IN Brief:
- GXO has installed Europe’s first Autoload system for Grupa Żywiec in Elbląg.
- The system completes full trailer movements in a one-shot cycle, reducing loading time to around two minutes.
- The deployment builds on GXO’s broader use of automation across Central Europe.
GXO Logistics has implemented Europe’s first Autoload automated truck loading system for Grupa Żywiec in Elbląg, Poland, adding automated dockside loading to a high-volume food and beverage logistics operation.
The system automates trailer loading and unloading, replacing the conventional process of moving pallets individually by forklift. Autoload completes the full trailer movement in a single cycle, reducing loading operations to around two minutes and allowing higher transport throughput through the same loading infrastructure.
The deployment sits within GXO’s long-running partnership with Grupa Żywiec, one of Poland’s leading beer producers and part of the Heineken group. The technology has been introduced to increase throughput, improve workplace safety, reduce material consumption, and standardise loading processes.
Jean-Luc Bessade, GXO’s Managing Director for Central Europe, said: “We are proud to introduce another joint innovation with Grupa Żywiec, our trusted partner for over seven years. As a technology leader and early adopter of advanced automation, GXO continues to set new benchmarks for operational performance.”
The system’s mechanical action is designed to reduce human error risk and limit Material Handling Equipment activity around loading docks. Repeatable loading quality is also important in beverage logistics, where high-volume pallet movements, weight distribution, vehicle turnaround, and loading stability all affect downstream transport performance.
Michał Kalinowski, Contract Logistics Manager at Grupa Żywiec, said: “In an increasingly complex food and beverage supply chain, GXO stands out as a trusted partner who understands our specific needs. By leveraging advanced technology, GXO helps us boost productivity, safety and sustainability, allowing us to focus our resources on what matters most — growing our core business.”
The Autoload system builds on other technologies already used by GXO, including AMR robots, ProGlove and Cognex scanners, automated packing systems, and integrated warehouse management systems. The company says nearly half of its Central Europe revenue is generated from automated operations, underlining the movement of contract logistics automation from isolated pilots into operating model design.
Automated truck loading has been one of the harder areas of warehouse automation to scale. Many facilities have automated storage, picking, sortation, and packing, but still depend on manual forklift movements at the dock. That creates a bottleneck where warehouse operations meet transport schedules. When trailer loading remains labour-intensive, fluctuations in shift availability, dock congestion, product sequencing, and transport punctuality can undermine upstream automation gains.
Food and beverage logistics is particularly sensitive to those handoffs because volumes are high, service windows are tight, and palletised product often moves through repetitive flows. Reducing trailer loading time to minutes changes the utilisation profile of docks, trailers, forklifts, and labour. It also improves safety by reducing forklift movements around one of the busiest areas of the site.
The Polish deployment will now be watched for repeatability across other high-volume operations. Automated loading requires compatibility between warehouse systems, dock design, pallet quality, trailer specification, and transport planning. Where those elements can be standardised, the case for automated dockside handling becomes increasingly strong.
