@misc{9232316,
  abstract     = {{Retail warehouses are undergoing rapid technological transformation as companies respond to increasing pressure for faster order fulfilment, higher product variety, labour challenges, and improved operational efficiency. Goods-to-person systems have automated major parts of storage, retrieval, and internal material flow, yet the final item-level picking task at the workstation often remains manual. This thesis investigates the emergence of robotic pick-and-place technology as a potential next step in retail goods-to-person warehouse automation.

The study adopts a qualitative and exploratory research design, combining an integrative literature review with thirteen semi-structured interviews involving technology providers, researchers, and industry experts. The thesis examines the current state of adoption, human-robot interaction, the continued reliance on manual picking, and the anticipated future development of pick-and-place technology in retail warehouse contexts.

The findings show that robotic pick-and-place technology is still in an early adoption phase and is mainly used in selective, controlled, and high-fit operational environments. Its adoption is shaped by the fit between technological capability, warehouse conditions, product characteristics, system integration requirements, and strategic pressure to automate. While the technology offers potential benefits such as labour reduction, improved continuity, and increased automation of repetitive picking tasks, several limitations remain, including handling variability, exception management, integration complexity, throughput constraints, and economic uncertainty. The thesis further highlights that humans are unlikely to disappear from automated warehouses. Instead, their roles are expected to shift toward supervision, exception handling, maintenance, and system orchestration.

Based on the findings, the thesis develops the Pick-and-Place Adoption Fit Framework, which helps explain when robotic picking is likely to be piloted, delayed, scaled, or integrated. The study contributes to the understanding of robotic picking adoption in retail warehouses and provides practical guidance for managers evaluating the future role of pick-and-place technology in automated fulfilment systems.}},
  author       = {{Naresh Babu, Akhil and De Abreu, Guyon}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Goods-to-Person or Goods-to-Robots? The Emergence of Robotic Pick-and-Place Technology in Automated Retail Warehouses}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}