Jennifer Chung, director of automation and innovation for North America with DSV, and Laura Adams, director of customer lifecycle marketing with Locus Robotics, tell how Locus helped DSV to meet the variable seasonal needs of a key customer while also improving overall productivity within multiple DSV warehouses.

DSV is a global provider of distribution, transportation and warehouse services. One of its customers was a provider of health and beauty products that was experiencing “massive” peaks in demand twice a year. As a third-party logistics provider, Chung says, DSV need to offer a level of service variability that could meet the customer’s day-to-day needs while also supporting peak requirements.

DSV turned to Locus Robotics, which equipped it with the right units for handling capacity at any given time. Because Locus offers a robots-as-a-service (RaaS) model, it can easily scale up and down in accordance with the needs of the moment.

Chung says Locus offers a standardized approach to implementation, while also customizing the system when necessary to meet DSV’s specific design requirements. “We were able to work very well together,” she says. Adams adds that Locus helped out in training new associates on the system, not only for peak holiday operations, but also for changes in volume throughout the year.

Implementation was further smoothed by the ability of the Locus robots to operate with minimal adjustments to existing racking and travel paths within the DSV facility, Adams says. 

Having gone through the first integration of Locus robots in its facility, DSV can now replicate the technology at other locations, and for additional customers, more quickly, Chung says.