DSV

DSV, a global 3PL operating across more than 80 countries with 1,600 offices and logistics centers, faced acute pressure managing peak-season order surges for a North American health and beauty retailer client. Warehouse picking operations — already complex in high-SKU retail fulfillment — became a bottleneck during demand spikes, threatening on-time delivery commitments. The core challenge for any large 3PL is that traditional automation (conveyor systems, fixed infrastructure) requires capital-intensive overhauls and long deployment timelines incompatible with seasonal elasticity. Without a flexible solution, DSV risked strained labor capacity, missed SLAs, and an inability to replicate solutions efficiently across multiple client facilities.

DSV partnered with Locus Robotics, a Massachusetts-based warehouse robotics company, to deploy the LocusONE robots-as-a-service (RaaS) platform — an AI-driven autonomous mobile robot (AMR) solution designed for collaborative human-robot picking. The RaaS model eliminated upfront capital commitments, allowing robots to scale up or down with seasonal demand. Integration with DSV's existing warehouse management system (WMS) was prioritized from the outset, with the LocusONE robots navigating existing warehouse layouts without requiring infrastructure modifications — a deliberate contrast to conveyor-based systems. Implementation began at a single health products fulfillment site, where both teams established IT readiness, standardized workflows, and trained operators before expanding. The RaaS architecture enabled rapid replication of the deployment template across additional facilities once the initial site validated the model.

Following deployment across multiple warehouse sites, DSV recorded measurable gains in fulfillment throughput and a significant reduction in picking durations. Labor was reallocated away from repetitive travel-heavy picking tasks toward higher-priority warehouse functions, improving overall workforce utilization. Key operational outcomes include:

• Increased throughput across health and beauty fulfillment sites without adding proportional headcount
• Reduced picking durations as LocusONE robots handled item transport, allowing human pickers to focus on selection tasks
• Rapid multi-site replication enabled by the standardized RaaS deployment model
• Dynamic demand scaling — robot fleet size adjusted to match seasonal peaks and valleys
• Improved safety through collision-avoidance systems dynamically adjusted to client-specific aisle configurations

• RaaS de-risks peak-season automation: The subscription model lets 3PLs scale robot fleets with demand cycles, avoiding the capital commitments and stranded assets of fixed infrastructure.
• WMS integration is the critical path: Prioritizing IT infrastructure readiness before go-live prevented operational disruptions during the initial rollout.
• Change management is as important as technology: Operator training and workflow redesign around human-robot collaboration determined adoption speed more than the robots themselves.
• Start with one site, then replicate: A single validated deployment creates a replicable template — standardizing what can be standardized while allowing site-specific customization.
• Minimal-disruption design accelerates ROI: Robots that navigate existing layouts avoid the weeks-long shutdown costs associated with traditional conveyor installation.