Young.
In addition to speeding fulfillment, the T-Sort system is helping Olive Young adjust to seasonal demands such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when overseas orders can increase fivefold, according to the company. The flexible solution allows the retailer to add or remove AMRs based on fluctuating volumes without any infrastructure changes, a hallmark of warehouse AMRs.
TRIPLING THROUGHPUT
DHL Supply Chain is reaping the rewards of a similar automated sortation project. The 3PL worked with robotics and automation company Addverb Technologies to install a system that is speeding apparel throughput at a DHL facility in Columbus, Ohio.
The partners have installed 52 Addverb “Zippy” sorting robots that are used to sort both cartons and parcels. The AI-enabled solution is part of a larger system that combines conveyors for scanning and weighing, system- and carton-monitoring software, gravity lanes for LTL (less-than-truckload) pallet building, and gaylords (pallet-sized boxes for bulk goods).
Cartons and parcels are fed to the robots via conveyor. The robots then transport the items to the next stop, seamlessly moving them via a mini-conveyor that forms the top of the AMR. For carton sorting, the Zippys receive cartons from a conveyor and transport them to one of several gravity roller conveyor lines, where workers at the end of the line build the LTL pallets. For parcels, the Zippys receive items the same way but transport them to gaylords, where the conveyor atop the robot feeds the parcels into the bins.
The system can perform up to 1,800 sorts per hour across 80 destinations.
Managers at the facility say the system is not only speeding operations but is also easing the strain on workers. The carton process provides a good example: From the point of induction, there are no hands on the cartons until they are “deducted,” or removed from the conveyor. At that point, workers scan each carton and place it on a nearby pallet as instructed by the system—there is no long-distance walking required and no bending or twisting to pick up the cartons and place them on the pallets.
“At the deduct points, working with Addverb, we’re able to tailor what that [team member receives],” the facility’s general manager, Don Sweeney, explained in a video case study describing the project. “They’ll scan a carton; it immediately tells them where to place it, and instead of carrying it for 50-plus yards like they might do in the old system … they turn, they pivot, they place the carton [on a pallet within a]less thanthree-foot radius, depending on where [they are] in their assignment grid.”
Bruce Cartwright, the facility’s safety champion, estimates the DC has experienced a threefold increase in productivity since implementing robotic sorting.
“Since [installing the system, our] productivity has probably tripled because of the efficiency and the ability to be more proactive—and being able to know where the cartons are going to hit,” he explains.
Demand for package sorting robots is expected to grow as more and more companies seek similar process improvements.
“In the logistics sector, the emergence of the package-sorting robot for logistics has been a game-changer,” according to the Dataintelo report. “As logistics companies strive to meet the growing demands of e-commerce and improve their operational efficiency, the adoption of package-sorting robots is expected to rise, further fueling the growth of the robotic sorting market.”
