Inventory Robots Deployed at Russian Warehouse
Autonomous devices move independently between storage racks, performing inventory checks without human involvement.
Warehouse automation continues to expand across Russia’s logistics sector. Novabev Group, the owner of the WinLab retail chain, has purchased inventory-scanning robots from Yandex Robotics to automate operations at warehouses covering 40,000 square meters.
The machines are equipped with lidar, cameras, ultrasonic sensors, and additional safety detectors. The robots move autonomously between storage racks at the distribution center. They scan goods, compare pallets with stored inventory, and transmit the data to the warehouse management system, automatically correcting discrepancies. Robotization has increased the speed of inventory counting in a single aisle by a factor of 60.
Retail Robotics Trend
A study by Yandex Robotics and Promyshlennaya robototekhnika (Industrial Robotics) found that 88% of companies plan to use mobile robots in warehouses, while 71% intend to deploy ten or more such devices. Some companies aim to increase productivity, while others hope to address labor shortages.
Last year, an innovative assistant was introduced at the Severnaya zvezda (Northern Star) distribution center operated by Lemana PRO. A robotic depalletizing arm disassembles pallets of boxes using a vacuum gripper and then automatically feeds them onto a conveyor belt. The system is equipped with computer vision and artificial intelligence. Technologies like these increase productivity, reduce the number of errors, and help handle heavy cargo.
Earlier reports noted that the Russian auto-parts distributor Nizhbel uses autonomous forklifts in its warehouses in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Robots named Vasilii at the Vurnarsky meat processing plant in Chuvashia have increased warehouse capacity by 2.5 times and shipments by 30%.
In addition, authorities in the Moscow region plan to build the country’s first automated warehouse about 30 meters high for the Russian retail company X5 Group. The automated storage and cargo-handling system is expected to shorten warehouse operations, increase storage density, reduce operating costs, and minimize staff involvement inside the facility.
