Dnata's 61,000 sqm Schiphol cargo hub suffered data-driven teething problems in its first month, and the handler now says automation rollouts must be phased rather than launched wholesale.

The Dubai-based ground handler opened the 61,000 sqm facility at Amsterdam Schiphol in July 2025 and immediately confronted operational issues across its interconnected systems, forcing the company to stabilise operations, migrate remaining volumes from the prior warehouse and rebuild KPI dashboards before performance returned to plan.

Speaking at the Aviation Connect event in Athens, dnata chief cargo officer Guillaume Crozier named ramp-up of volumes, systems and people, along with limited data visibility, as the central pain points of the move.

What went wrong during the ramp-up?

The highly automated complex combines automated storage and retrieval, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), elevated transfer vehicles (ETVs), smart gates, weight and dimension systems, forklift guidance systems and truck management systems. Moving that stack into live service exposed data-flow gaps that the handler had to close before throughput stabilised.

Crozier tied recovery to four levers: stabilising operations, transferring all volumes from the previous facility, deploying data and dashboards to drive decisions, and codifying KPIs across the end-to-end chain.

Why does Crozier now favour staged automation?

On lessons learnt, the executive argued that bundling automation and new technology into a single go-live invites risk. "It sounds right in terms of planning," he said.

"It will be a big leap, so to have all of that together, it makes sense. As it is an end-to-end process, you think end to end – if you start automating one thing, you want to cover it throughout the process. Reflecting on the situation, maybe not always. [Management of the] pace of innovation you are delivering, especially when it is something that has not been seen in the market, is potentially better."

The handler now wants operational readiness proven through simulation before systems go live, data available from day one, governance frameworks locked in early and stakeholder alignment treated as a design constraint rather than a post-launch task.

Which technologies drew the most caution?

AGVs drew particular attention. Crozier urged operators deploying fleets of driverless tugs to map vehicle flows across the warehouse before commissioning, given how AGV paths interact with manual forklift routes, dock doors and staging zones.

The exec also flagged timeline design. dnata is now codifying buffer time for unexpected setbacks in future automation projects, rather than treating each delivery date as fixed.

How is the facility performing now?

The Schiphol complex is "ticking nicely" with positive feedback from local cargo customers, Crozier said, though he did not disclose current throughput or tonnage figures. The handler is now sharing those learnings across its wider ground-handling network as peers in Europe and the Gulf weigh similar investments.

Crozier also pointed to a structural pressure driving the automation push: recruitment across ground handling has tightened, making robotised storage and vehicle flows a commercial necessity rather than a productivity upgrade.

What does this mean for shippers and forwarders?

Cargo customers routing through Schiphol should see more predictable dwell times as the data and KPI work matures, while forwarders weighing tenders at automated hubs elsewhere will watch whether dnata's phased playbook becomes an industry template. Expect handlers planning greenfield cargo terminals to demand longer commissioning windows and clearer data-governance clauses from systems integrators as automation density rises.