Developed by Yaskawa Academy, the MERIT Program prepares educational institutions to deliver the same robotics curriculum taught by Yaskawa's certified instructors. According to the academy, the program helps schools gain the knowledge, instructional resources and ongoing support needed to provide consistent, hands-on robotics training aligned manufacturing workforce needs.

According to the college, NTCC's partnership with Yaskawa was driven by increasing demand for automation training across Northeast Texas. Supported by grant funding and growing adoption of robotics among local manufacturers, the program creates a convenient training resource for companies looking to develop robotics talent closer to home.

"The combination of grant funding and advancements in local industries gave the push to partner Northeast Texas Community College with Yaskawa," said Kevin Frost, Director of Industrial Technology and Training at Northeast Texas Community College. "A large part of this partnership was Priefert Manufacturing and other local companies exploring robotic automation and wanting training close to home."

By offering YRC1000 training locally, NTCC provides manufacturers throughout Texas and neighboring states with greater access to robotics education while helping prepare the next generation of skilled automation professionals. Local companies such as Priefert Manufacturing and Diamond C Trailers can now benefit from nearby training opportunities, while students gain practical experience with industrial robotics that helps them stand out as they enter the workforce.

NTCC plans to expand both its course offerings and training capacity, with the long-term goal of providing additional YRC1000 courses, including Maintenance training, while serving more students and manufacturers across the region.

"The MERIT Program was created to make high-quality robotics education more accessible while maintaining the same standards and instructional excellence delivered through Yaskawa Academy," said Cole Goodrich, Yaskawa Academy MERIT Training Instructor. "NTCC's commitment to workforce development will help strengthen the region's manufacturing community by providing students and industry professionals with the
skills needed to succeed in today's increasingly automated facilities."

The iiQKA.OS2 operating system combines KUKA's system reliability with enhanced cybersecurity features designed for digital manufacturing environments. The KR C5-2 controller family combines robot control with advanced security and connectivity features. 

"Cybersecurity has become a fundamental requirement for modern manufacturing," said Ed Volcic, Regional Technology Officer for North America at KUKA Robotics Corporation. "With Security Level 2 certification, we now provide customers with automation solutions that not only deliver productivity and performance but also help protect their operations against evolving cyber threats as well."

IEC 62443 is an internationally recognized series of standards addressing cybersecurity for industrial automation and control systems. IEC 62443-4-2 defines technical security requirements for industrial automation and control system components. Security Level 2 certification verifies that products meet defined technical security requirements designed to protect against intentional cybersecurity threats from attackers with limited resources and technical expertise.

The certification supports manufacturers across industries including automotive, aerospace, electronics, logistics and general manufacturing that require secure automation platforms capable of meeting both operational and cybersecurity objectives.

In April 2028, over 1,100 exhibitors will showcase their solutions on the Modex show floor totaling 630,000 square feet of manufacturing and supply chain solutions.

Modex exhibits will represent all segments of materials handling, transportation and supply chain solutions, from traditional, manual equipment to computerized, automated systems. Modex 2028 exhibits will fill all three halls of the Georgia World Congress Center including solutions for:

• AI, Automation & Robotics

• Humanoid and Polyfunctional Robotics

• Fulfillment, Workforce & Labor

• Manufacturing, Planning & Sourcing

• Emerging Supply Chain Technology

• Data Capture, Analytics & Information Management

• Transportation, Distribution & Warehousing

• Last Mile Logistics

• Sustainability & Risk Management

Modex 2028 will also feature a comprehensive educational conference including keynotes and show floor educational seminars led by industry experts and leading authorities.

The deadline to participate in the Modex Exhibit Space Draw is November 20, 2026. The Space Draw will be the first opportunity for organizations to secure exhibit space at this event.

Modex West Coming to Las Vegas October 2028

MHI is expanding its reach with the creation of a new exhibition in Las Vegas in 2028—Modex West. The new trade show will debut October 18-20, 2028, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  The Space Draw for this event will be held in February 2027.

For more information on exhibiting or attending Modex 2028 or Modex West, visit modexshow.com.

From lift trucks and autonomous mobile robots to ergonomics, workforce training and emerging safety technologies, organizations are adopting new approaches to protect employees while enhancing operational performance.

In this exclusive, one-on-one webinar, we will discuss the latest trends shaping warehouse and DC safety, including ergonomics, workforce training, emerging technologies and practical strategies for reducing risk and strengthening safety culture.

Attendees will gain valuable insights into best practices and proven approaches that help create safer workplaces while improving productivity, employee well-being and operational excellence.

The company has appointed Kristian Hulgard as Executive Sales Director for the U.S.. An experienced business builder with a strong track record of establishing and scaling commercial operations in the automation industry, Hulgard will lead MotionTech’s U.S. business from the Dallas–Fort Worth area and drive the company’s next phase of growth in the region.

According to the company, the initial focus of the U.S. launch is bringing MotionTech’s end-of-line packaging, storage systems, and conveying solutions to American customers, building on the automation, and material-handling solutions that have made the group a trusted partner across Europe. Over time, MotionTech intends to build out a full commercial and service presence to support customers throughout their automation journey.

MotionTech has completed more than 30 installations for U.S. customers, including for large warehouse automation partners Dematic and Knapp, in recent years.

“Customers have repeatedly asked for a dedicated local point of contact for both sales and service,” said Louise Ringström Grandinson, CEO, MotionTech. “Hulgard’s appointment lays that groundwork as MotionTech positions itself to serve a US automation market set for substantial growth in the coming years.”

“The US represents an enormous opportunity,” said Hulgard. “I’m excited to build something meaningful here from the ground up. American manufacturers and distributors are investing heavily in automation to stay competitive, and MotionTech brings exactly the kind of proven, high-quality technology they’re looking for. My focus from day one will be on getting our products in front of the right customers, build up a distribution network, and establish MotionTech as a serious partner in this market.”

With Hulgard at the helm, MotionTech’s U.S. operations will begin ramping up immediately. “We are delighted to have Kristian leading this effort,” added Grandinson. “His experience building commercial operations and the combined strengths of our different technologies, gives us real confidence as we enter one of the world’s most dynamic markets. Dallas–Fort Worth gives us an excellent foundation from which to serve customers across North America, and this launch reflects our long-term commitment to making motion smarter for businesses around the world.” 

Think about everything that’s changed during the past two decades. We’ve watched warehouse automation skyrocket, software become infinitely more sophisticated, robotics move onto the warehouse floor, and fulfillment operations achieve levels of speed, accuracy and visibility that would have been difficult to imagine back in 2004.

And yet, through all that innovation, reverse logistics has somehow remained a massive question mark—dare I say, a black hole in an otherwise increasingly sophisticated supply chain. And it’s an expensive phenomenon, continuing to cost companies millions upon millions in lost revenue and profit.

If anything, the problem has only gotten bigger as e-commerce and increasingly liberal return policies—we all love free returns—have fundamentally changed consumer expectations and the sheer scale of the challenge.

Well, this month, editor at large Bridget McCrea takes a deep dive, offering some practical steps warehouse and DC operations can take to finally get a better handle on the returns conundrum.

