Swire Coca-Cola Deploys AI Robots for Efficient Order Fulfillment in China

Swire Coca-Cola has rolled out an AI-powered system at one of its largest bottling plants in China, which can quickly and accurately pick and sort heavy shrink-wrapped packs for mixed-product orders.

The SAI intelligent picking and sorting system uses a single AI brain to optimize operations, processing live customer orders at the Zhengzhou plant in Henan province. It sequences customer orders and orchestrates a fleet of robots to identify products, lift up to four shrink-wrapped packs at a time, and move them across the warehouse floor.

The robots can handle 600 cases per hour and are designed to run around the clock with an accuracy rate approaching 100%. By applying AI and robotics, Swire Coca-Cola aims to reduce physical strain and ergonomic risk for its frontline employees and equip them with new skills in robotics maintenance.

The company plans to deploy the SAI system at its Nanjing, Hefei, and Guangzhou plants next year. According to Karen So, chief executive of Swire Coca-Cola, the purpose-built solution demonstrates Hong Kong's value-added role as a connector between the mainland and global markets.