DHL Supply Chain has announced a new £550 million investment that will see the logistics giant expand its infrastructure and automation initiatives across operations in the UK and Ireland.

The investment announced on 9 July includes rolling out over 1000 new robots in addition to the UK’s first Boston Dynamics Stretch Robots, which can handle package types of up to 50 pounds.

DHL explained the investment comes as a response to rapid growth in the e-commerce and life sciences healthcare sectors.

The company has already invested £1 billion on automation over the last three years with over 3,200 digitalisation projects across the UK, Ireland and EMEA.

 Until 2030, DHL’s contract logistics business plans to significantly increase its scale in UK&I as well as globally, with automation, robotics and digitalisation being a key enabler of this growth. 

Commenting on the Investment was Saul Resnick, CEO of DHL Supply Chain UK & Ireland who mentioned that it “reflects the growing opportunities across the UK market.”

Saul explained this is only possible with the right infrastructure and expertise in place that are tailored to support high-growth industries like e-commerce and healthcare.

“That’s why we’re investing for long-term impact,” Saul added, praising the UK’s new trade strategy saying it reinforces DHL’s direction by supporting fast-growing sectors and enhancing access to global markets.  

Following this Investment, DHL said it also has plans to open a new Health Logistics facility in Derby designed to support additional growth in the life sciences and healthcare sector.

According to DHL, the facility is projected to experience double digit growth in the UK over the next five years, driving demand for specialist logistics capabilities.

Each site will feature cold chain and cleanroom facilities and is said to play a pivotal role in the wider DHL Health Logistics network globally.  

Tim Tetzlaff, Global Head of Digital Transformation at DHL Supply Chain said: “The market is evolving and demand is growing, we’re expanding our fulfilment capabilities to support that shift with automated solutions that significantly simplify high-volume operations.

“Meanwhile, in the growing life sciences sector, we’re leveraging automation to respond faster to demand and manage complexity at scale with end-to-end visibility, amid a larger focus on patient-centric approaches and differentiated routes to market.”