AutoStore automation has enabled greater flexibility and faster upscaling opportunities for Arvato clients in the UK. Logistics Business visited the 3PL’s Hams Hall site, where a new extension to the existing AutoStore has dramatically increased fulfilment rates for multiple clients.
If we can agree that the case for automation in logistics is proven – faster execution, better reliability, optimised allocation of human resource, improved cost and time efficiencies – then the discussion moves to the available automation choices. What type of automation is the most appropriate for your business’s future requirements?
Specifically, what are the factors that turn good automation into outstanding automation? For David Bailey, Director Consumer Products Arvato in the UK, the best automation comfortably delivers flexibility, scale and ease of operation.
“It’s about picking the right tool for the right job, and scaling in the best way to suit the customer’s needs and wishes,” he says. “And for us, AutoStore delivers those needs extremely effectively.”
Partnership trust and commitment
Arvato is the ambitious German-founded omnichannel logistics provider with a fast-growing global operation and particularly high momentum in the UK, where existing focus is on fashion, tech and healthcare customers. David Bailey is speaking at the company’s impressive – and immaculate – state-of-the-art site at Ham Halls, Birmingham, where it has just opened an extension to its existing AutoStore system, implemented in 2023. This adds to the 15 AutoStore systems already in place at Arvato sites in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and the USA.
As a technology-focused 3PL, Arvato’s trust and commitment to AutoStore is a notable endorsement for the Norwegian-founded global leader in intelligent order fulfilment solutions. The latter’s stated vision is simple to claim but harder to achieve: “To store and move things for everyone, everywhere.” They seem to be succeeding: AutoStore order orchestration and fulfilment systems are now established at over 1,850 sites in over 60 countries.
What’s the secret?
“The consumer products market in logistics is about reacting quickly to fast-changing needs,” explains Bailey. “If, for instance, a customer wants to resize, AutoStore gives us a wealth of options in which to meet those needs – tote size, number of bots, optimisation of the grid. Consumer logistics is about finding the right tool and the right design for the job you’re looking to do. And if you project manage it well, the process is extremely smooth. Our strong and long-established relationship with AutoStore and their integrator partners such as Kardex, who built and extended the system at Hams Hall, enables that smoothness for us.”
As if to serve as a neat example of his point, Hams Hall – which is a multi-client site – has recently onboarded a new international retailer, a leading brand in technical athletic apparel requiring exactly those flexible, fast-paced operations. “The scalability options with AutoStore make it much easier for us,” agrees Steven Pitt, Head of Operations. “Once the infrastructure is in place, the opportunity for customers with an aggressive growth cycle is very strong.”
Superfast implementation
Hence the AutoStore extension, completed in just over three months, the fastest implementation in Arvato’s history and a testament to the relationship between client, OEM and integrator. The upgraded system now supports 87,600 bins (from 65,000) and supports nearly 1.2 million stored units in a 16-row deep grid. Peak season picking rates top 26,000 per day, a 53% increase on manual picking solutions. Picking data at random from his laptop, Matt Harling, Kardex Sales Manager UK and Ireland reveals that 54,000 bin presentations were made on December 9th, 2025, with a total of over three million bin presentations in the previous 90 days log. “Remember that each tote contains more than one item, too,” he points out.
It’s worth taking a moment to visualise the human resource and warehouse footprint that would be required to attempt to match those numbers in a fully manual operation, and to reflect how far automation has come in delivering lightning-fast service for customers and consumers.
Should we assume that AutoStore is always presented to clients as Arvato’s automation system of choice? “Absolutely not,” says Bailey. “We won’t necessarily discuss specific systems with clients, it’s about what their needs are and how we will work together to deliver them, what’s right for their needs and then what is the best way to deliver on that – it definitely won’t be imposed by us. We have an excellent solution design process. We explore what the data tells us and where it is leading us. So, let’s say we’re looking at an AutoStore; it’s also likely we’ll be considering an open-rack shuttle system, an AMR, a shelving system, maybe. But AutoStore is very effective in terms of cost, flexibility, and speed.”
The Arvato project team works with both AutoStore and its integration partner, in this case, Kardex (other AutoStore partners in the UK include Swisslog, Element Logic and StrongPoint). The integration partner is best placed to source and deliver those parts of the automation package required by the customer above and beyond storing and moving, such as auto-bagging and RFID systems.
The process is quick, partly because the partners know each other so well. “The days of heavy automation and long implementation, with extended lead times before you even hit the site are gone with AutoStore,” says Morgan McNee, Kardex Project Manager. “We’ve gone from point of order to go-live in months.”
The Hams Hall operation has RFID in place at several points in the process, including inbound and packing. As a bonded warehouse, it needs to satisfy UK government and customs regulations as well as client needs. In addition, it provides faster services for customers in addition to extra layers of stock integrity confirmation – Steven Pitt describes how a recent stock count enabled by the RFID tunnel processed 500,000 units for a customer in 48 hours.
Value-added sizzle
The extras at Hams Hall add the sizzle. “Logistics is about adding value – anyone can pick and pack,” says Bailey. Value-added services provided at the multi-client service include manual picking for smaller customers, a comprehensive returns operation including full check of goods returned, and an Alterations section where individual clothing units ordered online may be altered by professionals to individual consumer specifications.
In a territory such as the UK, where agile, fluid retailing is a watchword and consumer expectations on e-commerce delivery times are more demanding than elsewhere in Europe, selecting the right automation is vital to effective competitive advantage.
Weather patterns, buying habits, customer behaviours – systems intelligence enables confident planning and decision-making for 3PLs, all in close partnership with the customer. Bailey summarises: “Businesses that move are those that pivot and act with the market – or even ahead of it.”