Radwell International boosts pick productivity 400% with AutoStore warehouse robotics

Radwell International supplies industrial automation components, electronic control equipment, and MRO parts across nine global locations from an inventory of 12 million SKUs. The New Jersey distribution hub anchors worldwide fulfillment, with a secondary hub in the UK serving European markets. In high-SKU distribution environments, picking speed and storage density are direct constraints on revenue capacity. Before automation, the operation could complete only 120 picks per eight-hour shift — a rate that made order fulfillment slow and expensive relative to order volume. With business expanding into the UK, Canada, and Germany, the combination of insufficient warehouse space and inadequate throughput put scalable growth at risk without significant facility investment.

In 2016, Radwell International deployed an AutoStore cube-storage system implemented by integration partner Swisslog. The installation comprises 34 autonomous robots operating over an aluminum grid housing approximately 50,000 bins, supported by four picking stations and five replenishment ports. Robots traverse the grid surface at 3 m/s and retrieve bins from depth using long gripper arms at 1.6 m/s. Displaced bins are automatically repositioned in surrounding available space and returned after retrieval — eliminating manual bin management entirely. Each robot functions as an independently controlled unit, so a single failure does not halt overall system operation. The aluminum grid is also designed for modular expansion: new sections can be added and populated with inventory without taking the system offline, removing the need for facility shutdowns to accommodate growth.

The AutoStore deployment produced a 400% increase in pick productivity: the 120 picks that previously required a full eight-hour shift are now completed in one hour, yielding a sustained rate of 450 picks per hour. Key outcomes include:

• Storage density: The grid configuration delivered 30% more storage capacity within the same square footage compared to competing systems evaluated during vendor selection.
• Operational resilience: Independent robot control eliminated single-point failure exposure, supporting continuous system uptime at production scale.
• Business development impact: The installation became a customer-facing asset — warehouse tours demonstrably strengthened buyer confidence and Radwell's willingness to invest in infrastructure became a closing argument in enterprise sales conversations.

• Evaluate competing automation systems on storage yield per square foot, not throughput alone — cube-storage grids can deliver 30%+ density gains over conventional shelving in the same footprint.
• Independent robot control is a reliability baseline, not an optional feature; any architecture with a single point of failure introduces unacceptable risk at high-SKU operational scale.
• Design for modular grid expansion from the start — the ability to add capacity without system shutdowns prevents automation from becoming a ceiling on business growth.
• High-visibility automation installations carry secondary sales value; customer-facing tours of a modern fulfillment operation can directly support enterprise deal cycles.