Pick optimisation and automated despatch for GXO

The challenge
GXO is one of the world’s leading contract logistics providers, running complex, high-volume warehouse and fulfilment operations for major retail and e-commerce brands. At one of their UK sites, two distinct challenges were limiting what the operation could achieve.

In the pick operation, walker distances were a significant drag on productivity. Without route optimisation, colleagues were covering more ground than necessary, constraining the volume of picks achievable per shift and adding unnecessary physical strain.

In despatch, three manual processes; weight checking, carton sealing, and label application, were creating bottlenecks and introducing variability. Each represented a point of potential error and a ceiling on outbound throughput.

GXO needed solutions that could be deployed quickly, deliver measurable results without lengthy ramp-up, and integrate cleanly into an existing, live operation.

The solution
Breathe Technologies delivered two projects within a 12-month period, each targeting a specific operational constraint.
The first was PickIQ, an AI-driven picking optimisation software that recalculates routes to minimise walking distances across the warehouse floor. Available on subscription with no upfront capital costs, PickIQ is designed for rapid deployment and fast speed to competency, meaning the operational benefits are realised almost immediately after go-live.

The second introduced a semi-automated retail conveyor that removes three manual steps from the despatch flow in a single system: automatic weight checking, carton sealing, and label application. Each carton moves through the line, is weighed, sealed and labelled accurately, eliminating the variability and labour dependency that came with the manual process.

Both projects were delivered collaboratively, with Breathe Technologies working closely alongside the GXO team throughout, treating the implementation as a joint partnership from the outset.