By Birol Esmer, Director of Software Product & Applications, Mobile Industrial Robots For a long time, internal logistics remained in the background of industrial conversation. The focus was on productivity, quality, line automation and cycle times. Less attention was paid to what happens between one stage and the next: material transfer, workstation replenishment, pallet handling, end-of-line operations, intermediate buffers, empty returns and flow continuity. And yet this is exactly where waiting times, micro-stoppages, inefficiencies and hidden costs can build up.
Today, that picture is changing. In many plants, logistics and intralogistics are no longer seen as secondary functions, but as one of the main areas where a company’s ability to be fast, flexible, and resilient is put to the test. This is where collaborative robotics is finding some of its most compelling applications, both through collaborative industrial robot arms (cobots) and through autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for material transport.
These two technologies are not addressing different needs. Instead, they are addressing different moments within the same process. Cobots handle the task itself; AMRs handle the flow. This distinction matters because it helps define the value of automation more precisely.
The real step change, however, comes when these two approaches are combined: when automation no longer supports just one isolated station, but helps make the entire production ecosystem smoother. This is the point at which logistics stops being just a cost item and becomes a competitive lever.
So, the real question for companies is not whether to automate, but where collaborative automation can generate the most value.
This is why a sound logistics automation project should always begin with a few preliminary questions:
- Where do waiting times build up?
- Which internal missions are repetitive but not truly value-adding?
- Where is time lost between one stage and the next?
- Which activities absorb people without generating proportionate value?
- Where does product or layout variability make rigid automation ineffective?
These are the questions that distinguish a well-founded investment from a purchase driven solely by enthusiasm for technology. Because in logistics and intralogistics, collaborative robotics works best when it is introduced not to “do robotics”, but to deliver reality-focused, practical answers to the challenges companies know all too well: producing with greater continuity, managing more variants, reducing repetitive tasks, improving ergonomics and safety, and making better use of available space.
The real eye-catchers of automation
There are three areas where we see a surge towards collaborative robotics in logistics and intralogistics.
The first area is end-of-line operations, because this is where many repetitive and physically demanding tasks converge: pick and place, packing, case loading, sorting, and pallet building. In these contexts, collaborative robotics is valuable not only because it increases productivity, but because it maintains accuracy and stability even when batch sizes vary, product formats change, and production mixes are far from standardised.
Flexibility, fast reconfiguration, a compact footprint, and the ability to operate in existing spaces without disrupting the layout, are the development drivers that are increasingly pushing companies to explore collaborative automation. These factors may be less eye-catching than sheer speed or high payload capacity, but in real-world manufacturing they are often far more decisive.
The second area is line feeding and assembly bay replenishment. Here, the challenge is not so much performing one complex movement as ensuring continuity. If material does not arrive at the right place at the right time, the line slows down; operators wait, or they end up acting as material handlers.
This is a very common dynamic, especially in companies with open layouts, multiple interconnected departments, and intensive internal movement of pallets, containers or semi-finished goods. In these cases, AMRs become valuable not as “forklift replacements”, but as tools for stabilising flows, reducing repetitive missions, and easing the burden of routine handling tasks.
The third area concerns companies facing growing pressure from volume, variability, and limited space. Collaborative robotics was born, with its hallmark flexibility and versatility, in precisely this kind of environment, where small and medium-sized businesses often struggled to embark on an automation journey. In part because of the rising cost of traditional solutions, but even more because of the rigidity that typically defines those forms of robotics. And, lastly, because of the lack of advanced in-house robotics expertise.
Unlike many traditional automation systems, collaborative robotics can also be introduced into environments that were not designed from scratch, where layouts have evolved over time and the goal is not to build a closed cell, but to introduce efficiency without making the environment more rigid. This is one of the reasons why collaborative robotics is so well suited to European manufacturing, which is often made up of advanced but not always homogeneous plants, high-mix production, a constant need to adapt and medium-to-small operating scales.
Industrial literature, along with the know-how of the many highly capable system integrators in the market, makes this point clearly: before selecting a solution, companies need to analyse candidate processes, understand where automation can be successfully integrated, and assess not only the task itself, but also the market, the product and the company’s broader production context.
Applied intralogistics automation: the Vibo case study
The Vibo case illustrates a mature, process-driven approach to intralogistics automation. Vibo, an Italian manufacturer serving the furniture sector with production and sales operations in more than 70 countries, has built its competitiveness on tightly integrated internal flows. In this context, efficient intralogistics is not optional, but essential to maintaining service levels and operational continuity.
The main challenge was pallet handling in the assembly area, where manual transport had become a bottleneck. Vibo needed an automation solution that could operate safely in an open, shared environment, without fencing or layout changes, and that could adapt to variable internal flows. The company therefore introduced a MiR1200 Pallet Jack in 2025 to automate pallet transport previously handled by electric forklifts, whose charging cycles left parts of the shift uncovered.
Beyond improving continuity and flexibility, the solution delivered ergonomic benefits and freed operators from repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-value activities. The result was not a technology showcase, but a targeted automation project aligned with how the factory actually operates – demonstrating that the real value of collaborative automation lies in practical integration, not automation for its own sake.
Collaborative applications in logistics: 5 use cases worth watching
More broadly, there are five application areas that stand out today.
- The first is end-of-line palletising and depalletising, especially where flows are continuous, but the product mix changes frequently.
- The second is packing and order preparation, an area that is becoming increasingly important, especially for companies with e-commerce channels or highly fragmented shipping profiles.
- The third is line feeding and assembly bay replenishment, where the value lies less in the individual mission than in the punctuality and continuity of the flow.
- The fourth is the handling of full and empty pallets, a topic that is often underestimated but is central to avoiding congestion and downtime, as the Vibo experience clearly demonstrated.
- The fifth is the integration between machine automation and internal logistics, meaning all those cases in which the cobot does not operate in isolation but becomes the connecting point between a machine, a workstation and the material handling system.
Collaborative robotics proves particularly effective in handling, end-of-line, packaging, palletising and machine tending operations, precisely where flow continuity meets task precision. The compact size of cobots also makes it possible to move them from one area to another, helping companies respond to seasonal or unexpected changes in production flow and reinforce areas under strain or subject to heavy workloads.
Different organisations will prioritise these use cases in different ways. Some achieve the fastest gains by targeting ergonomically demanding tasks, while others focus on areas where congestion or variability creates instability in the flow. In many cases, the primary driver is simply service continuity and keeping material moving reliably across shifts. The key is not where automation starts, but how closely it aligns with the company’s specific constraints, workflows, and performance goals.
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