The numbers she uncovers should certainly catch your attention. According to research McCrea cites, U.S. retailers took back nearly $850 billion in merchandise last year—double the 2020 total. The average return rate now stands at 16% overall, while online purchases average a whopping 25%, compared with about 9% for merchandise purchased in stores.

Of course, all of that merchandise has to go somewhere, right? 

Eventually, much of it winds up back inside the warehouse or DC, where someone has to receive it, inspect it and determine what happens next. Can it immediately go back into inventory? Does it need to be repackaged or repaired? Should it be routed somewhere else? Or has its value fallen to the point where processing it further simply doesn’t make economic sense?

And, that uncertainty is really at the heart of the returns challenge.

“The good news is that companies are getting smarter about attacking the problem,” says McCrea. “They’re examining the true cost of a return, not just the transportation expense, and they’re bringing greater visibility and automation to a process that remains surprisingly dependent on manual handoffs—so we’re seeing progress.”

Perhaps most importantly, McCrea says operations are beginning to look at returned merchandise differently. “A perfectly good product sitting in a bin at the back of a DC isn’t just a returns problem,” she adds. “It’s inventory—and potentially revenue—that’s effectively trapped outside the normal flow of the supply chain.”

Indeed, the faster an operation can inspect that product, make a disposition decision and get it back to a location where someone wants to buy it, the faster it can recover some of that value. 

After 22 years, I’m certainly not prepared to declare that we’ve finally solved the returns problem. But maybe we’re finally getting better at shining some light into that black hole. 

Frequent product changeovers and inconsistent product orientation also slowed production, making it harder to keep pace with demand while maintaining efficiency.

Instead of adding more labor, the company invested in automation. Working with an integrator (Delkor Systems), Mrs. Gerry’s installed a fully automated packaging and palletizing line (FANUC) with robots. The system automates product orientation, case packing, case forming, sealing and palletizing, creating a continuous flow from the spiral chiller to finished pallets.

The new line delivered immediate results. Labor requirements dropped from 12 employees to two or three, while the automated system now supports production of approximately 36 million pounds of product each year. Just as important, the company reached full production within 10 days of installation, minimizing downtime during the transition.

Beyond reducing labor, the automated line created a more consistent packaging process. Products now move through case packing and palletizing in a continuous flow, reducing manual handling while making it easier to maintain throughput throughout the day. The automated system also gives Mrs. Gerry’s the flexibility to respond to changing customer orders without slowing production.

“We needed to have this project up and running in 10 days,” says Stuart Ness, director of IT and project management at Mrs. Gerry’s.

Automation also solved one of the company’s biggest day-to-day challenges: frequent product changeovers. Because Mrs. Gerry’s packages a variety of refrigerated salads in multiple bag sizes, production schedules often require switching between products several times a day. 

The new system was designed to handle those changes quickly, allowing the company to keep production moving as customer demand shifts.

“We’ll sometimes go from a 2-pound bag to a 5-pound bag in order to meet customer demand,” Ness says. “The Delkor line doesn’t ever hold us up.” The speed of the installation proved to be another productivity gain. Rather than spending weeks bringing the new line online, Mrs. Gerry’s replaced its manual packaging process and reached full production in less than two weeks.

“One of the smoothest installs we ever went through,” Ness adds. “We went from our hand-packed line to the fully automated line in about a week. Not at 50% capacity, but at full capacity within 10 days.”

For Mrs. Gerry’s, the project wasn’t simply about reducing labor. It also created a packaging operation that could handle frequent product changes, maintain throughput and get up to speed quickly after installation, giving the company room to grow without adding people to the line. 

Title: Senior vertical strategy director; vice chair, MHI AS/RS Industry Group

Location: Georgetown, Ky.

Experience: More than 20 years in warehouse automation and materials handling, working with automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) across retail, manufacturing and distribution.

Modern: AS/RS has been around for decades. What’s actually changing today? 

Lockhart: The biggest shift is that companies are looking for more flexibility. Traditional AS/RS isn’t going away, but there are many more options than before, including shuttle systems and autonomous mobile robot (AMR)-based approaches that adapt more easily as business needs change.

Customers are asking how a system will grow with them instead of simply asking how much inventory it can store. That flexibility has become much more important because business demand isn’t as predictable as it once was.

Modern: What’s the biggest mistake companies make when investing in AS/RS?

Lockhart: One mistake is assuming the automation alone will solve the problem. You need the right business model and the right operating strategy behind it.

I also see companies install an automated system but continue running the operation as if it’s still manual. You have to change the way you work to get the full value from the investment. If you don’t make that mindset shift, you’re probably not going to achieve the results you expected.

Modern: How should companies think about return on investment with these systems?

Lockhart: First, make sure you’ve chosen the right system. A great ROI model doesn’t matter if the automation isn’t the right fit for your operation.

After that, companies need to make sure they’re accounting for everything. Faster operator training, productivity improvements and process efficiencies all have value, but they aren’t always included in traditional ROI calculations. Every business measures those things a little differently, so the numbers shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all.

Modern: Many warehouses are still struggling with labor shortages. Is today’s AS/RS conversation more about labor or space?

Lockhart: It’s really both. Space is always important, but staffing remains a challenge for almost everyone. Companies continue looking for ways to automate repetitive, difficult jobs while making better use of the people they have.

The goal isn’t to automate everything. It’s to automate the tasks that are hard to staff or don’t add much value, allowing employees to focus on work where people make the biggest difference.

Modern: Are companies overbuilding AS/RS today, or are they still being too conservative?

Lockhart: We saw some overbuilding during the pandemic, especially when everyone assumed e-commerce growth would continue at the same pace. Some companies built for demand that never fully materialized once shoppers returned to stores.

Today, I think companies are taking a more balanced approach. They’re not designing facilities just for today’s business, but they’re also not trying to predict every possible scenario 10 years from now. The goal is to leave room for growth while avoiding investments that may never be needed. It’s about building enough flexibility into the system so it can expand as the business evolves.

Modern: What automation trend are you watching most closely?

Lockhart: Software orchestration is becoming a much bigger part of the conversation. Most warehouses don’t buy everything from a single supplier, so companies want software that can integrate all those different systems and manage the operation as a whole.

There’s also been a reality check around technologies like humanoid robots. They’re interesting, but most companies today are focused on practical automation that delivers value now while keeping enough flexibility to adapt as their business changes.

Take incomplete picking tasks, for example. In the past, when a robot arrived at a location that didn’t have enough inventory to complete the pick, it would skip that item. The GEODIS team then had to determine what hadn’t been picked, find the original task and release it back to the floor.

GEODIS worked with a supplier (Vecna Robotics) to completely overhaul that process. Now, after a robot skips an item for the second time and takes the pallet to staging, the system separates the unpicked product into a new task. The third-party logistics provider (3PL) can then assign that task to another robot or to an employee who can complete the pick and move the order to staging.

