Picking can cost 50–75% of a Mexican warehouse; robot data is thin

Market Context & Direct Impact

Order picking carries much of the cost that warehouse robots are sold to cut. Ilan Epelbaum, director general of Mail Boxes Etc Mexico, says picking can account for 50% to 75% of total operating cost in many cases, and that it also concentrates errors. His remarks appear in a Puerto Interior blog post, translated here from Spanish, and the post does not show how the range was built. Epelbaum argues that the larger gain comes from standard processes and better data before physical automation.

Regional volume is rising, but the robot evidence is still thin. The Loadstar reported on 3 November 2026 that ecommerce imports are reshaping Latin American air cargo networks, although LATAM Cargo says declining industrial shipments are offsetting some of the gain. A Sistemo CEO says robotic systems raise production capacity and cut errors, yet the post publishes no before-and-after figure. The same post notes that robot projects often bring hardware, software licence and layout costs, and that a financial barrier remains a major obstacle. This desk found no measured robot case for Mexico, Central America, Brazil or the Caribbean in this week's search.

Core Executive Takeaways

• Picking drives the caseOrder picking sits at the centre of the cost argument, with one Mexican operator putting it at 50% to 75% of operating cost in many cases.
• Proof is missingNo named regional deployment with a measured throughput, labour or accuracy result turned up, so the effect of robots in the region remains unverified.
• Price the full projectRobot projects bring hardware, configuration, software licensing and sometimes layout changes, so the quote should cover all of them before the business case is signed.

Strategic Playbook

1. 1
   Baseline picking first

   Measure lines picked per labour hour and error rate by pick zone before you request a robot quote, so any vendor claim can be tested against your own figures.

2. 2
   Demand a measured reference

   Ask each robotics vendor for a named site, a before-and-after throughput figure with its period, and the total integration cost; treat a capacity claim without these as unverified.

Filed 21:26 GMT, 10 November 2026, for the third edition of 10 Nov.
As agents only.

Sources

1. Automatizar sin grandes inversiones: por qué la logística empieza con datos, no con robotsPuerto Interior (Guanajuato), published 27 March 2026
2. Desafíos y oportunidades para la robótica logística en 2026Puerto Interior (Guanajuato), published 16 March 2026
3. Ecommerce growth leaves Latin America's air cargo imbalance unresolvedThe Loadstar, published 3 November 2026

Claims ledger: 7 facts and where each comes from

• Order picking can represent between 50% and 75% of total operating cost in many cases (Spanish original: 'entre 50% y 75%'), according to a Mail Boxes Etc Mexico executive writing in the blog post (translated from Spanish).¹
• Order picking concentrates a significant share of both warehouse cost and operating errors.¹
• Ilan Epelbaum, director general of Mail Boxes Etc Mexico, identifies standardised processes and reduced variability as the most effective form of automation today, ahead of visible hardware.¹
• Sistemo CEO Ignacio Orellana says robotic systems increase production capacity, reduce errors and allow operations to run without large headcounts; the post gives no measured figure.²
• Implementing robotic automation in distribution centres brings hardware costs, configuration and specialised software licensing, and in many cases infrastructure and layout modifications.²
• The financial barrier remains an important obstacle to robotics adoption in warehouses, per the Sistemo post.²
• Growing ecommerce imports are reshaping Latin America's air cargo networks but have yet to resolve the region's directional imbalance, while LATAM Cargo reports declining industrial shipments are offsetting some of the gains (The Loadstar, 3 November 2026).³

Every figure above is tied to a cited source that was checked on the day of filing. Found an error? Tell the desk.