its wealth of roles in technological engineering beyond stationary automation , but this is fast increasing . Take the partnership with Fetch as an example . Here , 80 % of the technology is software compared to hardware . As a leading business , we believe we are responsible for recruiting into our industry , not just for our own business benefit but to ensure the progression of the industry as a whole .

We hear a lot in the news about robots replacing workers . How do you see the increase in robots affecting the workforce at DHL ? What has the reaction been like from DHL staff to their new robotic coworkers ? With the increase of technologies such as robotics we naturally see a growing debate around their use in everyday life and the impact on people . However , we believe that robots , far from replacing their human counterparts , will actually help provide a solution to one of the biggest challenges facing the logistics industry today – a lack of labour availability . It ’ s not easy for companies around the world to find enough high-quality employees

– Denis Niezgoda , Robotics Accelerator Lead , DHL

to move goods from suppliers to customers . Two competing factors are making this especially difficult . The first is an increasing need for more logistics workers , driven by e-commerce and a greater need for parcel shipments driven by a globally growing economy . The second is a decline in the size of the available workforce as a result of shrinking population levels in the western world .

54 March 2018