That change gives warehouse managers a better way to identify unfinished tasks and release them when inventory becomes available. “It made our workflow and our management of that a little easier for the leadership,” says Steve Elsbury, senior operations manager. “That workflow is smoother now, and they don’t have to try to dig for and find tasks to complete them. It’s much easier for them.”

A global 3PL with a regional footprint

With North American headquarters in Brentwood, Tenn., GEODIS handles freight forwarding, contract logistics, distribution, express delivery and road transportation. Based in France, the 3PL operates more than 1,000 sites, employs about 50,000 people and serves customers in 166 countries. 

With roughly 118 million square feet of warehouse space, GEODIS serves retailers and companies in the consumer goods, automotive, aerospace, healthcare, high-tech and industrial sectors. 

The company’s roots reach back more than a century, and today GEODIS is wholly owned by SNCF, France’s national railway company. It also has a visible presence in Middle Tennessee, where it employs more than 2,000 people and holds the naming rights to GEODIS Park, the 30,000-seat home of Major League Soccer club Nashville SC.

From a soccer stadium in Nashville, this story shifts to a very different kind of operation at GEODIS’ Plainfield, Ind., facility. Dedicated to a single pet products customer, the facility ships litter boxes, pet toys and similar products to independent retailers and big box stores. About 75% of its volume moves through case picking, with inner-pack and full-pallet picking making up the rest.

That case-picking volume increased sharply during the pandemic, when pet product demand surged and GEODIS went from running two shifts (with nine electric pallet jacks per shift) to operating three shifts around the clock. At 100% performance, manual electric pallet jack (EPJ) picking could only get a certain amount of volume through the facility. 

“We saw robotic picking as a way to get more throughput through the building,” says Elsbury.

Taking the driving out of picking

GEODIS was already using collaborative robots for each picking, with employees picking individual products for smaller and e-commerce orders. The 3PL had also worked with Vecna Robotics on a 2019 point-to-point pallet-shuttling application that moved products within its facilities.

Now the 3PL needed to apply that experience to case picking. The Plainfield facility was the perfect setting for the same human-in-the-loop approach to a high-volume case-picking operation. There, GEODIS employees were picking large numbers of cases to pallets for shipment by truckload or less-than-truckload (LTL) to retailers and other distribution centers.

“We already knew that we wanted to do case picking here,” says Andy Johnston, senior director of design engineering and innovation, “so that became the next evolution for using collaborative robotics.”

To kick the project off, GEODIS and Vecna collaborated on how the same autonomous pallet jack (APJ) used for point-to-point transport could travel through the aisles while an employee picked cases directly to it. Employees would still handle the picking, but the robots would handle the driving and take the completed pallets to staging. That would also reduce the amount of training required for new employees. With EPJs, employees had to learn the warehouse management system, how to drive the equipment, the facility’s pick pattern and where to stage completed pallets.

Product staging was another area where GEODIS needed help. Employees were spending too much time on the dock looking for pallets left in the wrong locations. Now, the robots take completed pallets to their assigned staging areas and request help when they can’t access one.

“If the Vecna robot says it’s going to take a pallet to staging location 35, it will stage it in that location,” says Elsbury. “And if for some reason it can’t, the robot will let you know that it needs some assistance to get it to another location.”

The robots would also help GEODIS handle more volume with fewer shifts and reduce the supervisory coverage required for a three-shift operation. They would make the picking process easier for new employees to learn, eliminating much of the equipment, pick-path and staging training they previously needed to get up to speed and work efficiently.

It was a team lift 

Turnkey systems come with obvious advantages. 

They’re prebuilt, tested and ready to put into use. But getting in on the ground floor with a manufacturer can produce something tailored to a specific operation before it becomes available across the vendor’s broader customer base. 

That’s exactly what happened here, starting when GEODIS approached Vecna about expanding the autonomous pallet jack beyond point-to-point transport and using it for case picking. Vecna didn’t yet offer that application as a standard product, so the two companies joined forces and developed it together.

For the initial test, Johnston worked with two Vecna employees to create paper pick tasks. Operators drove the trucks as though they were autonomous, while Johnston and the Vecna team completed the picks themselves. They recorded how long each task took without the travel time required to drive an EPJ through the facility. The results gave both companies enough evidence to keep going.

Once the potential increase in units per hour became obvious, the focus shifted to the technology and integration needed to support it. “We were truly simulating the system in the facility to see if it would work,” Johnston says. “When we got the units-per-hour (UPH) results, we knew that if we could get the technology and the integration completed, we’d see a pretty significant improvement in picker UPH.”

For their next act, GEODIS and Vecna looked at how the robots would communicate with the warehouse control system (WCS) and, ultimately, the warehouse management system (WMS). 

They defined what information each task would include, where the robot needed to go and what it needed to pick. They also developed a formula for dividing orders into individual pallet-level tasks (since each robot handles one pallet at a time).

The two companies also had to determine how completed pallets would reach the correct staging lanes. Rather than sending every pallet to one location for later distribution, the system directs each robot to the staging lane assigned to that order. That required hours of calls and site visits to build the integration around the way GEODIS needed the operation to run.

The end result was an application developed around the needs of the Plainfield operation, with the potential to support similar case-picking applications across Vecna’s customer base.

Making room for the robots

As a pilot site, GEODIS’ Plainfield DC played an important role in mapping out exactly how the system would operate in an active fulfillment environment. Elsbury says a few aspects of the original setup were adjusted based on input from the safety team and the products moving through the building.

For example, the robots couldn’t extend past the racking into the aisles, and the facility had to remove end-cap areas where employees had staged empty cartons and other discarded materials. The team also had to find places for the license-plate placards and tape guns that pickers use without blocking the sensors that guide the robots.

Vecna mapped the facility by driving through each aisle and staging lane and the Vecna system did not require a separate wireless system for the robots. 

“One of the other things that I liked about it is when they did the mapping, they drove up and down all the aisles and all the staging lanes one time,” Elsbury explains. “So, there’s no maintenance for us to maintain a separate wireless network. 

From order release to final staging 

With the facility preparation complete, attention shifted to the order flow. The WMS receives the orders and runs them through a wave template that sends the work to the WCS. Tasks are separated by type, with those assigned to the AMRs sent through the WCS to Vecna’s orchestration engine. The system assigns each task to a robot and determines the order of completion.

Robots begin at their home locations and travel to the induction area, where an employee attaches the order placard and loads the required pallet type (for example, CHEP, plastic or A-grade pallet). The next day’s orders are released at once, and Vecna’s software dispatches the robots to pickers before directing each completed pallet to its assigned staging lane. 

“We release all of tomorrow’s work to Vecna and let their orchestration engine do the magic to get those picks completed,” Elsbury says.

Pickers use the robot’s user interface to complete each task. The screen walks them through the pick and provides buttons for exceptions, including skipped or short picks. That eliminates the need to memorize the WMS key functions employees previously used while driving EPJs. “The system tells them what to do every step of the way,” Elsbury says. “That makes it much easier to get employees up to speed on picking with the robots.”

Supervisors still plan the dock before each shift, particularly when manual and robot-picked pallets share the same staging areas. They assign the required manual and robot staging lanes before releasing the work. From there, the AMRs take each pallet to the location specified in the task.

