Barrett Distribution Centers, a leading national third-party logistics provider, today announced an expanded partnership with UNIT AI to deploy UNIT's new Networked Physical AI Platform across its operations beginning in 2027.

The deployment marks the next phase of Barrett's warehouse automation strategy. UNIT's platform will connect inventory, fulfillment and returns across Barrett's network, helping improve capacity use, inventory placement and responsiveness to demand.

"The continued growth of eCommerce requires a structural realignment across supply chains," said Tim Barrett, CEO of Barrett. "Expanding our partnership with UNIT will give us the ability to intelligently coordinate inventory, fulfillment and returns across our network while creating new opportunities to improve efficiency, inventory utilization and customer service."

Unlike traditional warehouse automation systems designed to operate within a single facility, UNIT's Networked Physical AI Platform connects operations across multiple warehouse locations. Its initial capabilities include distributed inventory placement, intelligent fulfillment orchestration, network-wide inventory visibility and decentralized returns processing.

"The first wave of warehouse automation focused on making individual facilities more efficient," said Avihou Barkay, co-founder and chief business officer at UNIT. "Our expanded partnership with Barrett represents the next phase: connecting facilities so inventory, fulfillment and returns can be intelligently orchestrated across an entire network and near points of consumption. Barrett has the scale, operational expertise and customer reach to demonstrate what physical AI can unlock for the broader logistics industry."

The platform is delivered through UNIT's flexible Warehouse-as-a-Service model, allowing Barrett to introduce and scale AI-powered robotics without the significant upfront costs, operational complexity or lengthy implementation timelines typically associated with warehouse automation.

The expanded partnership builds on Barrett's continued investment in technology designed to provide its customers with more flexible, efficient and responsive logistics operations. It also reflects the companies' shared vision for moving warehouse automation beyond individual facilities and creating intelligent networks that can dynamically coordinate activity across the supply chain.