In today’s fast-moving world of e-commerce, 3PL, pharma, and retail fulfilment, the pressure to pick, pack and ship faster than ever is relentless. That’s why more businesses are turning to robotics—not just for isolated tasks, but for a fully integrated, end-to-end fulfilment solution.
Enter Brightpick—a revolutionary robotic system that goes beyond traditional goods-to-person automation to deliver seamless robotic picking, dynamic storage, and intelligent order management. And now, thanks to Thistle Systems, this award-winning solution is available to UK and Irish businesses ready to supercharge their warehouse performance.
Let’s walk through how Brightpick works—and why it’s changing the game.
1. Intelligent Replenishment and Dynamic Slotting
The product journey starts with decanting and replenishment. Products are placed into standard totes by warehouse operators at the decanting station, which are then automatically transported into the Brightpick storage grid by our robotic carriers. No more having to walk round the warehouse to replenish stock, Brightpick’s robots do all the work for you.
But this isn’t just about putting stock away—it’s about putting it in the right place.
Using AI-powered dynamic slotting, Brightpick continuously reorganises the location of totes within the grid to maximise efficiency. Fast-moving SKUs migrate toward picking hotspots, while slower lines are tucked away—all without human intervention.
The result? Faster pick times, reduced congestion, and maximised use of space. It’s a level of optimisation virtually impossible to replicate with human workers or traditional static systems.
2. Robotic Picking in the Aisle – No Conveyors. No Lifts. No Fuss.
Unlike traditional solutions that rely on moving goods to human operators, Brightpick brings the robot to the product.
Brightpick’s fleet of Autopicker robots travel up and down the aisles, retrieving totes from shelves and autonomously picking products directly in the aisle. Thanks to advanced 3D machine vision and AI trained on over a billion picks, these robots can handle an extraordinary range of SKUs—accurately and safely.
No conveyors, lifts, or shuttles required. The system is lean, agile, and incredibly scalable.
3. Picking in Motion – A Game-Changer for Throughput
Announced in Brightpick’s latest software update, Picking-in-Motion is a breakthrough in robotic productivity. It enables Brightpick’s Autopickers to complete picks while continuing to move through the aisle—rather than stopping at each location.
This significantly reduces the time per pick, slashes idle time, and unlocks much higher throughput compared to stop-and-pick models. The more complex your orders, the greater the impact.
Combined with Brightpick’s intelligent order planning and AI-powered task allocation, this update pushes robotic picking performance to new levels.
4. Autopicker Giraffe Enables You To Reach New Heights
One of the most exciting innovations is the Autopicker Giraffe – a high-reach version of the standard Autopicker that can pick from upper levels in racking up to 6 metres tall.
This opens up entirely new warehouse design possibilities to allow you to get:
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Greater storage density
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More vertical flexibility
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Lower cost per square metre
And the best part? You don’t need to sacrifice throughput or picking speed to go vertical. Thanks to Brightpick’s 100% accessibility
5. Flow Picking – The Human/Robot Hybrid for Complex Orders
Some SKUs require manual handling due to size, weight, complexity, or safety requirements. That’s where Brightpick’s Flow Picking comes in.
Brightpick enables operators at Goods-to-Person (G2P) stations to pick these items directly into outbound totes. The system automatically delivers up to 8 totes at a time to the Goods to Person station, allowing human operators to focus on the few items that truly need a manual touch.
It’s a powerful hybrid model that blends automation with human skill—without slowing the rest of the system down.
6. Fast Lane – For High-Speed, High-Volume SKUs
When you have a few SKUs that dominate order volumes, Brightpick’s Fast Lane solution is your go-to.
Operators pick directly from pallets or cases and place products into Brightpick totes carried by Autopickers. It’s rapid, intuitive, and ideal for peak periods or fast-moving goods that don’t require complex handling.
By offloading bulk volume away from robotic pickers, Fast Lane helps maximise system capacity and maintain exceptional throughput during busy times.
It’s the perfect hybrid approach—letting people do what they’re best at while robots handle the rest and avoiding the constant replenishing. This can transform warehouse efficiency during product launches/drops and seasonal favourites.
7. Autonomous Order Buffering
After items are picked, Brightpick doesn’t just wait for dispatch. It automatically buffers completed orders within the system, using available space in the storage grid to hold them until they’re needed at packing or despatch.
That means:
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No manual staging or sorting
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No bottlenecks at packing benches
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Smoother, more predictable dispatch flows
- Allows Brightpick to work through the night, often in a dark warehouse (lights off) continually picking and allow buffer of totes to be ready for packing and despatch in the morning
8. Ready for Dispatch – Fast, Accurate and Highly Efficient
When it’s time to ship, Brightpick robots deliver the consolidated orders to despatch zones. Operators simply pack and label. With fewer touches and lower error rates, you can trust every order to go out right the first time – reducing the order return volumes and improving client satisaction.
Why It Works So Well – and Why Brightpick Is Now Available in the UK
Brightpick isn’t just about robotic picking technology —it’s about orchestrating a smarter, faster, and more flexible warehouse. From decanting to despatch, every process is optimised and connected by intelligent software.
And now, the Brightpick solution is available in the UK and Ireland through Thistle Systems. As Brightpick’s UK integration partner, we provide full project delivery—from design and simulation to installation and support. We’re helping leading brands and small by mighty companies reimagine their warehouse operations—and we can help you too.
Want to See Brightpick in Action?
Join us for a virtual demo or book a 15-minute intro call to discover what Brightpick could do for your business.
We can show you the solution in more detail, explain how it works and, if its for you, we can look at putting together a design and simulation based on your real-life data and products.
Get in touch today or give us a call on 01236 453888.
Or if you would like to really see how it works – check out this fantastic video which looks at the solution in greater detail
Looking to Automate Pallet Storage?
If automation is right for you, however your requirements differ from Brightpick’s offerings, explore our options: AutoCube. – Automated Pallet Storage Solution. A solution that transforms capacity, efficiency and operating costs providing a revolutionary approach to warehouse design.
