In September, Swire Coca-Cola rolled out a fleet of AI-powered picking robots at its Zhengzhou facility in Henan province. The breakthrough addresses the industry challenge of picking heavy, shrink-wrapped packs quickly and accurately, which is an issue that has long defeated conventional automation.
The intelligent picking and sorting system is guided by a single AI “brain” capable of making autonomous decisions to optimise operations. It sequences customer orders and orchestrates a wider network of robots to identify products, pick and sort shrinkwrapped beverages, move them across the warehouse floor and build mixed-product pallets – all without manual intervention.
Not only does this smart initiative strengthen the safety of warehouse operations, it also helps Swire Coca-Cola respond effectively to changing consumption habits in the Chinese Mainland.
The company plans to extend this innovation to its Nanjing, Hefei and Guangzhou plants next year, with a phased rollout across its global bottling network to follow.
