ROBOTICS IN LOGISTICS A DPDHL perspective on implications and use cases for the logistics industry March 2016 Powered by DHL Trend Research PUBLISHER DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation Represented by Matthias Heutger Senior Vice President Strategy, Marketing & Innovation Deutsche Post DHL Group Post - eCommerce - Parcel Represented by Dr. Clemens Beckmann Executive Vice President Innovation 53113 Bonn, Germany 53844 Troisdorf, Germany PROJECT DIRECTOR Dr. Markus Kückelhaus Dr. Antje Huber Vice President Innovation and Trend Research, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation Vice President Innovation “Robotics“ Deutsche Post DHL Group Post - eCommerce - Parcel PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND EDITORIAL OFFICE Denis Niezgoda Heike Bischoff Project Manager Innovation and Trend Research, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation Senior Expert Innovation “Robotics“ Deutsche Post DHL Group Post - eCommerce - Parcel IN COOPERATION WITH: AUTHOR Tom Bonkenburg Director of European Operations St. Onge Company PREFACE Primed by scenarios from science fiction, as well as by hype and wild speculation from the world’s media, we have for many decades anticipated the era of robotics. We are concerned that robots may steal our jobs and spy on us. We imagine that they will arrive not in ones and twos but in vast armies ready to alter forever life as we know it. In this report, we examine the current state of robotics and automation in the logistics industry and offer a visionary outlook of how our supply chains will be transformed and improved by this emerging technology trend. You will extend your understanding of collaborative robotics with particular insights in the following areas: Understanding robotics in logistics – The reality is, of course, quite different. Exciting as it is, robotics technology seems to be arriving slowly but surely in cautious and well-considered stages. Right now robots are already among us. Personal robots are busy cleanin