Fine-tuning the live system

Once the robots were running on the floor, GEODIS realized its supervisors needed faster access to work-in-progress data. “When we first went live, we didn’t have the user dashboards and information availability that we needed,” says Johnston. “Everything that we were getting was 24 hours old.”

Supervisors and task managers needed real-time visibility once they released orders to the robotic picking system. They had to know what was happening on the floor, including what had been picked, what remained and how the operation was progressing against the day’s plan. 

The reporting capabilities were there, but GEODIS needed the information sooner. Using feedback from Johnston and the operations team, Vecna improved the dashboards, which now provide real-time views of robot locations, order status and daily progress.

The system also tracks productivity at the team and individual levels, giving managers the data they need for performance bonuses and coaching. “This is vital information for the operations team to have in real time to manage the workflow of the facility,” says Johnston. “The reporting was a challenge at the beginning, but the dashboard has since become a very useful tool.”

Doubling throughput and improving safety

With the new solution in place, productivity increased around 85% on average with certain days achieving a 150% performance improvement. 

“We’re picking twice as much as we did on manual EPJs,” Elsbury says. New pickers working with the robots typically start at a performance level 200%, compared with the previous setup. Their training starts with the robot system itself, versus requiring employees to first learn how to drive the equipment, navigate the facility and use the WMS interface.

The added throughput allowed GEODIS to drop back down to two daily shifts and reduce the average number of daily pickers. The company gave employees new opportunities in other areas of the Indianapolis campus or nearby GEODIS facilities.

Safety gains rounded out the results. Incidents involving powered industrial equipment dropped from seven in 2022 to just two over the following 24 months. “Along with everything else, the new setup increased the safety of our teammates on the floor,” Elsbury says. “That’s important to us.”

Looking ahead, Johnston says GEODIS will continue using automation to increase throughput, ease labor constraints and make jobs easier for employees. 

“A lot of what we’re doing right now revolves around AI,” he says. “How do we use this tool that’s evolving at breakneck speed to improve our operations and make the technology even better? I think those are the interesting things to come, especially for our industry.”  

To begin, the whole matter of finding, training and retaining talent is slippery at best. On a good day, some people go home feeling that they accomplished more than just getting paid. On a bad day, good people give notice that their time within your four walls is over. 

This story is about what options you have (but may not yet realize you have) to send more people home satisfied more often. 

Setting a base line

In the big picture, warehouse and manufacturing managers feel that they have at least six significant workforce challenges. Surely, you will relate to one or more of these:

• Difficulty attracting talent (41%),
• Labor shortages (36%),
• Skills gaps (35%),
• Aging workforce (33%),
• High turnover rates (30%), and
• Rising labor costs (25%).

That assessment is from a survey by Modern’s sibling publication SupplyChain 24/7, produced by Peerless Research Group (PRG), of manufacturing and warehousing managers earlier this year. 

And they identified the following six strategies for attracting and retaining talent.

• Flexible work arrangements  (56%),
• Increased wages/benefits (45%),
• Career development programs (39%),
• Partnerships with educational institutions (23%), 
• Use of contingent/gig labor (14%), and
• Employer branding initiatives (11%). 

So, the question becomes: How successful are these efforts?

Not very. Believe it or not, the majority (51%) of managers are neutral about their efforts on workforce development. Meanwhile, just 32% think they are effective. The remaining 17% call their efforts ineffective or very ineffective.  

That’s not exactly an A+ report card. Please do remember only 39% say they even have workforce development programs in place. The story becomes even more bleak when SupplyChain 24/7 asked managers about their formal efforts to upskill/reskill people for the automation and digital changes sure to be in their future.

Believe it or not, 47% say no such programs exist with 14% saying they are in the planning stages of the process. Less than 40% of managers say they have programs in place. Just 6% of managers say they have fully implemented programs. A casual observer might call that last number pitiful. 

Looking to the future, people are not exactly brimming with confidence either. In fact, 73% of respondents are moderately, slightly or not at all confident in their company’s ability to meet future workforce needs. 

Time to get busy. 

Benchmarking your efforts

Unfortunately for those 73%, people talk. 

Like it or not, your company is not on an island. Worse yet, you not only have to satisfy your current workforce, but also compete to be an employer of choice in your geographic area at the very least. 

Word of mouth is not the only way current and prospective employees communicate about and benchmark their employers. In March, Where You Work Matters published its first ranking of 1,750 companies on their workforce development efforts across 55,000 job categories. 

The list is “a critical contribution in understanding which companies in America are best creating opportunities for workers. Transparent information around how companies pay, promote and retain their workforce on a role-by-role basis will enable a better marketplace in America.” Sounds like a powerful benchmarking tool for any workforce development program.  

That’s according to Howard Schultz (yes, Starbucks’ Howard Schultz) co-founder of the Schultz Family Foundation and sponsor of the list along with The Burning Glass Institute.

One other note on the Schultz Family Foundation, which Howard founded with his wife Sheri. Its core mission is to enable “the next generation of Americans to achieve economic mobility through opportunities to learn, grow and earn.”  

Can’t get much more workforce development centric than that. Might not even be a bad starting place for those of you whose companies lack formal programs today. 

Clearly, Where You Work Matters is a massive program. 

It’s built on a foundation from the American Opportunity Index, which first published its ratings four years ago. The ratings are based on “hundreds of millions of data points from 12 million American workers about their career progression and compensation on sites such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor and dozens of other places where workers share career information,” reports The List, as it refers to itself. None of the data is based on employee surveys or company self-reporting. 

Top-performing companies are recognized with Gold and Platinum badges “for their across-the-board performance in creating strong early-career, growth and stability jobs.” Is yours in that elite grouping?

The List was specifically designed “to fill a key void in the marketplace: to equip employers with new data to help them benchmark and celebrate their success in building talent, and flag areas for improvement.”  

And while Where You Work Matters goes far beyond your four walls, it is fully aligned to your own workforce development efforts. “The List is rooted in a fundamental belief that when employers invest in unlocking the full potential of their workers, it’s not just workers who do better. Businesses do better.” Tough to argue with that. 

Standard skills development

While everyone is aware of the pace of technological change these days, that doesn’t mean everyone is keeping pace. Sometimes people have an interest but don’t know where to get help. Fortunately, there is no shortage of opportunities out there. Here are some worth considering. 

To begin, there is a strong slate of shows and conferences from a range of industry and professional associations. 

Probably the best-known shows are Modex and ProMat, both sponsored by MHI. There’s also Automate put on by the association known as A3. All three feature exhibits with working equipment as well as numerous conference learning sessions. These events attract 50,000 plus attendees looking to expand their understanding of what’s new to improve their operations’ productivity as well as develop new skills to advance their careers.

The conference circuit also includes WERC (Warehousing Education and Research Council) and ASCM (Association for Supply Chain Management). Both hold stand-alone conferences with a heavy emphasis on developing new career skills. They also both offer certification programs—separate from those annual conference events. 

