Third-generation Belgian family business Colruyt Group has sold 70 percent of its research and development activities related to self-driving pallet trucks to supply chain solutions company KION.
Colruyt and KION are collaborating again to accelerate the development and industrialisation of next-generation supply chain robotics following the success of their first partnership in 2023, when their Smart Innovation (part of Colruyt Group Technics) and STILL brands introduced a self-developed, self-driving pallet truck. Colruyt designed and built the software intelligence, while STILL ensured robust hardware integration.
These trucks have been operating seamlessly alongside logistics teams in two of Colruyt’s distribution centres. “They navigate safely around people and obstacles and locate every pallet with remarkable precision, thanks to advanced technology,” reports Colruyt Lowest Prices’ supply chain director, Koen De Vos. “This allows our employees to focus on more complex tasks and processes that require specialised knowledge and skills.”
This time, the partnership will focus on further developing the SDV program and preparing it for industrial rollout across EMEA markets. The software and AI knowledge, as well as the patents built up within the Smart Innovation development division, will be transferred to KION as part of the sale.
“The success of SDVs for horizontal transport opened new horizons for our innovation team. Today, our engineers are developing cutting-edge robotics software, integrating artificial intelligence and computer vision, for SDVs that will shape the future of logistics operations,” says Colruyt Group Technics director Jo Janssens. “We are extremely proud of the expertise our team brings to solving the complex challenges of retail logistics.”
With its global footprint and industrialisation expertise, KION is the ideal partner to commercialise and scale the technology worldwide. It has also established a dedicated expertise centre – KION Automation Centre Antwerp – in Belgium, with support from VLAIO (the Flemish agency for innovation and entrepreneurship).
The Colruyt Group retains a 30 percent stake in Smart Innovation, which will continue operating as usual.
The deal is expected to have a positive impact of approximately €20 million on the group’s consolidated income statement in the 2026/27 financial year.
