Transforming E-Commerce Fulfillment: U-Freight’s Hong Kong Warehouse Goes Fully Automated with Geek+ Robotics

About Customer

U-Freight Limited (UFL Group), established in Hong Kong in 1968, has grown from a regional freight forwarder into a global logistics group. Today, UFL provides comprehensive freight forwarding and logistics solutions worldwide, with a strong focus on service, reliability, and cost efficiency.

The company has been an early adopter in the e-commerce logistics space, equipping multiple warehouse facilities across Asia, North America, and Europe as eCommerce Fulfillment Centres (EFCs). In Hong Kong, UFL operates five freight hubs, including a 20,000 sq ft EFC in Kwai Chung, where it continues to invest in advanced automation to meet rapidly growing online order volumes.

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The Challenge 

UFL faced several operational challenges as e-commerce demand surged, highlighting the need for a more efficient, scalable solution:

• Increasing order volumes and limited storage space made manual operations inefficient.
• High labor intensity and picking errors due to “person-to-goods” workflows.
• Need for fast, accurate fulfillment across multiple inventory levels in the warehouse.
• Maintaining normal operations while upgrading warehouse automation. 

Geek+ Solution

Geekplus worked with UFL to upgrade and expand their existing AMR and intelligent racking system in the Kwai Chung EFC. Key elements of the project included:

• Shelf-to-Person solution with an additional 30 P-series picking robots.
• 12,000 sq ft of the 20,000 sq ft facility was upgraded while maintaining ongoing operations.
• Dynamic putaway algorithms and cross-floor picking, including mezzanine floors for optimized storage.
• Intelligent warehouse software integration for inventory management, order optimization, and task assignment.
• Smart analytics providing heat mapping, inventory layout recommendations, and prioritization of fast-moving goods.

The robotic system moves inventory shelves and pallets directly to workstations, eliminating operator travel, improving accuracy, and reducing labor intensity. The proprietary smart algorithms ensure maximum efficiency with the fewest robots while enhancing storage utilization.

Geek+ Impact

• Walking distance reduced by 80%, improving operator productivity.
• Picking efficiency and throughput significantly increased, meeting growing e-commerce demand.
• Labor intensity is reduced, lowering operational costs and improving safety.
• Enhanced storage utilization with intelligent inventory placement based on sales frequency.
• Seamless scalability, allowing UFL to expand operations as volumes grow.
• Real-time, digitized inventory management for better decision-making and traceability.

The upgrade positions UFL as a logistics partner of choice for online platforms and e-commerce sellers, helping them capture more value from the ongoing surge in global e-commerce.