The dominant one here is from ASCM, which claims more than 175,000 certified professionals worldwide. Offerings include certificates in technology, planning and warehousing. 

AI and automation skills development

One of the greatest gaps in workforce development is artificial intelligence. While Wall Street is all on fire with AI, the manufacturing floor is not nearly as immersed in the technology. 

In fact, the Manufacturing Institute says that 82% of its member companies report their employees lack the skills to leverage AI effectively. And only 13% of frontline supervisors today use AI in any capacity. 

To help bridge that gap, Google has stepped in. In the spring, Google announced a $10 million fund for the Manufacturing Institute to develop AI skills training programs for manufacturing workers. The Manufacturing Institute is a workforce development affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers. 

According to Maggie Johnson, Google.org global head, “the initiative is part of Google.org’s AI Opportunity Fund that helps Americans learn AI skills at no cost in collaboration with workforce development and education organizations across the country.” 

Two new courses will be developed initially. One will be focused on use of AI on the manufacturing floor. The other on use of AI for advanced manufacturing technicians. 

Automation techs are the focus of certifications from MSSC (Manufacturing Skill Standards Council), according to Steve Harrington, workforce development strategist. He explains that MSSC has created three certifications: equipment maintenance, equipment repair and network repair. 

The three, explains Harrington, are the result of nearly a decade-long development program at MSSC focused on techs who install, operate, support upgrade or maintain automated materials handling equipment and systems. 

Course work includes mastering 100 hands-on skills using what is called a Skill Boss Logistics Device, a unique, bench-sized automated sortation system from Amatrol. 

While the program is relatively new, it has already issued nearly 900 certificates for equipment maintenance, 600 for equipment repair and 200 for network repair. All three certificates have been awarded to nearly 150 techs. 

Harrington explains that Target continues to be a leading user of the certifications program across 40 warehousing sites. In fact, about a third of all those receiving all three are at the retailer. 

One more option

Going back to that SupplyChain 24/7 survey, managers were asked what technologies are most critical to their operations. While warehouse management systems led the pack, labor management systems (LMS) were at the back with only 25% of respondents considering them critical. 

“This is a missed opportunity to maximize workforce development,” says Dwight Klappich, principal at independent advisory firm DKAdvascent and a 25-year Gartner veteran. 

Why?

“Managers need to make their facilities better places to work,” says Klappich. “Getting there requires less stick and more carrot. Where in the past LMS was used punitively to rank employees looking to identify poor performers (the stick), LMS could can be a much more important tool than it has been.” 

Today, high functioning organizations use LMS as learning tools to identify performance gaps to then help  coach their employees to greater levels of performance (the carrot). “This where you have new opportunities to leverage LMS technology to improve labor even in places where it might not have fit in the past,” says Klappich.

He continues to explain that it is in everyone’s best interest to bring labor management philosophies, not just tools, into the four walls of warehousing, distribution and manufacturing. “Make it more of a white collar world to improve employee engagement, reduce turnover and add productivity,” Klappich adds. 

For example, he says, “we see companies now looking across a company’s network of warehouses. Individually, these facilities might have had fewer employees individually than might have justified an LMS in the past. But when considered collectively across several locations, the insights that LMS provides are very valuable to the organization as a whole.”

In the December issue, the final installment of this workforce development series will focus on just those opportunities. 

So, don’t be surprised if you receive a survey from Modern this fall asking you about the future role of LMS in workforce development. 

Until then, happy hiring, training, reskilling and promoting that workforce of yours. Many are depending on your success.  

They’re also part of the cost of doing business in a world where a certain large online retailer still offers free, easy returns on most purchases. Matching that standard hasn’t been easy, but the lessons learned, plus a fair share of bumps and bruises, are helping companies speed up the returns process, cut costs and make it all somewhat less painful.

“Amazon has trained the consumer to expect free returns,” says Colin McAleenan, vice president of marketing and business development at Hai Robotics. “After eight to 10 years, customers may go elsewhere if you’re not offering that. The question becomes, just how far are you willing to extend that cost of doing business in the interest of customer satisfaction?”

That’s a question more companies are pondering as return rates continue to climb year over year. According to Capital One, U.S. retailers took back nearly $850 billion in merchandise last year, double the 2020 total. The average return rate is now 16% overall, with online purchases averaging 25% (compared with about 9% for merchandise bought in stores). 

Holiday returns run about 8% higher, adding another seasonal surge to the already expensive and labor-intensive returns management process. 

That flood of merchandise flows straight back into warehouses, where each item has to be received, inspected, reallocated, disposed of or sold through another channel. Returns are also an untapped sales channel that may wind up in bins at the back of the DC, waiting for someone to decide what to do with it. 

For every pair of Levi’s jeans returned because of a sizing issue (with no damage or wear), there’s a customer out there who’d buy them if they were in stock and ready to ship or grab off the store shelf.

“Returns are a big problem for retailers because there’s no single right way to handle them, and the first step is still highly labor-intensive,” says Kim Baudry, market development director at Dematic. “Someone still has to inspect every item and decide whether it can go back into inventory, needs repair or has to be repackaged.”

Carving a path to better returns management  

Reverse logistics may be a necessary evil in today’s selling environment, but all that returned merchandise doesn’t have to take over the warehouse, languish as it loses value or wind up in a landfill. 

Here are nine best practices you can use to get those goods processed, routed, disposed of properly or put back into the sales channel faster.

1. Look beyond the return label and calculate what each item really costs. Robyn Meyer, senior vice president of parcel strategy and solutions at Transportation Insight, tells companies to count the return freight, handling, processing, inventory loss and final disposition value before deciding where an item should go. 

“It’s not just the cost to come back,” Meyer says. For example, a product that cost $8 to ship out may cost more than $8 to bring back, then require another round of handling before it can be sold again. Damage, missing packaging or signs of use can cut its value even further.

Start by calculating the total cost for each product category, then compare that figure with the item’s remaining margin and resale value. From there, decide which carrier, service level and return location make the most financial sense. “Some goods may go back individually,” says Meyer, “while others can be consolidated through a partner or returned to a store.”

2. Choose the return route that makes sense for the product. Customers may print a label for a carrier pickup, drop the package at a UPS location or take it to a retail partner such as Kohl’s or OfficeMax. 

“Look at how each return option impacts the product’s margin before settling on a route,” says Meyer. Business intelligence (BI) tools can help answer some of those questions. 

Key questions to ask are: Where are we seeing the most returns? What’s driving those returns? Are there certain customers that drive the majority of them?

Use those answers to create different routes by product type, return reason and location. A high-value item can go directly to a third-party provider for inspection and refurbishment. Lower-value goods may be consolidated before shipment, while store returns may offer the least expensive option for customers who live nearby.

3. Use root cause analysis to head off the next return. As with anything in business, finding the root cause (in this case, what’s causing the return in the first place) can help stem the reverse product flow. Maybe the wrong item was picked, the inventory record was inaccurate or the product didn’t match its online description. Pinpoint those breakdowns, and you can fix them before the same problem generates another return.

Start by determining where fulfillment errors happen across the network, including DC picking, packing and store fulfillment. Then use scanning, verification software or automated picking systems to catch those mistakes before shipment. 

