Nestlé SA and XPO Logistics Inc. will jointly create a 638,000-square-foot digital distribution center at a development site in Leicestershire, U.K.

XPO said June 18 that the facility, expected to be completed in 2020, will house Nestlé products and serve as a trial ground for the logistics firm's technology prototypes.

The distribution warehouse will have a digital ecosystem that uses predictive data and intelligent machines. It will feature advanced sorting systems and robotics, as well as technology co-developed with logistics automation by Swisslog Holding AG, owned by China-based Midea Group Co. Ltd.'s KUKA AG.

The logistics firm added that, together with the technology inside the warehouse, the facility's direct access to multiple ports and roadways will help Nestlé distribute its products more efficiently.