Piece Picking Robots Market Size and Share
Piece Picking Robots Market Analysis by Mordor Intelligence
The piece-picking robots market reached USD 1.7 billion in 2025 and is forecast to attain USD 14.7 billion by 2030, advancing at a 53.35% CAGR. Rapid scalability arises from persistent labor shortages, e-commerce parcel growth, and artificial-intelligence breakthroughs that push robotic picking accuracy above 95%. The pace outstrips traditional warehouse automation because manual picking still absorbs up to 60% of fulfillment costs, prompting operators to automate the most labor-intensive workflows. Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) models lower upfront capital while subscription pricing aligns expenses with seasonal volumes. North America leads adoption, yet Asia-Pacific records the steepest CAGR as aging workforces and wage inflation heighten automation urgency. Competitive positioning now depends less on hardware and more on software that refines grasp planning in real time, underpinning a swift shift toward intelligent, mobile systems that collaborate safely with people.
Key Report Takeaways
- By robot type, collaborative systems held 46% of the piece-picking robots market share in 2024, while mobile AMRs are projected to surge at a 51% CAGR to 2030.
- By component, hardware represented 58% of 2024 revenue; software is the fastest riser at a 53% CAGR through 2030.
- By end-user industry, e-commerce and retail commanded 54% of deployments in 2024; grocery and FMCG are expanding at a 58% CAGR to 2030.
- By payload, the up-to-5 kg class accounted for 49% of the piece-picking robots market size in 2024 and is forecast to climb at a 55% CAGR through 2030.
- By deployment model, RaaS already represents 61% of 2024 installations and is growing at 54% annually.
- By geography, North America captured 37% revenue share in 2024; Asia-Pacific is advancing at a 57% CAGR over 2025–2030.
Global Piece Picking Robots Market Trends and Insights
Drivers Impact Analysis
Driver | (~) % Impact on CAGR Forecast | Geographic Relevance | Impact Timeline |
---|---|---|---|
Rising e-commerce order volumes and SKU proliferation | +12.5% | Global, concentrated in North America & APAC | Medium term (2-4 years) |
Labour scarcity & wage inflation in mature logistics hubs | +15.2% | North America & EU, spreading to APAC urban centers | Short term (≤ 2 years) |
Vision-AI breakthroughs enabling ≥ 95% pick accuracy | +8.7% | Global, early adoption in North America & Northern Europe | Medium term (2-4 years) |
Cost-down in cobot arms (< USD 15,000) widening SME adoption | +6.8% | Global, impactful in APAC & emerging markets | Long term (≥ 4 years) |
Source: Mordor Intelligence
Rising e-commerce order volumes and SKU proliferation
SKU counts are climbing 40% each year at large fulfillment centers, while order sizes fracture into smaller parcels. Piece-picking robots rely on machine-learning algorithms that now handle millions of unique items and reach 1,200 picks per hour. Micro-fulfillment footprints and same-day delivery guarantees intensify the requirement for systems that identify new objects in 0.3 seconds, driving the piece-picking robots market toward AI-rich software.
Labour scarcity and wage inflation in mature logistics hubs
More than 55% of warehouse operators cite labor shortages as the primary trigger for automation. [1]Locus Robotics, “Warehouse Labor Challenges: Automation Solutions,” locusrobotics.com Wage growth in logistics consistently exceeds general inflation, strengthening the investment case for robotics even at current price points. Japan underscores the point, with government programs positioning robotics as essential infrastructure amid a rapidly aging workforce s Robots also mitigate turnover by eliminating repetitive lifting tasks and enabling safer human-robot collaboration.
Vision-AI breakthroughs enabling ≥ 95% pick accuracy
Deep-learning perception now approaches human accuracy for object recognition, while tactile sensors add grip-force intelligence. Amazon’s Vulcan robot has cut damage rates and lifted throughput, highlighting how edge AI enables real-time decision-making at human-reaction speeds
Cost-down in cobot arms (< USD 15,000) widening SME adoption
Entry-level collaborative arms now list below USD 15,000, a sharp fall from 2020 prices that topped USD 50,000. [2]Standard Bots, “How Much Do Robots Cost?,” standardbots.com RaaS models reduce cash-flow hurdles further by spreading costs across pick volumes, letting smaller operations access top-tier capabilities without upfront capex.
