AI vision-based pick-and-place system handles about 1,500 single-item orders per day across more than 60,000 SKUs, enabling overnight throughput at the Arbon site.
With AI-based picking robotics from Sereact, logistics service provider MS Direct is automating picking at its AutoStore port for the first time. Despite having more than 60,000 SKUs, the Sereact solution now independently processes around 1,500 orders per day—even during night shifts. This allows the company to increase efficiency and flexibility, reduce the workload on employees, and automate simple, repetitive picking processes.
MS Direct AG is a leading fulfillment and logistics service provider headquartered in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Since 1978, the company has supported online retailers with scalable solutions in e-commerce fulfillment, cross-border logistics, and returns management. With more than 600 employees across several locations in Switzerland, Germany, and the UK, MS Direct processes more than 32 million items and handles around 17 million returns annually. The company offers comprehensive services, including warehousing, picking, shipping, returns processing, and digital solutions tailored to the requirements of national and international online retailers.
The diversity of items in the warehouse made automation difficult
As a 3PL service provider, MS Direct operates high-frequency fulfillment centers for well-known e-commerce brands at several locations in Switzerland and southern Germany. The largest warehouse in Arbon, Switzerland, uses a Kardex AutoStore system with more than 60,000 different SKUs. This wide variety of items posed a major challenge for further automation in the picking area: many items—varying in size, packaging, and surface—were unknown to the first pick robot tested, meaning the desired performance and flexibility were not achieved. For this reason, picking has so far been carried out predominantly manually at eight of the nine ports. With the aim of establishing itself as a leading tech player in European e-commerce, MS Direct was looking for a technology that could meet this challenge and process a wide variety of items without the need for complex training. The goal was to automate simple, repetitive tasks, conserve resources, and at the same time be able to work productively at night.
The picking solution from Sereact
The path to collaboration with Sereact began through an existing contact: Luca Graf, CEO of MS Direct, already knew the Stuttgart-based software developer from a previous exchange. During the evaluation phase, Sereact’s solution was compared with other systems available on the market and ultimately selected. The decisive factor was the potential of the AI-based control system to process new and unknown items without prior data collection. This places Sereact one step ahead of other solutions in terms of technology.
A pick-and-place solution was used to automate one of the nine existing AutoStore ports. The software visually analyzes each object in real time, recognizes relevant features such as shape, material, or color, and independently selects the appropriate gripping strategy. The company uses an AI-controlled Vision Language Action Model (VLAM) that applies different picking strategies without manual training.
“The implementation went remarkably quickly,” recalls Marc Messerli, Vice President of Fulfillment at MS Direct. “Within a few weeks, the system was installed, integrated, and productive—just in time for the start of the peak season.” Messerli particularly emphasizes the collaboration with the Sereact team: “What convinced us was not only the technology, but also the way Sereact worked with us. Collaborative, solution-oriented, with genuine enthusiasm for the topic. It was clear that this was a young team that didn’t insist on standard processes, but was willing to break new ground together.”
24/7 productive: “Pico” robot as a new colleague
Since the pick robot went into operation, order picking at MS Direct has changed noticeably. The robot now independently processes around 1,500 single-pick orders per day. The solution is particularly effective in nighttime processing: while the AutoStore system was previously only used during the day, the robot now takes over preparatory work for the coming day during the night. This significantly increases throughput while reducing staffing requirements during off-peak hours.
In addition, a key goal has been achieved: simple and repetitive tasks have been successfully automated. Employees are deployed specifically where human experience is required, such as for more complex picking tasks. MS Direct also benefits from fewer picking errors, reduced susceptibility to errors in AutoStore, and greater process reliability. The investment has also paid off financially: return on investment was achieved after around nine months—a benchmark further supported by the high labor costs in the Swiss market.
“It was also important to us not to simply view the robot as a machine, but to actively integrate it into our team,” explains Marc Messerli. “That’s why we held a naming competition, and today ‘Pico’ is not just a robot for many of us, but almost a colleague.”
Further expansion planned in Arbon
With the introduction of Sereact’s pick robotics solution, MS Direct has reached an important milestone on the road to automation. The technology has not only proven itself in ongoing operations but has also demonstrated its ability to reliably process a wide variety of items without prior training. This enables the company to remain flexible even when product range requirements change.
“The successful collaboration with Sereact motivates us to gradually expand automated picking to other ports at the Arbon site,” summarizes Messerli.
Automation is also being considered at other locations. These are currently in various stages of technical development. As soon as the infrastructural requirements are in place, the integration of picking robotics solutions will be examined.
In addition, MS Direct is in talks with Sereact about the possible introduction of other technologies, such as the AI-based monitoring platform Lens. In the future, this could enable even more accurate inventory tracking and more efficient quality control.
With a clear focus on the Arbon site as a pioneer in automation and the prospect of gradually following suit at other logistics centers, MS Direct is pursuing its goal of positioning itself as a leading fulfillment service provider in Europe.