Sereact’s Robots Now Sort Zalando Returns in Germany and Poland
Sereact’s robots 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 companies announced on Wednesday.
Background
This deployment marks the first step of a plan to automate returns across Europe. Zalando joined Sereact’s Series B round as a strategic investor in July.
Ralf Gulde, Sereact’s CEO and co-founder, highlighted the challenge:
“Returns are the hardest manipulation problem in fashion logistics.”
How It Works
Sereact’s software, called Cortex, enables robots to grasp, identify, and sort items they haven’t seen before. Unlike traditional robots, it doesn’t require training for each product or a fixed list of articles.
Chris Walton, CEVA’s senior vice president for contract logistics, noted that this model sorts items faster and with fewer manual steps.
Impact on Warehouse Staff
The robots handle repetitive tasks, reducing physical strain on workers. Staff move to supervising stations, handling exceptions, and checking quality.
Key Players
- Sereact: Founded in Stuttgart by Gulde and Marc Tuscher, Sereact raised $116 million in Series B funding this year. Its customers include IKEA, DHL, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.
- Zalando: The Berlin-based e-commerce giant has 62 million active customers across 29 markets.
- CEVA Logistics: Part of shipping group CMA CGM, CEVA reported revenue of $18.3 billion in 2025.
Global Robotics Trends
This development comes as global robotics trends show:
- China installed 59% of the world’s new factory robots while EU installations fell 11%.
- Companies like NEURA and SECO are building robot compute modules in Germany.
Darius Popa, a technology enthusiast and intern at The Next Web, contributed to this report.