“The more automated the operation is,” says Baudry, “the less likely it is that inaccurate inventory will leave the building.”

4. Help them try it on first. Clothing sizing charts aren’t always accurate, colors look different on a screen and shoppers may order a few different sizes knowing some will have to go back. This presents a major returns challenge for apparel sellers. McAleenan says companies can tackle the problem upstream by helping customers make better choices before they buy.

“The question is, how do you stop people from buying multiple items in the first place?” he asks. “Or, how can you represent the article more accurately to reduce the chances that they order two and return one?” Artificial intelligence and augmented reality tools can help here. They let shoppers upload a photo and see how a dress, hat or other item may look on them. 

“Better product photos, more accurate color representation and detailed sizing information can also cut avoidable returns,” says McAleenan.

5. Keep returned merchandise from disappearing into the system. Outbound orders are tracked nearly every step of the way, but returns can disappear somewhere between the customer and the receiving dock. 

“Most teams can tell you exactly where an outbound package is at any moment,” says Travis Rimel, chief product officer at ShipStation Global, “but ask them where a returned item stands and you get a shrug.” Add disconnected systems, manual data entry and no consistent approval process, and you get “a recipe for lost inventory, slow refunds and a support team drowning in status update calls.”

Rimel says companies are responding by stopping the “just refund it” reflex and building returns into the customer journey. That starts with giving returned items the same visibility as outbound orders. “We’re seeing brands centralize returns data alongside their shipping data,” he explains, “so a return isn’t a mystery box that shows up on a dock somewhere.”

6. Automate the handoffs where returns get stuck. At most companies, the returns process works like this: Someone emails a label, someone else updates a spreadsheet and a third person tries to reconcile what came back. “That gap between ‘customer wants to return something’ and ‘warehouse has processed it’ is where money quietly leaks out,” says Rimel, “whether that’s staff hours, slower inventory recovery or refunds issued for items that never even shipped back.”

Automation can remove some of the manual grunt work from the process, from generating labels to updating return statuses to routing approvals. That way, teams don’t have to touch every request by hand. Companies are also using AI to predict which returns may be fraudulent or violate policy.  

7. Lay down the rules before returns arrive. Don’t wait for the returns to start piling up before setting your returns policy. Meyer recommends creating business rules that tell employees what happens next based on the item’s value, condition and return reason. 

“For an item under $20, it may make more sense to issue a returnless refund,” she says. “An item over $20 with its tags attached may go straight back into inventory, while one without tags may require a functional inspection.”

Embed those instructions right on the return label or in the portal so employees can direct the item to the right bin as soon as it arrives. “When it comes back into your DC, you can just throw it in bins, knowing exactly what you’re going to do with it,” Meyer says. And one final tip: Standardized return reason codes also give companies consistent data on sizing problems, damage, customer dissatisfaction and other causes.

8. Give returned inventory a better shot at being resold. Companies often divide returned goods evenly across the network or automatically send them back to their original location. Instead, look at where demand exists and route each item accordingly. For example, an item sitting untouched in one facility may sell quickly from another location. 

“If a product isn’t moving or it’s taking up valuable space in the DC, maybe it just doesn’t belong there,” says Baudry.

The point here is to stop treating every return the same. Look at what’s selling across your DCs, stores and fulfillment points, then send the item where it has the best chance of getting back into a customer’s hands. You can also use software to track inventory across the network and flag products that have been sitting too long.

9. Put pouch sorters on the returns job. Give those overhead conveyors another assignment: moving apparel returns back into inventory or straight to an open order. After an associate inspects and rebags an item, a conveyor drops it into a pouch that travels overhead to its next destination. 

“It can go right back to a packing station because that item was needed for an order,” says McAleenan.

The system can route the item back to an automated storage and retrieval system or another storage area. Because each pouch carries one item, returned apparel stays separated and identifiable as it travels through the DC. Place induction points near inspection stations, McAleenan recommends, then connect the pouch sorter to inventory and order data so sellable returns can be routed without another round of manual handling.

Today’s modern warehouse is quite often lacking that strict structure. With e-commerce booming and SKUs exploding, there’s a limit to what these traditional forms of automation can provide. They still require heavy labor involvement, especially as these unstructured environments throw plenty of curveballs. 

From misprinted or misplaced labels to pallet loads of mixed SKUs, the traditional machine vision tools can’t keep up without a human to run them and troubleshoot when trouble inevitably arrives. 

“Early vision systems were rules-based and narrow,” explains Jan Andreas Daske, senior director, global AI and industry intelligence lead at Swisslog. “It depended on older matching-based approaches and only achieved success on difficult items around 40% to 50% of the time.” 

If vision was going to keep up in the evolving, fast-paced and uncertain warehousing environment, it needed to change. With AI, it has, substantially. 

“The introduction of AI into vision systems has allowed for a transition from rules-based functionality and brought major improvements,” says John Mabe, product manager at Dematic. 

Integrators are now working with a range of verticals, in all sizes, to create vision systems that allow automation to accomplish tasks it couldn’t just a few years back. It can also reduce the need for labor, improve throughput, and cut down on errors. For the right environments, there’s never been a better time to consider an integrated vision system.

From identification to intelligence 

To best understand how modern vision systems can provide so many benefits, you must first understand how the list of demands on warehouses is ever growing. They’re managing more SKUs, greater packaging variation, shorter order cycles, and increasingly demanding throughput and service expectations, says James Drummond, business development manager, U.S., for AWL Automation. 

“Vision allows an automated system to accommodate changing conditions without requiring every item to be presented in a rigid, precisely controlled manner,” he adds. 

This makes vision well suited for many tasks, including robotic depalletizing, mixed-SKU palletizing, item picking, induction, sortation, product reorientation, identification, dimensioning and qualify verification, says Drummond. For those products that arrive with variability in the position, orientation, dimensions, packaging, pallet pattern or SKU mix, it can be a game changer. 

Step one is the identification process. Using sensors or cameras—or both—vision systems can identify clearly labeled boxes and cartons. It excels at doing this one thing under specific, known conditions, and the cameras are more sophisticated than ever. SICK is a provider of high-end cameras, from 2D to 3D and an AI-powered option that enables quality assurance, defect detection and sorting. Instead of requiring manual set up, users can solve applications quickly as the AI vision sensor uses examples to learn and improve. 

“We’re very broad in our offerings,” says Ryan Morris, market product manager for machine vision at SICK, “and that opens us up to a wide variety of applications.”

But the real magic happens with the addition of AI, which uses models, along with the cameras/sensors, to better recognize a wider range of products. With AI, it doesn’t stop with identification. Drummond says that AWL considers its role in warehouse automation as providing the systems with “hands and eyes.” 

“Vision gives the automation system the ability to interpret its environment, while robotics and materials handling equipment perform the physical work,” he says. “The greatest value comes from converting visual information into effective action.” 

