United StatesLogistics and transport2019 – ongoingDHL Supply Chain
Stretch robots for trailer unloading
DHL deployed Stretch robots and reported faster unloading than manual handling in tested environments
Problem
Unloading cartons from trailers required physically demanding work. DHL also faced labor shortages and safety concerns.
Approach
DHL Supply Chain worked with Boston Dynamics for 4 years before its first commercial Stretch deployment in 2023. The robot used computer vision to identify cartons and transferred them onto a flexible conveyor. It could handle mixed stacks and recover fallen boxes.
Results
No published figures
Takeaway
Trailer unloading offered a bounded task that did not require warehouse-management-system integration. DHL did not disclose the size of the speed advantage or how it varied by product.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Logistics and transport
- Business function
- Logistics and supply chain
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Robotics and automationComputer vision
- Adoption
- Partner co-development
- Evidence
- Company's own claim
Sources
Source summaries
Robotics 24/7 reported DHL's first commercial Stretch deployment and interviewed a DHL executive about implementation. It attributed the claim that unloading exceeded manual speeds in all tested environments to DHL.
Full details are in the original sources.