Online retailer Zalando and CEVA Logistics have started using AI-powered robots to process fashion returns at logistics facilities in Germany and Poland.
The dual-arm robots, developed by German robotics company Sereact, have entered live operations at CEVA facilities in Greven, Germany and Świebodzin, Poland.
The systems use Sereact’s physical AI platform to identify, grasp and sort returned fashion items without requiring per-item product training or fixed SKU profiles.
Returns processing presents challenges for warehouse automation because products can arrive in different conditions and packaging, making them difficult to handle using conventional robotic pre-programming.
Sereact said its technology enables the robots to platform group previously unseen items.
The deployment is being delivered through a Robotics-as-a-Service model and represents the first operational phase of a wider initiative to expand automated returns handling across Europe.
The companies said the robots will take on repetitive handling tasks, reducing physical strain on warehouse employees and allowing them to focus on activities such as station supervision, exception management and quality control.
Masood Choudhry, SVP logistics at Zalando, said: “At the heart of our collaboration with Sereact and CEVA is a fundamental belief: true innovation happens when technology and human potential advance together. By solving the most complex challenges in modern fulfilment today, we are actively shaping the future of e-commerce logistics for fashion and lifestyle.”
The project follows Zalando’s participation as a strategic investor in Sereact’s Series B funding round in July 2026.
IntraLogisteX Düsseldorf will bring together logistics, fulfilment and supply chain leaders on 16-17 June 2027.