Restraints Impact Analysis
Restraint | (~) % Impact on CAGR Forecast | Geographic Relevance | Impact Timeline |
---|---|---|---|
Persistent gripper limitations for deformable SKUs | -4.2% | Global, challenging in grocery & FMCG | Medium term (2-4 years) |
High failure-on-first-pick KPI penalties in grocery | -2.8% | North America & EU grocery chains | Short term (≤ 2 years) |
Source: Mordor Intelligence
Persistent gripper limitations for deformable SKUs
Robots still struggle with soft goods and flexible packaging. Success rates drop to 75–80% on deformable items versus 95% on rigid parts, restricting uptake in grocery and FMCG where dexterity matters most .
High failure-on-first-pick KPI penalties in grocery
Grocery fulfilment tolerates error rates below 1%. Robotic mis-picks lead to substitutions and spoilage costs that can exceed an order’s value, so operators remain cautious until accuracy metrics improve for variable produce and chilled inventories.
Segment Analysis
By Type of Robot: Mobile AMRs Unlock Flexible Workflows
Mobile autonomous robots are climbing at a 51% CAGR and underpin next-generation agility, while collaborative arms retained 46% of 2024 revenue. This mix shows the piece-picking robots market shifting from fixed stations toward fleets that navigate dynamic warehouse aisles without heavy infrastructure.
Mobile platforms adapt routing based on live congestion and eliminate conveyance bottlenecks, raising system uptime during peak seasons. Brightpick’s Autopicker lifts items directly from totes and places them into outbound orders, cutting travel cycles and reducing dock-to-ship times. Fixed-arm units remain vital in pharmaceuticals and electronics where micron-level precision outweighs layout flexibility, yet growth is slower than the mobile cohort.
Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase
By Component: Software Emerges as the Prime Differentiator
Hardware accounted for 58% of 2024 spend, but software is growing 53% per year and fast becomes the profit engine. AI-driven stacks refine grasp-planning logic in real time, shrinking pick-cycle latency and expanding SKU coverage. AutoStore’s CarouselAI optimizes sequence selection without human tuning, demonstrating how software outpaces mechanical innovation in value creation .
Service revenues scale alongside software as integrators maintain fleets via cloud diagnostics and predictive maintenance. With over a petabyte of execution data, RightHand Robotics continuously updates algorithms, illustrating that data flywheels lock in customers through compounding accuracy gains
By End-User Industry: Grocery Surge Redefines Demand Profiles
E-commerce and omnichannel retail still deliver 54% of deployments, but grocery and FMCG show a 58% CAGR as supermarkets target in-store pick stations and dedicated dark stores. AutoStore’s eOperator demonstrates 800 lines per hour while maintaining pharmaceutical-grade accuracy, proving robots can handle temperature-controlled inventories.
Pharmaceutical facilities prize full traceability, embedding barcode scans within each robotic cycle. Third-party logistics providers extend robots across client portfolios, valuing the flexibility to switch SKUs daily without re-engineering grippers or vision pipelines. Automotive parts, apparel, and B2B industrial supplies remain emerging use cases where high mix counts and variable form factors align with maturing AI.
By Payload Capacity: Up to 5 kg Becomes the Norm
The ≤ 5 kg band owned 49% of 2024 revenue and advances at a 55% CAGR, encapsulating lightweight consumer goods that dominate e-commerce picks. This bracket optimizes speed-to-weight ratios, achieving 1,200 picks per hour with minimal energy draw.
