Humans & Robots: A Strong Team in Peak Season
When Peak Season arrives, precision, teamwork, and smart technology make all the difference. Across our global network, people and robots work hand in hand to keep operations running smoothly, efficiently, and reliably.
Peak Season Showcases the Power of Our Operations
Peak Season is here. Order volumes surge, timelines tighten, and every process in our warehouses operates at full speed. It’s the busiest and most exciting time of the year, and that shows what truly sets us apart: strong teams, months of preparation, and the ability to stay agile and focused when it matters most.
Over the last years, robots have become part of the team. And especially during Peak Season, they reveal their true value: taking weight off our shoulders — quite literally.
Increasing volumes every year means increasing physical demands on our colleagues in the warehouse. It’s our responsibility to ease the workload and reduce stress, while meeting the increasing expectations of our clients for speed and quality.
Peak Season is the ultimate proof point for our automation strategy. By combining robotics with the expertise of our teams, we don’t just manage volume peaks, we set new standards in efficiency and reliability for our clients.
Philipp Rücker Head of Logistics Engineering and Transport Management
What Robotics Means for Our People
At Arvato, robotics is about making our work easier, safer, and smarter. Across our sites, the benefits are clear and tangible:
- Less heavy lifting: Robots like Bucky in Venlo depalletize hundreds of cartons per hour. This reduces physical strain for our colleagues and helps prevent injuries.
- Fewer long walks: Automated Guided Vehicles and AMRs take over internal transports, giving teams more time for tasks that require human judgment expertise.
- Repetitive work covered: Picking robots like Dora in Dortmund or Leleka in Hanover handle thousands of items per day with precision, allowing colleagues to focus on quality checks, exceptions, and continuous improvement.
- Tough jobs supported: Unloading trucks was once one of the most demanding inbound tasks. Today, Stretch from Boston Dynamics takes over, processing up to 500 cartons per hour.
- Less walking time: With more than 4,000 robots in our automated Goods-to-Person systems like AutoStore and Shuttle, items are brought directly to our colleagues. This makes workflows faster, safer, and more efficient.
For our people, this means less physical effort, fewer repetitive tasks, and more time to focus on what really matters: keeping operations flexible, creative, and client-focused.
A Real Team Effort
Automation at Arvato isn’t about filling every warehouse with robots. It’s about implementing technology where it creates real value and supports our people in the best possible way. And just bringing in more robots is not the real deal. Humans and robots don’t compete. They can complement each other. One provides speed and precision, the other contributes adaptability and the human touch. Together, they can form a team that can master even dynamic Peak Season challenges.
Robots take over the heavy lifting and repetitive tasks, but it’s our people who bring the creativity and flexibility to make operations run smoothly. Peak Season shows that true strength lies in this collaboration.
Markus Billmann Senior Expert Process Automation and Future Warehouse Team
Learning for the Future
Peak Season is always a stress test and an opportunity to learn. It challenges our processes, our people, and our robotics systems, revealing where automation delivers the most value and where we can improve further. These insights help us continuously evolve, making us stronger not only for the next Peak Season but for every day of the year.
The Takeaway
For us at Arvato, the benefits of robotics are clear:
- It makes our work safer and less physically demanding.
- It frees us up for tasks where human skills really make the difference.
- It helps us keep promises to our clients even when volumes peak.
Together, humans and robots can be a strong team — and the key to Peak Season performance.