According to Morris, SICK’s AI-enhanced cameras can identify components for the automotive industry, for instance, or shipping labels for verification. It can also use AI looking at produce or meats, classifying them as refrigerator or freezer. This ability to interpret what it sees is what makes the difference in simple vision identification, and real intelligence. And that’s what sets modern vision systems apart from traditional. 

A complete vision system today, according to Drummond, includes cameras or 3D sensors, lenses and optics, lighting, image-processing hardware, vision software, calibration tools, communications interfaces, and the application-specific algorithms to interpret the captured data. However, each component needs to perform and influence the performance of the others. 

“For example, the vision system may accurately identify a product, but the application will still fail if the end-of-arm tooling cannot grip it reliably, the robot cannot reach it without collision, or the surrounding conveyor system cannot maintain the required product flow,” he says. 

Daske adds that end users often consider vision a stand-alone technology, but that’s far from the case. “Vision alone is a sensor, and no KPI moves until it’s integrated into robotics and orchestration software,” he says. “If you’re selling vision as a stand-alone win, you’re only selling half the picture.” 

When put together, a complete, modern vision system plays well in areas like bin picking—when you need to get items off the shelf and into a box. An automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) might pick and deliver to packing, and here, vision and a robot grab the items and place them in the correct boxes. AI-enhanced cameras look at the images and determine where they need to go, all on its own. 

A vision system can also be a boon in returns. “You might have a dual gripper that picks up items of clothing, for instance, and the vision inspects them for defects and places them in the appropriate area,” says Julian Schaaf, fractional CMO at Eureka. 

The bottom line is that AI-enhanced vision systems are increasing the flexibility in warehouses. “Warehouses can make decisions on the fly and adapt to changing conditions,” says Mabe. “Over time, the systems make more informed decisions that can improve throughput.” 

Much of the cost gains from vision systems are in the engineering savings, according to Schaaf. “With AI, applications engineers who don’t have a vision history can now do it themselves, with a little help from an integrator like us,” he says. “That’s very new. We give them the software, and they can build it themselves.”

In a few years, Schaaf predicts automation engineers will be able to handle this entirely on their own, training AI models on what to pick and where to place it. “Going on a site and making sure a system works reliably takes a lot of engineering, and now you don’t need that,” he says. 

All that ease of use is opening the market to smaller companies than in the past. At larger companies, the gains come in moving people off the tasks on a warehouse floor. If a system costs $200,000, as an example, and the company runs two shifts, the system pays for itself within two years. 

When vision makes sense, and when it doesn’t 

As transformative as AI-enhanced vision systems are, they’re not something to jump into without ensuring you have the need. Even then, from planning to full implementation, you may be looking at three to six months to get everything in place to launch. 

“You have to do your due diligence,” says Mabe. “Understand your operation and identify the problem you need to solve. Work with an integrator to understand your issues, your order throughput, your bottlenecks and variability. Start small and don’t throw vision at everything.” 

There’s also the fact that integrated vision systems may be overkill for many warehouses. “If you’ve got a simple, repetitive process—like food and beverage, for instance—you can stick with the algorithm,” says Daske. “But there’s still an application here for AI.”

In those cases, where a complete vision system is unnecessary, you can still use AI with your hardware. You can train AI to monitor your automation hardware, looking for exceptions to things like vibration and alerting you to potential breakdowns. In this way, AI serves as predictive maintenance and still leads to business improvements. 

"Still, the highest value exists in cases where variability requires human judgment,” says Daske. “Tasks like mixed-SKU picking, put-away/induction, quality and exception checks.” 

Variability alone does not determine whether vision is the right solution, however, according to Drummond. “A proper assessment should also consider required throughput, product characteristics, packaging quality, lighting and environmental conditions, the frequency of exceptions, available product data, changeover requirements, labor availability, and the financial impact of downtime or manual intervention,” he says. 

Another potential pitfall: Don’t look at vision systems with a siloed approach. “It’s not ‘vision plus robotics bolted together,’” says Daske. “It’s one integrated decision system.” 

Looking forward, expect the vision evolution to continue. As with all forms of AI, vision systems will continuously learn as they go. Daske expects a future where intent-based AI agents sit on top of proven, rules-based logic, make it more accessible and adaptive, without replacing it. 

He also expects to see manufacturing grade robotic cell conventions increasingly migrating into logistics environments, raising the precision and reliability standards. 

With AI serving as the game changer, warehouses now have a simplified model of vision systems at hand, and that’s only going to improve. 

“Instead of needing engineers or complex programming, AI fills in the gaps,” says Schaaf. “In five years, it will be very easy to launch a vision system.” 

“You have to have a well-oiled machine there to be able to compete, and certainly, you need to have the workers that can ensure you’re getting stuff out to your customers,” says Christine Wheeler, vice president of marketing at Newcastle Systems.

Investing in the right materials handling equipment is a big part of getting that right, starting with the basics: tuggers, casters and carts. Though these are relatively simple tools compared to more advanced automation or lift trucks, these tools form the foundation of many warehouse workflows. 

When properly matched to the job, they can make it easier to move materials, reduce manual handling and help employees get more done with less wasted motion.

Ergonomic solutions for a dedicated workforce

Working in the warehouse is a physically demanding job that requires a lot of repetitive bending, reaching and twisting to access products on different shelves and bins. Depending on the application, this can often look like pushing and pulling a heavy cart for long distances on a concrete floor or working at a fixed workstation that has no height adjustability. 

A study from Newcastle Systems that surveyed warehouse workers found that almost 23% of them cited the physicality of the job as the primary source of fatigue, with another 21% cited prolonged hours and workdays. 

The workforce is also changing, notes Wheeler, with older and more diverse employees that include both men and women. This diversity, she says, requires the warehouse to provide better tools and equipment to accommodate every individual. 

“This could be a 5-foot woman; it could be a 6-foot, 5-inch man that could be using the same workstation, and it doesn’t work for everybody,” says Wheeler. “It needs to be adjustable, and for every worker that you have.” 

This is a major focus for Newcastle, which specializes in mobile power workstations. 

“Most people want to be doing a good job… They want to get better, and this is something that enables them to do that,” says Wheeler. “And also, as a human, you don’t want to be as fatigued; you don’t want to be tired; you want to feel that your employer is willing to invest in these lower cost solutions to make it a better place to work.”

Presentation aids in ergonomic movements 

Advancements in carts are also growing as an alternative to using a lift truck for every task. FlexQube, which offers a flexible and modular alternative to welded carts, works primarily in the industrial equipment and automotive sector to help improve the safety of facilities by reducing forklift traffic. 

FlexQube’s CEO Anders Fogelberg is seeing a trend toward using industrial carts and tuggers to move parts within an industrial setting rather than a forklift as more manufacturers adopt kitting rather than traditional part sequencing. With kitting, all necessary parts for an assembly task are grouped together in a container rather than parts being delivered one by one. 

Ergonomics is one driving factor to this shift in processes, as Fogelberg says parts can be presented in a more ergonomic way. 

“It’s a lot about having parts in the right height, right orientation,” he says. “It’s a lot about presenting parts individually rather than maybe stacked on top of each other, reducing weight and so on of the packages that you’re handling. handling. It’s about presenting the parts in a better way for the operator, so you don’t have to stretch, you don’t have to bend to reach parts.”

