Warehouses shift to orchestration

Warehouse operators are shifting from single-purpose robots to software layers that coordinate whole fleets across a site. (dhl.com) DHL Supply Chain said on March 16, 2026 that it is deploying SVT Robotics’ SOFTBOT platform across its global warehouse network. DHL said it already has more than 8,000 collaborative robots in operation and can now connect new systems up to 12 times faster than with custom coding. (dhl.com) Before that change, DHL said each new automation tool needed separate code and took six to eight weeks to start. Tim Tetzlaff, DHL Supply Chain’s global head of digital transformation, said the company used the platform to replicate goods-to-person systems in Europe with integration work finished in three hours and to add new technology in Asia Pacific with zero downtime. (dhl.com) The basic problem is that warehouses rarely run one machine from one vendor anymore. They mix mobile robots, picking arms, storage systems and warehouse management software, and each new connection can slow rollouts if every link has to be built from scratch. (dhl.com) Locus Robotics pushed the same idea further on April 13, 2026 with Locus Array, a system the company said combines mobile robots, robotic picking and software into a fully autonomous fulfillment setup. Locus said the system is already in use at DHL and other customers. (therobotreport.com) Locus chief executive Rick Faulk said earlier generations of the company’s robots mainly assisted human pickers, while Locus Array is built to move beyond task assistance. In the company’s description, its LocusONE platform uses “agents” that monitor operations in real time and adjust workflows without waiting for human input. (locusrobotics.com) A parallel shift is showing up in warehouse construction budgets. Lyreco said on April 9, 2026 that it completed a modernization program worth more than €25 million at its Villaines-la-Juhel hub in France, adding a 3,000-square-meter facility, advanced sorting software and more than 100 Exotec Skypod robots. (exotec.com) That site handles about 60 percent of the 50,000 parcels Lyreco ships daily in France, according to the company. The upgrade also added automated outbound sequencing, pallet-building algorithms and ergonomic palletization stations, showing that the investment went into the full flow of work, not only the robots. (exotec.com) The software race now reaches beyond warehouses into what companies call “physical artificial intelligence,” meaning models that turn camera and sensor data into machine actions in real time. SoftBank said on March 31, 2026 that this approach depends on systems that break instructions into sub-tasks and convert them into robotic movements, while a separate report on April 13 said SoftBank is working on a next-generation model for autonomous machines with backing from major Japanese firms. (softbank.jp, indiatoday.in) The warehouse fight is no longer just over who builds the best robot. It is moving to who can make different machines, software and workers operate as one system without weeks of rewiring every time a new tool arrives. (dhl.com, locusrobotics.com)