According to a recent survey the great majority of players in logistics are
planning to adopt one or more robotic solutions until 2019. Technical solutions
for automation of processes in logistics are often available as a market-
ready product, but the lack of standardization and skepticism towards
long term investments are often the reasons why these solutions are not
implemented on a large scale. This paper is set to bridge the gap between
the world of technologies and the one of applications in order to help investors,
robot producers and system integrators to decide on which branch
of logistics to set their focus. The threemain branches Courier Express Parcel
(CEP), contract logistics and production logistics are briefly defined and
distinguished through their characteristic factors and parameters. Then a
method based on the analysis of three parameters (operative costs, required
performance and flexibility) in the three branches is set to identify
the most convenient branch of logistics for investing in new technologies,
namely the one in which the risk of investment is lower, the return is higher
and faster. The conclusion of the method shows that higher labor costs,
strict regulations and higher standardization make the production logistics
the most suitable branch for investments in emerging automation solutions.