DHL Supply Chain

DHL Supply Chain's fulfillment center near Columbus, Ohio operated a labor-intensive apparel sortation and distribution process on behalf of a major retail brand, running nearly 24/7 to meet volume demands. In logistics and freight, sortation throughput directly caps downstream order velocity — manual bottlenecks compound during peak seasons when order volumes spike unpredictably. Persistent labor shortages and high employee turnover meant the facility could not reliably staff its sortation lines, creating exposure ahead of an imminent peak season surge. With the manual process already running at capacity at just 20 units per hour, the operation faced a hard ceiling on throughput and an 8-month window to implement a scalable alternative.

Addverb deployed a comprehensive robotic sortation system using its Zippy robotic sorters, covering both inbound and outbound workflows within the fulfillment center. The physical automation layer was paired with Addverb's Concinity Warehouse Execution System (WES), which provides end-to-end orchestration across sortation lanes and inventory tracking. A round-robin distribution logic was implemented to balance parcel flow evenly across sorter units, preventing bottlenecks during high-volume periods. The Concinity WES was fully integrated with existing upstream warehouse execution software to maintain data continuity. Because Addverb controls in-house design, manufacturing, and software development, the full project — from requirements through commissioning — was completed within the 8-month target window, enabling the facility to go live before peak season.

The robotic sortation system delivered a step-change improvement across every operational dimension measured:

• Throughput: Increased from 20 units/hour to 100+ units/hour — a 300%+ gain in sortation capacity
• Sortation rate: System operates at 1,000 sorts/hour at peak
• Order fulfilment accuracy: 99.99% — effectively eliminating mispicks at scale
• Inventory accuracy: 99%, enabling reliable replenishment and reduced shrinkage

The entire program, from initial design through full deployment, was completed in under 9 months. The facility eliminated its dependency on transient labor for sortation operations and entered peak season with five times its prior processing capacity.

• Labor arbitrage is fragile at 24/7 scale — robotic sortation removes headcount dependency from a function that cannot tolerate staffing gaps.
• Vendor vertical integration accelerates deployment — Addverb's control over hardware manufacturing, WES software, and systems integration was the primary enabler of the 8-month go-live.
• WES orchestration is as critical as the hardware — pairing physical sorters with purpose-built execution software is what drives near-perfect accuracy, not just speed.
• Round-robin load balancing prevents throughput variance — even distribution logic should be a design requirement, not an afterthought, for high-volume sortation environments.