Mettler Toledo & Arvato – Transforming Logistics with HaiPick Climb

Project Overview

Mettler Toledo is a global leader in precision measurement instruments and laboratory equipment, operating across industrial, pharmaceutical, food retail, and laboratory sectors. As a brand built on precision and accuracy, its logistics operations are held to the same exacting standards as its products — fulfillment errors are not merely operational inconveniences but reputational risks for a company whose commercial identity is defined by measurement accuracy.

To manage the logistics of a broad product portfolio spanning 6,500+ active SKUs, Mettler Toledo partnered with Arvato — a global logistics services provider — to operate its logistics center. As inventory complexity grew and the facility approached its storage capacity limits, the partnership identified the need to fundamentally rethink the warehouse's storage architecture and picking workflows. The solution they chose was HaiPick Climb, Hai Robotics' rack-climbing ACR goods-to-person system, deployed in collaboration with Hai Robotics directly.

The project, completed and documented in April 2026, delivers results that are exceptional even by the standards of warehouse automation case studies: a 300%+ increase in storage capacity, a 75% reduction in labor costs, and 99%+ order picking accuracy — all within the existing logistics center footprint, without a greenfield build or facility expansion.

Technical Solution

HaiPick Climb — Rack-Climbing ACR for High-Density Goods-to-Person

The core technology deployed at Mettler Toledo's logistics center is HaiPick Climb, powered by Hai Robotics' HaiClimber robot. Unlike conventional floor-based ACR systems where robots navigate in aisles between racks, the HaiClimber physically climbs the racking structure itself — accessing storage locations at height and retrieving totes or cases directly from the shelf face. This climbing mechanism eliminates the dedicated robot travel aisles required by floor-based systems, allowing storage rows to be positioned at a density that would be impossible with conventional shelving or standard goods-to-person configurations.

For a logistics center managing 6,500+ SKUs across a broad product range, the density advantage of HaiPick Climb is particularly significant. The system's ability to store more inventory per square meter directly translates to greater SKU breadth within a fixed footprint — enabling the full product portfolio to be housed and accessed within a single automated system rather than requiring overflow storage or split-location management.

Key Features

300%+ Storage Capacity Increase Tripling storage capacity within an existing logistics center footprint is the most striking headline of this project. This result is achieved through HaiPick Climb's combination of aisle elimination (enabled by the rack-climbing design) and full vertical space utilization. For a logistics operation managing 6,500+ SKUs, this density improvement means the entire product range can be housed within the automated system at a storage density that would have required a facility three times the size under conventional shelving configurations.

75% Labor Cost Reduction The labor cost reduction reflects the shift from manual picking — which requires operators to walk aisles, locate items, and physically retrieve them — to automated goods-to-person workflows where robots handle all storage and retrieval tasks. Operators remain stationary at workstations, performing only the value-adding pick confirmation step. This fundamental workflow change reduces the headcount required to sustain a given throughput level, delivering a 75% reduction in labor costs that represents a substantial ongoing operational saving.

99%+ Order Picking Accuracy In a logistics center serving a precision measurement technology brand, accuracy is non-negotiable. The HaiPick Climb system's automated, system-directed picking workflow consistently delivers 99%+ accuracy by removing the manual location-finding and item-identification steps where human error most commonly occurs. This accuracy standard is maintained across all 6,500+ SKUs, regardless of order volume or staffing levels.

6,500+ SKU Support The system's ability to manage 6,500+ active SKUs within a single automated storage architecture demonstrates the breadth of HaiPick Climb's slotting flexibility. The warehouse execution software dynamically manages storage location assignments, optimizing tote placement based on order frequency and pick velocity to sustain high throughput across a diverse product range.

Results & Benefits

The Mettler Toledo deployment delivers a combination of results that addresses every dimension of the original business case. The 300%+ storage capacity increase resolves the facility's space constraint without requiring capital investment in a new or expanded building. The 75% labor cost reduction delivers a significant and recurring operational saving that directly improves the economics of the Mettler Toledo / Arvato logistics partnership. The 99%+ accuracy rate protects the brand's precision reputation at the fulfillment level and reduces the cost and friction of order errors, returns, and client complaints.

Beyond the quantitative metrics, the deployment establishes a more resilient and scalable logistics operation. The automated system's throughput capacity is not dependent on staffing availability or operator experience levels — it performs consistently regardless of seasonal volume fluctuations, labor market conditions, or individual operator variability. For a global brand operating in competitive industrial and laboratory markets, this operational consistency is itself a strategic asset.

Challenges & Solutions

The most fundamental challenge of this project was the combination of high SKU complexity and high precision requirements within a space-constrained facility. Managing 6,500+ SKUs manually at 99%+ accuracy is extremely difficult to sustain at scale; the error rate in manual high-SKU operations typically increases as order volume and SKU count grow. HaiPick Climb resolves this tension directly: the automated system handles SKU complexity through software-managed storage location optimization, and delivers precision through system-directed picking that removes human error from the retrieval and identification steps.

The labor cost challenge is structural in nature. Warehouse labor markets in many of Mettler Toledo's operating regions are characterized by rising costs, high turnover, and increasing difficulty in recruiting for physically demanding roles. A 75% reduction in labor cost not only improves current economics but also reduces the operation's exposure to future labor market pressures — a benefit that compounds over the system's operational lifetime.

The partnership structure of this project — Mettler Toledo as the end customer, Arvato as the logistics operations partner, and Hai Robotics as the automation technology provider — required close coordination across three organizations with different operational priorities. The successful delivery of the project with the documented results reflects the effectiveness of this three-way collaboration model.