29 January, 2026

Airbus Renews Logistics Flows Contract

Posted on 29 January, 202629 January, 2026 by David Priestman

DHL Supply Chain confirms the renewal of its contract with Airbus to manage and orchestrate its global transport flows for its commercial aircraft activities. This lead transport partnership (LTP), launched in 2008, now encompasses air, sea, road, and parcel transport, as well as a dedicated 24/7 service for critical AOG (Aircraft on Ground) operations. DHL’s LTP solution is designed not just to manage supply chains, but to transform them through embedded value creation.

Each year, DHL Supply Chain manages nearly 350,000 shipments for around twenty Airbus sites worldwide, from its centres of expertise in Toulouse and Valencia. Services include coordination of inbound flows (from suppliers to factories), inter-factory flows (Europe, USA, China), and outbound flows (spare parts, returns to suppliers), with a strong focus on lead times, service quality, and regulatory compliance.

DHL Supply Chain will also continue to manage carrier contracts, lead transport tenders, conduct quality control, and handle claims on behalf of Airbus.

A partnership strengthened by innovation and sustainability

“Supply chain complexity is increasing due to globalization, increased product variety and technological changes; raising expectations and demands for improved service, greater visibility and control across supply chains. We are proud to create this visibility for Airbus through our LTP control towers in Valencia, Spain and Toulouse, France, to ensure efficient flows of their manufacturing parts globally,” said Rainer Haag, CEO Europe, DHL Supply Chain.

“For nearly 20 years, our collaboration with Airbus has been built on mutual trust and a shared commitment to operational excellence. This renewal demonstrates our ability to deliver tailored, scalable supply chain management solutions that support Airbus’ growth, while advancing the digital transformation of its supply chain to meet today’s and tomorrow’s needs. Through technological innovation, continuous process improvement, and the mobilization of all of DHL Group’s expertise, we help enhance Airbus’ visibility and shorten order fulfillment times,” said Nico Schuetz, CEO of DHL Supply Chain France.

Catherine O Toole, Head of LLP and Transport EMEA added, “In a context where logistics performance must also align with energy efficiency, DHL Supply Chain leverages its full range of expertise to combine technological innovation with carbon footprint reduction. The integration of the new transport management system not only improves planning and reduces lead times but also optimizes routes and load factors, helping to cut transport-related emissions. This partnership reflects DHL and Airbus’ shared commitment to accelerating the transition to a more resilient, intelligent, and sustainable supply chain.”

Logistics Business Conversations: First In‑House Episode Coming Soon

Posted on 29 January, 202630 January, 2026 by Will Priestman

We’re pleased to announce an upcoming episode of Logistics Business Conversations – and a small milestone for the series.

For the first time, the podcast has been recorded at Logistics Business headquarters, bringing the conversation into our own studio environment ahead of its release. The episode is hosted by Logistics Business Editor Paul Hamblin, with Gregg Collett, UK Managing Director at CHG‑MERIDIAN UK, joining us in person for a wide‑ranging discussion on technology, investment and long‑term thinking in logistics and supply chain operations.

From events to headquarters

Over the past year, Logistics Business Conversations has been recorded in a variety of formats. We’ve captured live, in‑person discussions at major industry events including IMHX, and this year at Multimodal, and Parcel and Post Expo, allowing us to sit down with industry leaders in the middle of the action. Alongside this, many episodes have been recorded remotely using our online digital studio, enabling us to connect with guests across the UK, Europe and beyond.

Recording this episode at our headquarters marks the next step in the evolution of the series. An in‑house setup allows for deeper, more focused conversations, while maintaining the informal and practical tone that listeners expect from the podcast.

What to expect from the episode

In this episode, Paul and Gregg discuss:

How organisations are approaching technology investment in an uncertain economic climate
The role of flexible financing and lifecycle management in logistics operations
What end users should consider when planning long‑term digital and automation strategies

The conversation reflects the podcast’s core aim: sharing practical insight from across the logistics, materials handling and supply chain sectors, grounded in real‑world experience.

Release date and schedule

This episode of Logistics Business Conversations will be released on Monday 2 February, as part of our regular podcast schedule, with new episodes published every other Monday.

The full conversation will be available to watch and listen to via Logistics Business channels once live. We’ll continue to record episodes both on the road at key industry events and at Logistics Business headquarters throughout the year.

Stay tuned for more in‑depth conversations with industry experts, solution providers and end users from across the logistics sector.

Physical AI Solution to Pick 2-piece Shoeboxes

Posted on 29 January, 202629 January, 2026 by David Priestman

Warehouse robotics company Nomagic, applying general-purpose Physical AI to optimize warehouse operations, today announced a new ‘Shoebox Picker’ as part of its portfolio of solutions.

As a cutting-edge application of Physical AI, the Shoebox Picker is the AI perception and robot control system with an intelligent end of arm gripper designed for high-reliability handling of two-piece and unsealed shoeboxes. The Shoebox Picker’s powerful AI software analyzes specific characteristics of each shoebox including size, weight, lid type and orientation to predict the ideal movements for the pick task, then guides the arm gripper to execute the pick. This enable a secure process – even for unsealed shoeboxes with separating lids – without taping, crushing or losing the lid, allowing the solution to pick what is often considered unpickable.

In modern warehouses, handling shoeboxes is one of the hardest tasks to automate. In a typical fashion e-commerce warehouse, shoeboxes constitute approximately 20% of all items. For fulfillment centres specializing in footwear, this percentage is significantly higher.

With endless variations in size, weight, and lid type, shoeboxes can create a bottleneck that prevents a fully automated fashion workflow. Until now, all operations related to picking, packing, and sorting shoeboxes have been a manual process with standard robotic systems failing to achieve the same precision as the Nomagic solution.

The Shoebox Picker is first of its kind with its unique abilities to:

• Handle Two-Piece and Unsealed Boxes: It securely grasps boxes without requiring them to be taped or sealed, preventing lids from separating and contents from spilling.
• Manage Variation: It effectively handles a diverse mix of shoebox designs, accommodating different sizes, weights, and materials.
• Provide Multi-Orientation Capability: The system can pick shoeboxes placed both vertically and horizontally, a common state in dense warehouse storage.

The Shoebox Picker eliminates the need for items to be singled out or pre-oriented, a requirement that made automation impractical before. This enables the solution to achieve a throughput of up to 450 UPH for shoebox-only handling and up to 600 UPH for mixed bins, while covering more than 98% of shoebox SKUs currently available in the market.

Kacper Nowicki, co-founder and CEO of Nomagic comments: “The Shoebox Picker is a great example of the embodiment of Physical AI. It combines the intelligence of AI with a physical system to solve real-life physical problems. Automated shoebox handling is an immense challenge in logistics. The Shoebox Picker enables automation for this missing part of fashion logistics. I’m proud to see Nomagic pushing the boundaries of what is possible with Physical AI for intralogistics.”

In addition to footwear and apparel brands, the Shoebox Picker is especially advantageous for e-commerce fulfillment centres or third-party logistics providers that manage warehouses and fulfillment for fashion retailers as well as retailers and companies that use dark stores or micro-fulfillment centres to fulfill online orders.

The Shoebox Picker will premiere at LogiMAT (March 24-26) in Stuttgart, Germany at Nomagic’s Booth 1GA57 in Hall 1G.

A partnership strengthened by innovation and sustainability

From events to headquarters

What to expect from the episode

Release date and schedule

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