Dosenbach-Ochsner Deploys 100 Skypod Robots

A Swiss warehouse just swapped forklifts for 100 Skypod robots.

Dosenbach-Ochsner, the Swiss arm of the Deichmann Group, has gone into full-scale automation at its Luterbach site in the canton of Solothurn, installing Exotec’s Skypod system to modernize intralogistics and warehouse operations. The project is notable not just for the sheer headcount of robots—more than 100 Skypod units are now operational—but for the scale and speed with which the system has been brought online to support picking and packing stations. Production data shows the deployment is designed to deliver density, speed, and accuracy that are increasingly hard to achieve with conventional rack-and-pick workflows.

From the floor, the change is unmistakable: robotic pods hover over narrow aisles, and human pickers move between zones with new, data-driven workflows. Exotec’s Skypod philosophy—compact footprint, elevated storage, and a focus on parallel, autonomous picking—fits a European logistics market hungry for throughput without expanding square footage. In this case, the Luterbach site serves as a pivotal node for distributing sportswear and equipment across the region, with the goal of faster replenishment, tighter inventory control, and a more predictable service level for retailers and end customers.

Operational metrics show a clear shift in how work gets done. The sheer scale—well over a hundred autonomous pods—suggests a substantial uplift in picking velocity and in-space utilization. Yet, as with any large automation play, the benefits ride on the details of integration, process redesign, and the ability of staff to work alongside the new technology. Dosenbach-Ochsner’s management team emphasizes that Skypod is a scalable platform, intended to grow with demand rather than force a single, static layout. The company’s decision underscores a broader trend: optical storage density and automated order fulfillment that can flex with seasonal swings or catalog changes.

Industry observers note that deployments of this magnitude tend to reshape roles rather than eliminate them. While robots shoulder repetitive, high-velocity tasks, human workers increasingly focus on exceptions, quality checks, complex picks, returns processing, and process optimization—activities that still require judgment and adaptability. In other words, automation doesn’t simply replace labor; it redefines it. The Luterbach rollout signals a shift toward continuous improvement cycles: closed-loop data, slotting adjustments, and real-time performance insights that guide ongoing replenishment and layout refinements.

Two practitioner-intrinsic considerations surface in any sizable Skypod installation—and this one is no exception. First, integration is a resource-intensive phase. Even a scalable system like Skypod demands careful floor planning, network readiness, and process redesign to prevent bottlenecks in receiving, put-away, and order consolidation. Management teams should expect multi-month validation cycles, even if the platform itself is designed for rapid deployment. Second, hidden costs tend to emerge as operations scale: software licensing beyond the base system, ongoing maintenance, routine retraining for staff to adapt to new picker paths, and downtime for live-operations testing. Vendors often cite “seamless integration,” but ROI documentation and long-run operating margins only emerge after the organization cycles through these realities.

For Dosenbach-Ochsner, the decision to press forward with a 100-plus-robot Skypod ecosystem appears to be a strategic bet on obsolescence-proofing the supply chain. The Luterbach installation is positioned as a proving ground for a future-ready warehouse that can handle higher throughput with tighter accuracy, even as order profiles evolve. If the project achieves its intended outcomes, the CFO’s signature will hinge on a payback period that becomes shorter as throughput climbs and labor costs stabilize—or, in the worst case, lengthen if replenishment cycles lag or if the system requires more tuning than planned.

What to watch next: close attention to cycle time and pick accuracy trends, the rate of exception handling, and how inventory visibility improves with the new layout. Also important will be the cadence of maintenance, the cost of software updates, and the degree to which integration teams can keep the system aligned with seasonal demand and product mix shifts.

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Dosenbach-Ochsner installs more than 100 Exotec Skypod robots to modernize Swiss warehouse