SendTech Times
EconomyNews|September 1, 2026, 10:41 PM
SYSTEMS SHIFT:

Amazon, FedEx and DHL Push Robots Into Logistics Handoffs

BySendTech Times Capital & Policy DeskNewsroom-edited, source-reviewed coverage
Newsroom brief

Amazon, FedEx and DHL are targeting trailer loading, unloading and delivery-station sorting, where PYMNTS cited robot deployments, a 2.5 times processing target and DHL unloading rates of up to 700 boxes an hour.

Verified against source materialEdited by SendTech Times Capital & Policy DeskSource: PYMNTS
Amazon, FedEx and DHL Push Robots Into Logistics Handoffs
Image source: PYMNTS

Warehouse robots are moving from controlled fulfillment aisles into trailer and delivery-station handoffs, where packages vary by size, shape and destination, PYMNTS reported in a logistics automation review covering Amazon, FedEx and DHL.

The shift changes which part of the network automation is trying to solve.

Fixed conveyors and standardized bins have made fulfillment centers easier to mechanize, but dock doors, trailer unloading, delivery-station sorting and vehicle staging still depend heavily on human handling.

Amazon’s Project Tetromino sits at the delivery-station end of that problem.

An internal planning document put the potential throughput at about 2.5 times today’s delivery-station design, while current stations still rely on workers to sort parcels by hand, fill bags and prepare packages for drivers.

FedEx is already using robots inside a live hub.

The company expanded its partnership with physical artificial intelligence company Dexterity, putting two-armed Mech systems into trailer-loading work at the Hagerstown, Maryland site at production scale.

Another test covers Scoop, a Berkshire Grey system for autonomous trailer unloading, with initial operations expected later this year.

DHL has pushed furthest into trailer unloading.

Boston Dynamics’ Stretch systems can move as many as 700 boxes an hour from trailers and containers, and a 2025 memorandum of understanding covers more than 1,000 additional units globally.

DHL has also put more than $1.1 billion into automation in its contract logistics division over three years, with more than 90% of warehouses worldwide running at least one automated solution.

The common workflow is the handoff, not the warehouse robot itself.

Delivery-station processing and trailer unloading determine how much package volume the same buildings, dock doors and route networks can absorb.

That deployment pattern remains ahead of most supply-chain AI adoption.

PYMNTS Intelligence’s Enterprise AI Payback Curve survey of 60 senior technology executives at companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue found that 53% to 67% of large companies are still in early exploration for supply-chain functions.

The companies that have scaled AI in supply-chain work are concentrated in order fulfillment and returns optimization.

Amazon, FedEx and DHL are putting robotics investment into the same operational zone, where package handoffs determine how quickly automation can affect daily logistics capacity.

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