The result: many 3PL operators do not automate at all – and lose competitiveness and margin because of it.
Why NEO for 3PL Operators?
NEO was built for exactly the situation most 3PL operators are in: existing shelving, variable volumes, tight margins.
Pay-per-pick instead of CapEx: You pay per pick - not per robot, not per month. When a client’s volume drops, your automation cost drops with it. When a new client comes on board, you scale capacity up. The model fits 3PL contracts because it ties automation cost directly to fulfillment revenue. Learn more about pay-per-pick
Retrofit instead of rebuild: The NEO:runner robots navigate your existing aisles (minimum 85 cm width). There is no reconstruction, no shelf replacement, and no operational downtime. Other client areas in the warehouse continue running undisturbed during installation. How the retrofit works
Fast to Go-Live, Flexibly Scalable
Go-live in 6-8 weeks: From order confirmation to first automated pick takes 6-8 weeks. That is fast enough to onboard new 3PL clients with automated fulfillment capacity - not after an 18-month construction project.
70% less picking labor: In the automated zone, manual picking effort is reduced by 70%. During peaks, that means: less dependency on expensive temp workers, less training time, more consistent quality.
Multi-client capable: NEO:os manages SKU data, storage locations, and orders on a per-tenant basis. You can run different client volumes through the same system - with cleanly separated order management.
Collaborative Picking - Peak Capacity Without the Temp-Labor Risk
Volume fluctuation is the core of the 3PL business. The traditional answer - 30 to 50 percent additional temp labor in peak season - is expensive, hard to organize, and quality-sensitive.
NEO breaks this trade-off through collaborative picking: robots and human pickers operate in the same warehouse and the same picking cycle. You size the robot fleet for the baseline load of your client mix - and add human pickers alongside the robots when seasonal demand spikes.
The result:
- No second, separate manual workflow that has to be ramped up every season
- Less exposure to a tight temp-labor market
- Pay-per-pick carries it commercially: more picks in peak = more robot capacity, with no hardware to buy or lease
- Shorter onboarding for seasonal staff: they pick at the same station, in the same workflow your permanent team uses
For 3PL operators, this is often the strongest argument: you automate the baseline and keep the operational flexibility to scale with people during peaks - without rebuilding your workflow setup every season.
No other provider combines such a simple automation solution with higher storage density like NEO. We see great potential to significantly support our fulfillment strategy with NEO.
NEO runs in parallel with manual picking: robots and PickStations cover the automated portion, while staff continue to pick by order or by client manually. You control the share of automated picks per client segment.
The pilot-first approach was decisive: Versandmanufaktur could validate the concept with manageable risk before investing in scale - exactly the approach that makes sense in the 3PL business.