In context
In early 2023, e-commerce growth and shrinking batch sizes were pushing retailers to seek flexible automation for warehouse picking. Mobile robots that could adapt to fluctuating demand were becoming a key investment for companies aiming to stay competitive.
What was reported
Magazino announced that Dutch shoe retailer Schuurman Schoenen had deployed its TORU mobile picking robots at its warehouse in Neede, Netherlands. The robots automate the manual picking of shoeboxes, integrating into inbound and outbound processes.
TORU operates autonomously using 3D camera technology and multiple sensors, running 24/7. This capability helps reduce order peaks common in e-commerce and improves lead times by enabling operations during nights and weekends.
Schuurman Schoenen's CEO, Arjan Schuurman, noted the solution secures growth and services in a competitive market. Magazino's sales director, Julia Scholz, highlighted the ability to scale the robot fleet according to growth and increase service availability.
Why it mattered
The deployment illustrated a trend among mid-sized retailers to adopt flexible, scalable automation for piece-picking—a task traditionally hard to automate. It underscored the value of mobile robots in smoothing e-commerce demand spikes and supporting 24/7 operations, pointing to broader adoption in logistics automation.
“With the Magazino robot solution TORU we found a flexible solution to secure our growth and services in the next years in a very competitive market.”
Source: Robotics & Automation News (roboticsandautomationnews.com) · Published 2023-01-31 · “Dutch shoe retailer Schuurman Schoenen implements Magazino robots”