Mid-range 5–10 kg systems serve bulk grocery, power tools, and office supplies, while 10 kg+ robots linger in niche heavy parts and appliance lines where throughput demands differ. Concentrating on the high-volume lightweight tier creates learning-curve effects that keep costs on a downward slope and accelerate the overall piece-picking robots market size.
Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase
By Deployment Model: RaaS Reshapes Capital Allocation
RaaS commands 61% of installed units and grows 54% per year, translating capex into predictable opex and transferring obsolescence risk to vendors. The global RaaS segment is forecast to climb from USD 1.33 billion in 2023 to USD 4.12 billion by 2030. Pay-per-pick pricing aligns cash outflows with revenue, a structure particularly attractive to small and medium warehouses that face volatile order volumes.
Large enterprises still sign direct-purchase contracts when volumes and internal engineering capabilities justify asset ownership. Yet even top-tier retailers deploy hybrid models, leasing extra units for holiday peaks then scaling back fleets to steady-state levels without idle capital.
Geography Analysis
Geography Analysis
North America captured 37% of 2024 turnover by combining mature e-commerce, advanced logistics real estate, and sustained automation budgets. U.S. industrial companies now assign 25-30% of capital investment to automation compared with 15-20% before the pandemic, reinforcing demand for piece-picking solutions. Tax incentives further sweeten returns, and early movers like Staples report measurable productivity gains from intelligent picking cells.
Asia-Pacific is expanding at a 57% CAGR and may eclipse North America before 2030. Government-backed initiatives in Japan support robotics as part of national productivity policy, while China’s logistics automation spending surpassed CNY 1.167 trillion (USD 160.5 billion) in 2023. foreign direct investment of USD 230 billion in 2023 fuels new fulfillment hubs that jump directly to advanced automation architectures.[3]ASEAN Secretariat, “ASEAN Investment Report 2024,” asean.org
Europe shows steady expansion driven by Germany’s density of 415 robots per 10,000 workers and a venture ecosystem that raised EUR 2 billion (USD 2.2 billion) for robotics in 2023 sifted. Nomagic securing EUR 41.5 million (USD 44.7 million) to broaden AI picking underscores continuing appetite for specialized disruptors. South America and the Middle East & Africa are nascent, yet rising logistics investment and ecommerce adoption signal future inflection once proven solutions drop in cost and complexity.

Competitive Landscape
Innovation and Integration Drive Future Success
Competitive intensity is moderate. No single vendor exceeds a double-digit global share, yet technical moats form around AI algorithms, domain-specific grippers, and integration experience. RightHand Robotics and Covariant apply large operational datasets to refine cloud-delivered brains, while AutoStore, Geek+, and OTTO Motors bundle ASRS, AMRs, and piece-picking arms into turnkey platforms.
Strategic investments mark the path to scale. Rockwell Automation’s March 2025 stake in RightHand Robotics aims to fold best-in-class picking into Rockwell’s controls ecosystem, expanding addressable markets and accelerating time-to-integrate. Midsize innovators focus on niche white spaces. Nexera Robotics secured USD 4.5 million to refine compliant grippers for irregular grocery items, attacking a pain point incumbents have yet to master.
Vertical integration is accelerating. Logistics service giants like DHL commit tens of millions to automated life-science warehouses equipped with Geek+ fleets, locking in proprietary know-how that strengthens client retention. Simultaneously, software-first houses partner with hardware OEMs to ensure end-to-end warranty and maintenance coverage, a tactic that reassures risk-averse customers and compresses vendor selection cycles.
