Warehouses going robot‑first
Major vendors and analysts are saying new warehouses are being designed to run with minimal human intervention, shifting automation from pilot projects to core operations. Gartner predicted half of new warehouses in developed markets will be ‘human‑optional’ by 2030, MODEX coverage showed AI robotics and dual‑pick modes on display, and Maersk has already deployed Hai Robotics in a fashion fulfilment site. Locus Robotics also announced its Locus Array platform as part of that push toward fully autonomous fulfilment. (roboticstomorrow.com) (logisticsbusiness.com) (mhdsupplychain.com.au) (locusrobotics.com)
New warehouses are being designed around robots first, not workers first, as vendors move automation from add-on equipment to the core operating model. (gartner.com) Gartner said on April 13 that 50% of new warehouses in developed markets will be built as “robot-centric” sites by 2030, with humans optional in day-to-day operations. The firm tied that forecast to artificial intelligence software, smart robots, and warehouse designs planned around automation from the start. (gartner.com) A warehouse is the part of the supply chain that stores goods and gets orders out the door, and the basic change here is who moves the inventory. At MODEX 2026 in Atlanta, Ocado Intelligent Automation showed a grid system where bots fetch totes and can send them either to a human pick station or to robotic arms for “dual pick modes.” (logisticsbusiness.com) That shift is already showing up outside trade shows. Maersk and Hai Robotics said a Singapore fashion fulfilment center opened in February 2026 uses 49 Hai Robotics A42T systems and 110 autonomous mobile robots, with picking heights up to 10.6 metres for retail and e-commerce orders. (mhdsupplychain.com.au) Locus Robotics used MODEX on April 13 to launch Locus Array, a system it said combines a mobile robot, a picking arm, and artificial intelligence perception to complete aisle work without manual intervention. The company said the platform is aimed at “fully autonomous fulfillment” and will be demonstrated in Atlanta from April 13 to April 16. (locusrobotics.com) The industry has talked for years about automating single tasks such as moving shelves or sorting parcels. The newer push is to connect storage, picking, and movement into one flow so a warehouse can keep running with fewer handoffs between people and machines. (mckinsey.com) Gartner has been pointing in this direction for several years. In 2022, it said 75% of large warehouse companies would adopt some form of smart robots by 2026, framing labor shortages and rising wages as major drivers of the shift. (roboticsandautomationmagazine.co.uk) The pitch from vendors is speed, density, and round-the-clock operation. The open question is how many operators will choose expensive robot-first buildings over retrofitting older sites, but the April announcements show the market moving from pilots to full-facility bets. (gartner.com)
