New logistics center in Oberhausen distributing food supplies
Welcome to High-Tech Food Delivery: Picnic's Robot-Assisted Logistics Center in Oberhausen
📅 Updated: June 6, 2025, 2:26 pm📅 Expires: June 6, 2027🔗 Read moreBy Carmen Krafft-Dahlhoff
As of 5:30 pm on June 6, 2025, Picnic, an online food delivery service, officially began operations from its new location in the Ruhr area. This cutting-edge logistics center boasts a workforce of 1500 intelligent robots to expedite the sorting process and aims to serve up to 200,000 households.
In the midst of the buzz in the expansive warehouse situated in the north of Oberhausen stands Picnic Germany's CEO, Frederic Knaudt. "Things are running smoothly," Knaudt explains.
The game begins with a customer placing an order via the app. From that point forward, the technological phase begins in the new Oberhausen warehouse.
Completely Automated Packing with a Human Touch
The items whiz through the newly established warehouse's conveyor belts.
An employee awaits at a packing station for the customer's order. It arrives to him fully automated via conveyor belt. The 1500 robots select the items from over 350,000 boxes and bring them to the packer. All he needs to do is place them into the red customer box. Employees don't need to walk through long aisles or reach into high shelves, the CEO reports.
Essential Human Presence - Up to 1000 Employees May Be Required
Despite all the automation, humans remain vital to the modern warehouse. This is particularly true for unpacking freshly delivered goods. "Robots can't open boxes yet," says Knaudt. Additionally, human hands are required for the final packing of the products into the customer box.
Lastly, human employees handle the delivery to the front door. Currently, there are 200 warehouse workers, technicians, and drivers in Oberhausen. This number may rise to over 1000.
Sources:- Interview with Frederic Knaudt, CEO of Picnic Germany- On-site observations by the reporter
Bonus Facts:🤖 Picnic's Oberhausen facility boasts an advanced automation concept by Inther Group, a specialist in warehouse automation. The smart automation system streamlines the sorting, storing, and picking of grocery items.🛠️ Human employees play a crucial role, overseeing the automated processes and handling exceptions when necessary.🚚 While the food transportation is primarily managed by robots, human employees often engage in last-mile delivery and customer interactions.📈 The hybrid approach utilized by Picnic combines advanced robotic and human labor for exceptional efficiency and flexibility, adapting easily to business growth.💡 The system reduces manual handling and increases speed, enhancing order fulfillment and customer service.
- In the realm of news, the latest update comes from Picnic's food-and-drink sector as they unveiled their newly automated logistics center for food delivery, complete with 1500 intelligent robots, in the city of Oberhausen.
- As technology continues to advance, Picnic's lifestyle transformation includes incorporating robotics in their logistics centers, but human presence remains essential for tasks such as unpacking fresh goods, final packing, and deliveries, with an anticipated increase of 1000 employees at their Oberhausen facility.