Piece Picking Robots Industry Leaders
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RightHand Robotics
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Berkshire Grey
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Covariant
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Plus One Robotics
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Ocado Group (Robotics Solutions)
- *Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order

Recent Industry Developments
- March 2025: Rockwell Automation invested in RightHand Robotics to embed piece-picking within Rockwell control stacks, pursuing a platform strategy that broadens solution scope and accelerates deployment speed
- March 2025: AutoStore launched CarouselAI, co-developed with Berkshire Grey, to retrofit intelligent picking into existing cube storage sites and shorten payback periods for brownfield customers
- March 2025: Hy-Tek Intralogistics partnered with Movu Robotics to blend shuttle storage and AMRs, positioning the duo to target high-throughput North American facilities
- February 2025: Nomagic raised EUR 41.5 million (USD 44.7 million) to treble European installations and deepen AI R&D, signaling investor confidence in software-centric differentiation
Global Piece Picking Robots Market Report Scope
Piece-picking robots are competent in helping workers by eliminating the necessity for labor to be devoted to repetitive and critical tasks. These software-driven, hardware-enabled solutions handle the core task of picking and placing individual items as part of a wide range of workflows and processes. Piece-picking robots improve performance and efficiency in e-commerce order fulfillment and intralogistics.
The piece picking robots market is segmented by type of robot (collaborative, mobile and others), by end-user application (pharmaceutical, retail/warehousing/distribution centers/logistics centers, other end user applications), and by geography (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Rest of the World). The report offers market forecasts and size in value (USD) for all the above segments.
By Type of Robot | Collaborative | ||
Fixed-Arm | |||
Mobile Piece-Picking AMR | |||
Others | |||
By Component | Hardware | ||
Software | |||
Services | |||
By End-User Industry | E-commerce / Retail Fulfilment Centres | ||
Pharmaceutical & Healthcare | |||
Grocery and FMCG | |||
3PL / Parcel Logistics | |||
Others | |||
By Payload Capacity | Up to 5 kg | ||
5-10 kg | |||
Above 10 kg | |||
By Deployment Model | Capital Purchase (CapEx) | ||
Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) | |||
By Geography | North America | United States | |
Canada | |||
Mexico | |||
South America | Brazil | ||
Argentina | |||
Colombia | |||
Rets of South America | |||
Europe | Germany | ||
United Kingdom | |||
France | |||
Italy | |||
Spain | |||
Rest of Europe | |||
Asia | China | ||
Japan | |||
South Korea | |||
India | |||
Singapore | |||
Rest of Asia | |||
Middle East and Africa | Saudi Arabia | ||
United Arab Emirates | |||
South Africa | |||
Rest of Middle East and Africa |
Collaborative |
Fixed-Arm |
Mobile Piece-Picking AMR |
Others |
Hardware |
Software |
Services |
E-commerce / Retail Fulfilment Centres |
Pharmaceutical & Healthcare |
Grocery and FMCG |
3PL / Parcel Logistics |
Others |
Up to 5 kg |
5-10 kg |
Above 10 kg |
Capital Purchase (CapEx) |
Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) |
North America | United States |
Canada | |
Mexico | |
South America | Brazil |
Argentina | |
Colombia | |
Rets of South America | |
Europe | Germany |
United Kingdom | |
France | |
Italy | |
Spain | |
Rest of Europe | |
Asia | China |
Japan | |
South Korea | |
India | |
Singapore | |
Rest of Asia | |
Middle East and Africa | Saudi Arabia |
United Arab Emirates | |
South Africa | |
Rest of Middle East and Africa |
Key Questions Answered in the Report
What is the current piece-picking robots market size and growth outlook?
The market recorded USD 1.7 billion revenue in 2025 and is on track to reach USD 14.7 billion by 2030, registering a 53.35% CAGR.
Which segment leads the piece-picking robots market share today?
Collaborative robots held 46% revenue share in 2024, benefitting from safe human-robot collaboration in mixed workflows.
Why is Asia-Pacific growing faster than other regions?
Aging workforces, rising wages, and high e-commerce penetration push Asia-Pacific to a 57% CAGR, the highest among all regions.
How is Robots-as-a-Service changing procurement strategies?
RaaS shifts automation from capex to opex, already accounting for 61% of 2024 deployments and letting firms scale fleets during peak demand without buying hardware outright.
What technical hurdle most restricts grocery automation?
Current grippers still struggle with deformable items, keeping success rates around 75–80% and limiting adoption where retailers require near-perfect first-pick accuracy.