Strategic partnership to accelerate the development and deployment of practical robotics solutions
Collaboration combines operational logistics expertise with modular, vendor-independent robotics
Clients benefit from faster-to-deploy, flexible automation solutions for real-world logistics and fulfilment processes
Arvato is taking the next step to bring automation and robotics into operational use faster and more effectively. Through a strategic partnership with technology company Unchained Robotics, Arvato is accelerating the development and implementation of modular, vendor-independent robotics solutions for logistics and fulfilment processes. As part of the collaboration, Arvato has acquired a minority stake in the Paderborn-based German company.
Credit: Arvato
(Paul Daume (middle, CFO Arvato) with Kevin Freise (left) and Mladen Milicevic (right), founders of unchained robotics)
Robotics is deliberately viewed not as an isolated technology, but as an integral part of holistic automation and scaling concepts. Over the coming years, Arvato plans to implement a three-digit number of robots across various logistics and fulfilment environments. The partnership with Unchained Robotics serves as a targeted accelerator: new solutions are developed along specific use cases, tested under real operating conditions, and systematically prepared for large-scale operational rollout.
From the outset, the collaboration is designed for scalability – both technologically and geographically. In addition to European logistics sites, the close partnership also opens up opportunities for faster expansion into international markets, particularly the United States. There, high automation requirements meet dynamic logistics and e-commerce structures – an environment in which practical, flexibly deployable robotics solutions are in particularly high demand.
For clients, this close integration means one thing above all: automation at industrial scale without sacrificing flexibility. Scaling to a three-digit number of robots creates experience, standards, and implementation reliability from which clients benefit directly – through shorter implementation times, reduced risks, and faster realization of added value.
“Automation today must achieve one thing above all: deliver impact quickly,” says Frank Schirrmeister, CEO of Arvato. “Through our partnership with Unchained Robotics, we are accelerating the deployment of robotics in our operational logistics. We develop solutions from practice for practice – and use robotics specifically as an accelerator for scalable implementations.”
The partnership is also strategically significant for Unchained Robotics. “Arvato gives us access to highly complex, international logistics setups where we can further develop our solutions directly in real operations,” says Mladen Milicevic, Founder of Unchained Robotics. “Through close collaboration with operational teams, we increase efficiency across the entire warehouse and bring our robotics solutions to market readiness faster. At the same time, the partnership enables us to scale our modular solutions globally – from Europe to the United States.”
With this partnership, Arvato underscores its ambition to drive innovation where it has the greatest impact: in the operational execution of global supply chain strategies. Robotics thus becomes a targeted enabler for speed, scalability, and sustainable operational excellence.