Mobile robots and flexible RaaS transform Flying Tiger’s European fulfilment hub

Wrocław operation at a glance

The 5,700 sqm Maersk distribution centre in Wrocław handled 230,908 parcels in 2023, rose to 392,980 in 2024 and was forecasting over 528,000 for 2025 after Locus Robotics went live in May 2023. The facility manages roughly 2,800–3,500 SKUs and serves as Flying Tiger’s central European e‑commerce hub, shipping across the EU from a single site with a 12.2 m height limit and no major structural changes allowed.

High-growth under pressure

Before automation, pickers averaged about 40 order lines per hour, walked up to 20,000 steps daily, and faced aisle congestion, heavy trolleys and long onboarding times. Q4 volumes could spike to five times the average, and Maersk faced a strict 22‑week window to deploy a scalable solution that avoided heavy CapEx and fit the existing warehouse footprint.

Operational pain points

• Low manual productivity (≈40 lines/hour)
• Excessive walking and fatigue (up to 20,000 steps/day)
• High onboarding time (three days)
• Seasonal volatility driven by social media and promotions

Bots to the rescue: RaaS and rapid deployment

Maersk chose a mobile, person‑to‑goods Robots‑as‑a‑Service model from Locus Robotics. The decision leaned on five criteria: flexibilidad, rapid deployment, bajo upfront cost, facilidad of integration, and scalability. By avoiding fixed automation and heavy CapEx, Maersk could scale the robot fleet up or down to match influencer-driven spikes and seasonal surges.

Timeline and commercial model

• Decision to go‑live: 16–18 weeks
• Commercial model: Robot fleet as a service (pay for capacity as needed)
• Deployment environment: brownfield installation, no conveyors required

How the system actually works

The core technology is the Locus Origin autonomous mobile robot paired with the LocusONE orchestration platform, integrated with Maersk’s INFOR WMS. Robots travel between aisles carrying multiple totes while associates remain in their pick zones; the platform dynamically clusters tasks, optimises pick paths and balances workloads across the floor.

Robots feature multilingual displays, tote position indicators and built‑in scanning. Locus’s auto‑identification switches screen language based on proximity, a practical advantage in a multicultural labour pool near the Czech and Slovak borders.

Transformational results on the floor

Measured performance after deployment shows clear step changes:

Financially, Maersk reports a 33% reduction in pick process cost even after robot service fees, with a projected further 24% reduction for full‑year 2025. Safety and morale improved as well: zero push‑and‑pull injuries recorded, sick leave down 15% and retention up 8% — the kind of soft wins that compound over time.

Workflow flexibility

• Support for batch picking, pick‑and‑pass, and point‑to‑point transport
• Scale from dozens to hundreds of robots with no structural changes
• Ability to operate across multiple shifts or 24/7

Flexibility and scale: why this matters to logistics

Unlike fixed automation, the Locus RaaS model enables rapid capacity adjustments — perfect for retailers like Flying Tiger whose demand is volatile. The platform’s architecture supports extreme throughput in other sites: >25,000 units/hour and 150,000 lines in a single day in proven deployments, meaning the Wrocław hub can grow throughput without being bottlenecked by legacy layout constraints.

European blueprint and replication

Wrocław is treated as a repeatable template. The modular installation shows that automation can be layered onto existing buildings, cutting lead times and avoiding the need for purpose‑built facilities. For Maersk and 3PLs, that lowers the barrier to adopting robotics across their network and speeds up rollouts to meet retail growth.

Key replicable elements

• RaaS commercial flexibility
• Brownfield compatibility
• Fast implementation timelines
• Scalable orchestration via LocusONE

Operational implications for shippers and 3PLs

Faster fulfilment windows, reduced labour strain and lower per‑pick costs have direct knock‑on effects for logistics partners. Shorter cut‑off dates for Christmas, more parcels shipped within 24 hours and the ability to absorb viral demand spikes all improve customer satisfaction and reduce returns. In short, the robotics layer strengthens distribution resilience and makes haulage planning and carrier pickups more predictable.

Recomendaciones prácticas para planificadores logísticos

• Plan capacity buffers around robot scalability, not fixed equipment
• Use orchestration data to smooth carrier dispatch windows
• Factor reduced labour variability into peak season forecasts

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In summary, the Maersk–Locus implementation at Flying Tiger’s Wrocław hub demonstrates how mobile robotics and a RaaS model can convert a constrained brownfield site into a high‑throughput fulfilment engine. The tangible gains — faster shipments, lower pick costs, improved safety and flexibility — ripple through the logistics chain, improving distribution planning, shipment reliability and haulage efficiency. For cargo, freight and parcel planners, the lesson is clear: combine scalable automation with flexible transport and forwarding partners to keep pace with international e‑commerce growth and make relocation, moving and bulky item deliveries both reliable and cost‑effective.