Exotec has commissioned two Skypod warehouse robotics systems in Japan, deployed with Mitsubishi Shokuhin, a major food distributor, and Trusco Nakayama, a leading industrial distributor. Both projects were delivered in partnership with IHI Logistics Industrial Systems and strengthen Exotec's position in one of the world's most advanced logistics automation markets.
Key takeaways
- Mitsubishi Shokuhin (Soka): Skypod is live at the new Food Service Distribution Centre, which handles almost 13,000 product references spanning food, alcoholic beverages and professional supplies. The system is intended to cut operator travel distances, raise picking efficiency, automate ambient-temperature operations and sustain service levels amid labor shortages. It is described as the first Skypod deployment in Japan's food distribution sector and part of a logistics strategy extending to 2040.
- Trusco Nakayama (Planet Aichi): Skypod is fully operational at the group's largest logistics facility, covering approximately 89,000 square meters and designed for a catalog expected to exceed one million SKUs in coming years. The installation includes nearly 32,000 bins, 37 robots and four picking stations, automating fulfillment of tools, consumables, safety equipment and industrial supplies.
- Architecture: Skypod is an automated storage and retrieval system in which the robots themselves perform both horizontal transport and vertical retrieval, rather than relying on separate shuttles on each rack level.
For manufacturing and distribution operators, the two sites show the same platform addressing very different profiles — high-mix food service and broad-catalog industrial supply — with shared drivers of labor availability, throughput and working conditions. Exotec CEO Romain Moulin said the company plans to continue expanding across Japan.
Source: Robotics & Automation News · Published 2026-10-20T16:44:38 · “Exotec expands warehouse robotics business in Japan with two major Skypod installations”