来自斯图加特初创公司Sereact的机器人现在正在德国和波兰的实时运营中分拣Zalando的时尚退货。这三家公司周三表示，这些双臂机器人在德国格雷文和波兰希维博津的CEVA Logistics仓库工作。
Robots from Stuttgart start-up Sereact are now sorting Zalando’s fashion returns in live operations in Germany and Poland. The two-armed machines work at CEVA Logistics sites in Greven, Germany, and Świebodzin, Poland, the three companies said on Wednesday.
这是实现全欧洲退货自动化计划的第一步。Zalando于7月作为战略投资者参与了Sereact的B轮融资。
It is the first step of a plan to automate returns across Europe. Zalando joined Sereact’s Series B round as a strategic investor in July.
“退货是时尚物流中最难处理的难题，”Sereact首席执行官兼联合创始人拉尔夫·古尔德表示。
“Returns are the hardest manipulation problem in fashion logistics,” said Ralf Gulde, Sereact’s chief executive and co-founder.
为什么退货对机器人来说很难 退货服装通常包装凌乱、皱巴巴地到达，因此没有两件商品看起来是一样的。这使得它们对预先编程的机器人来说很难处理。
Why returns are hard for robots Returned clothes often arrive badly packed and crumpled, so no two items look the same. That makes them difficult for robots programmed in advance.
Sereact的软件名为Cortex，让机器人能够抓取、识别和分拣它们从未见过的商品。这些公司表示，它不需要针对每种产品进行训练，也不需要固定的商品清单。
Sereact’s software, called Cortex, lets the robots grasp, identify and sort items they have not seen before. It does not need training for each product or a fixed list of articles, the companies said.
“如果一个系统只能处理它见过的商品，那它在退货运营中根本行不通，”古尔德说。
“If a system only works on articles it has seen before, it does not work in a returns operation at all,” Gulde said.
这些系统采用机器人即服务模式，即机器人作为服务付费使用。CEVA合同物流高级副总裁克里斯·沃尔顿表示，这种模式能更快地分拣商品，并减少人工步骤。
The systems come under a robotics-as-a-service model, in which the robots are paid for as a service. Chris Walton, CEVA’s senior vice president for contract logistics, said the model sorts items faster and with fewer manual steps.
仓库员工会怎样 这些公司表示，机器人承担重复性搬运工作，减轻工人的身体负担。根据新闻稿，员工转而负责监督岗位、处理异常情况和检查质量。
What happens to warehouse staff The companies said the robots take on repetitive handling and reduce physical strain on workers. Staff move to supervising stations, handling exceptions and checking quality, according to the release.
另外，Zalando计划在9月前关闭其位于德国埃尔福特的物流中心。据德新社报道，当1月份宣布关闭时，企业职工委员会表示受影响的员工超过3000人，包括临时工和服务提供商员工。该报道并未将关闭与自动化联系起来。
Separately, Zalando planned to close its logistics centre in Erfurt, Germany, by September. The works council put the number of affected workers at more than 3,000, including temporary and service-provider staff, dpa reported when the closure was announced in January. That report did not link the closure to automation.
参与方：古尔德与马克·图舍尔在斯图加特创立了Sereact。据官方公告，这家公司今年成功完成了1.16亿美元的B轮融资，其客户包括宜家、DHL、宝马以及梅赛德斯-奔驰。
Who is involved Gulde and Marc Tuscher founded Sereact in Stuttgart. The company raised a $116m Series B this year, and its customers include IKEA, DHL, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, according to the release.
2008年在柏林创立的Zalando称，其在29个市场拥有6200万活跃用户。该公司还曾与Parloa合作开发用于客户对话的人工智能技术。作为航运集团CMA CGM旗下企业，CEVA在2025年的营收达到了183亿美元。
Zalando, founded in Berlin in 2008, says it has 62 million active customers in 29 markets. It has also been working with Parloa on AI for customer conversations. CEVA, part of shipping group CMA CGM, reported revenue of $18.3bn in 2025.
据TNW今年9月援引世界机器人协会的数据，中国安装的新工业机器人数量占全球总量的59%，而欧盟地区的安装量则下降了11%。在德国，NEURA与SECO正在共同研发机器人计算模块。
China installed 59% of the world’s new factory robots while EU installations fell 11%, according to the World Robotics figures TNW reported in September. In Germany, NEURA and SECO are building robot compute modules.