Within the next 10 years, the document predicts that postal operators' processes will be performed entirely by autonomous devices without human involvement. Parcel fulfillment and pick-up processes in warehouses will be fully automated by robots and drones. Transport between logistics hubs will be performed by autonomous vehicles on specially designed routes. Sorting centers, last-mile delivery, and back-office processes will also increasingly utilize robots, drones, autonomous vehicles, and virtual assistants to reduce human tasks. While full automation may seem like a distant future, the document argues that solutions exist today to support progressing changes in various areas of logistics operations.

1. www.pwc.pl
Drones and robots in logistics operations
Post-Expo 2018
Grzegorz Urban

2. Within 10 years postal operators processes will not require any humans as their tasks will be
performed by a variety of autonomous devices
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Example of parcel cycle without involvement of any human
First-mile
Transport
Sorting
Centres
Last-mile
transport
PICK-UP
CENTRES
FINAL
DESTINATION
BACK OFFICE

3. Parcel fulfillment and pick-up processes in warehousing will be fully automated as the majority of
operational tasks will be performed by autonomous robots supported by drones
3
Pick-up and
transport robots
Inventory drones
SEE MORE
AUTOMATION
IN WAREHOUSING PROCESSES
Smart warehousing centre of the
future where are no human-based
operations and each task is fulfilled
by a variety of autonomous robots
and drones
Autonomous pick-up
and transport robots
1
Automated inventory
reconciliation
2
PICK-UP CENTRES
BACK OFFICE

4. Transport between logistics hubs will be performed by autonomous vehicles moving on specially
designed routes
4
Autonomous
vehicles
Specially
designed lanes
Fully autonomous and optimized
transport between pick-up points and
sorting centres
TRANSPORT AUTOMATION
Autonomous vehicles1
Specially designed lanes2
Real-time route optimization3
FIRST-MILE TRANSPORT
BACK OFFICE

5. Robots will also work in sorting centers …
5
Modern sorting centre where all
processes are automated starting
from unloading delivery from pick-up
warehouse and ending with
a shipment to the final destination
SORTING
CENTERS AUTOMATION
Sorting conveyor
SEE MORE
Pick-up and
transport robots
Inventory drones
Scanner
Pick-up and
transport robots
Autonomous site trolley picks
package from warehouse
1
Parcel is automatically measured,
wrapped placed on the sorting line
2
Robotic arm places parcel on
a drone which transports it’s to
destination baskets
3
Baskets are taken by robots and
loaded into trucks that deliver them
to final destination
4
SORTING CENTRES
BACK OFFICE

6. Finally automation will have an impact on last-mile delivery despite the fact that it’s implementation
in this area is currently one of the biggest challenges
6
LAST-MILE TRANSPORT & FINAL DESTINATION
BACK OFFICE
LAST-MILE
DELIVERY AUTOMATION
Cost-effective last-mile optimization
using variety of delivery solutions
adjusted to the specificity of the
parcel’s final destination
Autonomous vehicles1
UAV drones delivery2
UGV drones delivery3
UAV drones
UGV drones
Autonomus
Vehicles Parcel Lockers

7. …as well as their virtual friends that will support back-office processes related to customer service,
complaints handling and other repetitive tasks
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Reduction of human-based and
time-consuming tasks using the
functionalities offered by Robotic
Process Automation
BACK-OFFICE AUTOMATION
Customer service1
Complaints handling2
Finance, administration and other
repetitive tasks
3
System robots
Customer
service automation
BACK OFFICE

8. This vision may look like a dream about distant future but even today we can offer a variety of
solutions that support progressing changes
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AREAS REQUIRING
AUTOMATION
CURRENT
SOLUTIONS
05
LAST-MILE
03
SORTING CENTRE
02
TRANSPORT
01
PICK-UP
04
BACK-OFFICE
TODAY
Automation
of processes
Robotic Process
Automation
Drones
and Robots
Big data
optimization

9. Contact
+48 519 507 386
grzegorz.urban@pwc.com
Grzegorz Urban
Director
Transport & Logistics
PwC
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