SINGAPORE - German logistics firm DB Schenker will be adding 251 positions here as part of its expansion plans in Singapore.

The firm will progressively hire in areas such as artificial intelligence, data analytics and process engineering, vice-president for contract logistics and supply chain management Catherine Soo told The Straits Times on Friday (Sept 11).

DB Schenker, the logistics arm of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, recently opened a new $163 million warehouse in the free trade zone of the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore in Changi.

The facility, the firm's largest investment globally, spans over 550,000 sq ft across five floors, which is about the size of seven football fields.

With the addition of the new warehouse, DB Schenker's 13 facilities in Singapore now has a footprint of 2.8 million sq ft.

Ms Soo said the Red Lion warehouse has provided a good platform for staff to be exposed to new ways of working in an industry that has an increased focus on innovation.

The warehouse boasts several automated features, including an in-house designed robotic arm which utilises 3D-vision to pick, label and pack products simultaneously.

"This automation substantially lightens manual workload," said Ms Soo, who added that it can cope with constant changes and variations to the products the firm handles.

Red Lion also uses technologies that speed up the handling of air freight imports and exports by about 40 per cent faster.

This is especially useful when handling orders for customers with high order volumes, such as those in the consumer and e-commerce industries, she said.

DB Schenker's new facility also utilises several sustainable features, such as 1,440 photo-voltaic solar panels. Taken together, the features cut energy use by about 35 per cent.

The firm, which has been in Singapore for 50 years, established a centre of performance excellence team to drive business analytics, change management and risk-based decision-making approach here in January.

It intends to continue collaborating with institutes of higher learning on relevant supply chain projects, Ms Soo added.

"We hope these exchanges along with our operational experiences inputs will help develop the next generation of supply chain professionals in this industry."