Frankfurt a. M., June 13, 2025 — Federal Categorical stated it has launched an AI-powered sorting robotic at its air community location in Cologne, Germany, the primary of its sort within the European FedEx community.
The Cologne air community location is the most important of seven FedEx air community services in Germany, using over 900 group members. The robotic arm, manufactured by Hellebrekers B.V., is mounted inside a protecting cage on the small package deal kind the place incoming parcels are inducted. It assists group members within the sorting course of, permitting them to give attention to extra complicated duties. It primarily kinds paperwork and smaller parcels as much as 4kg, processing as much as 1,000 items per hour and managing round 90 locations concurrently.
“AI-supported applied sciences like this assist us handle shipments extra successfully, improve buyer expertise, and increase our aggressive edge as ecommerce continues to drive development out there,” stated Boris Stoffer, managing director community operations Germany at FedEx. “These applied sciences are additionally supporting our staff by lowering bodily straight by taking up repetitive, high-volume duties.”
“This robotic in-feeding system is proof of our dedication to innovation, “stated Georgiana Constantin, supervisor planning & engineering innovation & properties design at FedEx. “Delivering best-in-class service is our ambition, pushed by a ardour for innovation that places our prospects first.”
FedEx give attention to automation in its Cologne air community location echoes broader trade developments. Logistics gamers are optimizing operational efficiencies, from warehouse administration to last-mile supply. In keeping with Statista, the worldwide warehouse automation market is projected to exceed USD 51 billion by 2030.
In 2020, FedEx began with the set up of 4 robotic arms at its Memphis Hub in Tennessee to automate its small package deal sorting. In 2022, FedEx deployed additional sorting robots at its South China E-Commerce Cargo Sorting Middle in Guangzhou and its Singapore Hub. Moreover the corporate makes use of robotic product sortation and Identification systems at 17 U.S. sorting services together with New York, Las Vegas, and Ohio.
