By Brazil Stock Guide – Mercado Livre Inc. (MELI) has deployed 125 new sorting robots in its Brazilian distribution centers as part of a strategy to accelerate logistics and expand same-day deliveries.
The machines, which resemble a horizontal suitcase with wheels and a top-mounted bin, handle the consolidation of orders when customers purchase multiple products stored in different areas of a warehouse. By taking over these internal transfers, the robots reduce order picking time by about an hour, according to O Estado de S. Paulo.
Operating across a 670-square-meter area, the robots can process up to 105,000 items per day. “The robots arrive to bring greater speed to order processing,” said Luiz Vergueiro, Mercado Livre’s senior logistics director. “We are the first in Brazil to use this technology.” He added that the automation allows customers to place same-day delivery orders up to 2 p.m., extending the previous cutoff time of 1 p.m.
Mercado Livre already operates 500 other robots that move shelving units closer to human workers. The company is assessing further automation as demand for faster delivery grows.
While robots are taking on more warehouse tasks, Mercado Livre emphasized that employees are being reassigned to data analysis and order management roles. The company expects to hire between 12,000 and 13,000 new workers in 2025 to support operational growth.
In 2024, 5.8 million small businesses using Mercado Livre and Mercado Pago platforms in Brazil generated R$381 billion ($71 billion) in transactions, highlighting the importance of logistics innovation for the company’s expansion in Latin America.