Key Takeaways:
SAP is now using its own AI-powered robots to run its warehouses, a move that signals a broader shift from AI pilots to scalable enterprise adoption.
SAP SE, in a partnership with AI robotics software company Cyberwave, has successfully deployed fully autonomous robots in its logistics warehouse in St. Leon-Rot, Germany. The initiative, announced May 11, builds on SAP's expansion of its Physical AI capabilities and shows the enterprise software giant is now using its own advanced technology to run its internal operations, providing a real-world proof-of-concept for its customers.
"By integrating AI-powered robotics directly into our live warehouse operations, we are proving that Physical AI is no longer a concept—it's delivering real value today," Tim Kuebler, Head of Warehouse & Shipping at SAP, said. "At our St. Leon-Rot warehouse, SAP LGM provides the digital backbone that allows robots to be deployed quickly, operate reliably, and scale with our processes."
The deployment leverages SAP's cloud-native Logistics Management (LGM) solution, whose API-first architecture allows for rapid integration. Tasks are sent to the robots through the SAP Embodied AI Service, which connects to the Cyberwave platform on SAP's Business Technology Platform (BTP). The companies reported the end-to-end integration was completed in minutes.
This move demonstrates a tangible return on investment for AI in industrial settings, aiming to increase warehouse throughput and free human workers from repetitive tasks. For SAP, a company with a market cap exceeding $450 billion, successfully deploying robotics in its own complex supply chain serves as a powerful sales tool for its logistics and AI enterprise solutions.
The SAP and Cyberwave deployment is a key example of a wider trend where industries are moving AI from small-scale pilots to enterprise-wide operational tools. In the healthcare sector, for instance, a recent Information Services Group report noted that organizations are embedding AI into core processes to deliver "consistent business outcomes at scale," a sentiment that echoes SAP's strategy.
By operationalizing robots in a live, unpredictable warehouse environment, SAP is demonstrating that its platforms can support the transition. The robots are performing high-variability tasks like folding boxes, packaging diverse items, and fulfilling shipping orders—jobs that have historically been difficult and costly to automate. This successful implementation provides a reference case for the thousands of customers using SAP's logistics software.
Logistics environments are notoriously challenging for automation due to the constant variation in objects, layouts, and workflows. Traditional robotics systems require engineers to spend weeks or months hand-coding robots for specific tasks, and these systems often fail when conditions change.
Cyberwave’s platform addresses this by enabling non-expert operators to train robots through simple demonstrations. This data is used to fine-tune Vision-Language-Action (VLA) and Reinforcement Learning (RL) models, creating policies that generalize across different situations. According to Simone Di Somma, Co-Founder and CEO of Cyberwave, this reduces training time from weeks to hours and allows the robots to learn and adapt as conditions evolve. The growing complexity of such AI systems is creating a need for new expertise across industries, as shown by the recent launch of CompTIA's SecAI+ certification for professionals managing AI in cybersecurity environments.
For investors, SAP's move into operational Physical AI is a significant step. It not only creates a new potential revenue stream from advanced logistics solutions but also showcases a pathway to improving margins for the thousands of manufacturing and logistics companies in its customer base. While SAP (NYSE: SAP) did not disclose specific financial metrics for the deployment, the ability to improve throughput and reduce reliance on manual labor in its own facilities provides a strong case for broader adoption.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
