A global sports nutrition retailer has transformed its fulfilment operations by deploying 73 Brightpick Autopickers, achieving more than 70,000 picks per day with just a handful of staff on site.
Key Results
-
80% reduction in labour costs
-
Return on investment in just two months
-
65% lower operating expenses
The Challenge
With over 6,000 SKUs and orders averaging 10 items each, the retailer faced growing pressures in its manual warehouse:
-
Capacity limits, even when running three shifts per day
-
High error rates and costly returns from manual picking
-
Rising labour costs and recruitment challenges
-
Complex operations requiring 24-hour turnaround
The business was struggling to keep up with demand and had to slow new customer growth until a new solution was found
The Solution
The company introduced Brightpick Autopickers to fully automate its picking process. Starting with 48 robots and later expanding to 73, the installation included:
-
AI-powered robotic picking – Autopickers reliably pick a wide variety of products straight from shelves.
-
Goods-to-Person stations – Operators handle heavy or complex items, with each station processing up to 500 order lines per hour.
-
Fast Lane picking – High-demand SKUs are picked quickly by operators, while Autopickers transport the orders.
-
24/7 operations – Robots work through the night in fully autonomous, lights-out shifts, buffering orders ready for next-day dispatch.
Thanks to Brightpick’s robots-as-a-service model, the solution required minimal upfront investment and was live in just three months.
The Results
The impact was immediate:
-
Labour requirements fell from 42 people per shift to just 6–8.
-
Throughput increased to 3,000 picks per hour, totalling 70,000 items per day.
-
Picking errors were virtually eliminated, improving customer satisfaction.
-
The scalable system allows the retailer to grow simply by adding more robots and shelving.
The combination of density, speed and accuracy means the retailer can now fulfil orders within minutes of receipt while sustaining strong growth.
Thistle Systems is the UK partner for Brightpick, bringing this groundbreaking robotic picking technology to businesses across the country. We help companies transform their fulfilment operations by reducing labour costs, increasing accuracy, and enabling true 24/7 efficiency.
Whether you’re looking to handle peak demand, scale your throughput, or future-proof your warehouse, our team can design and deliver a solution tailored to your operation.
👉 Get in touch today to discuss how Thistle Systems and Brightpick can transform your business.
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.