In a high-volume production line, the impact of presentation can be especially immense, with workers touching these parts and making the same type of movement with their body hundreds of times a day. 

“You need to make sure to look into that detail, making sure that you improve that because otherwise you will have a lot of work injuries, you will have a lot of sick leave, you will have a lot of people not wanting these jobs,” says Fogelberg. 

Functionality and productivity go hand-in-hand

Handles or grip requirements: Fogelberg says involving the people who will actually be handling the cart is essential, especially when it comes to components like handlebars. Knowing how someone plans to move the equipment and interact with it can help determine where handlebars should be placed.

Casters: The right casters or wheels can make or break a piece of equipment depending on the use case. Caster configuration can impact the turning radius and ability to easily push and pull equipment that is often used in tight aisles.

“They need to be good, top of the line casters that you can bring directly to the point of work,” says Wheeler.

More advanced casters can even be self-propelled or motorized for even easier maneuverability.

Fogelberg recommends considering how you want a cart to behave when it moves when considering caster configuration.

“You can put fixed casters in the center, in the rear, at the front, and then the cart will behave differently,” he says. “Different areas or different production environments would have different needs for that.”

Surface area: The layout of the equipment is also important, especially for carts or mobile workstations, which essentially are the desk of the warehouse worker.

“You need to make sure that you have enough room there for them to be able to do their work, whether it’s something they have to type, but also space for packaging materials or paperwork,” says Wheeler. “Something that’s not making them have to reach and twist and move in weird positions.” 

Customization growing in importance 

Flexible solutions that can meet changing needs is a theme worth repeating when taking about how carts, casters and tuggers can improve productivity and ergonomics across facilities. The warehouse no longer fits into a one-size-fits-all box—and the equipment that powers it shouldn’t have to be either.

According to Wheeler, customization for the actual use case is growing in popularity as organizations look to build off the base form factor of the cart.     

“Whether it’s receiving returns, inventory control, inventory management, problem solving, shipping, picking and packing, all of those have different movements in them,” says Wheeler. “You want to make sure that you’re promoting … that they’re getting the right form factor and the right accessories that can make the work the best experience for the worker while also ensuring productivity and accuracy.” 

Fogelberg adds that finding that perfect equipment fit comes down to understanding customer needs. 

“The flexibility is good to have, but I think most of our value is created in the customer interaction,” he says. “You need to understand processes, you need to understand what the customer is doing, what their ambitions are. You mix a lot of things into consideration when you do something like that.” 

Warehouse and DC operators need maintenance teams to keep increasingly complex systems running, catch problems earlier and respond before a single failure spreads across the facility.

A facility that relies mainly on conveyors, forklifts and human pickers can usually absorb one equipment failure with a delay. In a highly automated facility, that same failure can interrupt an entire system and stop a large part of the operation.

Maintenance teams can’t wait until something breaks either. They have to be able to maintain increasingly complex equipment, respond faster and prevent failures before they disrupt the operation. This is especially important in fast-paced fulfillment operations, where every minute of uptime helps orders reach customers faster and keeps service levels on track.

Technology is helping to fill some of those gaps. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) gives maintenance teams another way to monitor equipment, identify developing problems and intervene before a failure causes downtime. The technology remains in its early stages, but Brad Schulz, industry segment manager at Festo Corp., expects adoption to grow as manufacturers and maintenance teams learn what it can do.

“From the MRO side, they can use AI to improve the overall equipment effectiveness of their machines and reduce their downtime,” says Schulz. “It’s a remarkable tool that companies can start using now that’s going to help them in the long run.”

Catching problems before equipment fails

In an ideal setting, maintenance teams monitor equipment closely enough to know well in advance when a motor, conveyor, lift truck or robotic system may fail. Technicians can step in before the equipment goes down, make the repair or replace the component and return it to service before the problem affects the rest of the facility.

That’s a central goal of MRO, but reaching it consistently can be difficult. That’s because maintenance teams often have to deal with:

• Older equipment that doesn’t communicate with newer systems or give technicians the operating data they need.
• Limited maintenance staffs that already spend much of their time responding to breakdowns and handling overdue repairs.
• Equipment data stored across separate systems, collected inconsistently or just never captured in the first place.

Here’s where AI can step in to help. Systems can use it to monitor equipment data, flag unusual performance and identify patterns that may point to a developing failure. Predictability is the goal here. Sensors and software can continually monitor vibration, temperature, usage and other operating conditions.            

When performance changes, the system may detect the shift well before someone finds it during a routine inspection. That gives maintenance personnel more time to investigate the problem, schedule the repair and secure the right parts before the equipment fails.

Robot maintenance providers have already begun using AI behind the scenes to support technicians and help customers keep their equipment running. For example, Roboworx installs, maintains and repairs different types of robots across the country, giving its technicians direct exposure to the problems that can take equipment offline. 

“We’re using AI quite a bit in supporting warehouse robots and robots in general,” says Dale Walsh, vice president of strategy and innovation at Roboworx. “When our technicians go onsite, our goal is to maximize uptime and minimize downtime for the customer.” 

Those customers aren’t necessarily requesting AI by name yet, he adds, and much of the development and experimentation is happening behind the scenes. “It’s still early,” says Walsh, “but it’s definitely happening.”

Addressing external pressures

The modern warehouse is grappling with labor shortages, high employee turnover and growing expectations for consistent performance. Facilities are also adding more automation and overseeing increasingly complex operations. That combination tends to push them toward systems that can take over repetitive tasks, maintain steady output and support the equipment already running throughout the facility.

“Companies are increasingly turning to AI-driven automation to solve severe labor shortages, combat high turnover, and maintain operational consistency,” says Jimmy Bielski, senior manager of Karcher Intelligent Robotic Application (KIRA) deployment at Karcher. For example, automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) handle repetitive material transport when human operators are unavailable, while KIRA floor-cleaning robots handle routine facility maintenance.

Automating tasks like industrial cleaning directly impacts other facility automation. Reducing dust and debris prevents contamination of the LiDAR and 2D and 3D cameras used by other AGVs and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), “keeping the entire automated ecosystem running safely and smoothly,” he says.

In the MRO space, AI is having its biggest operational impact on facility safety and dynamic route planning, according to Bielski, who says AI-driven robots don’t get fatigued, distracted by phones or lose focus during long shifts. “They execute programmed routes with high precision and adapt to dynamic surroundings safely.”

By offloading routine, repetitive MRO tasks to automated systems, companies can also free up human staff to focus on higher-value operations. Bielski says AI shifts maintenance from reactive or basic calendar-based schedules to true predictive intervention. Traditional maintenance relies on fixed intervals, such as servicing after a set number of operating hours, and the human oversight it requires can lead to missed windows and unplanned downtime.

“Predictive AI constantly monitors operational telemetry, usage intensity and sensor feedback. It calculates exact component wear and flags servicing needs right before a failure occurs,” says Bielski. “Removing human emotion and memory from the equation creates a black-and-white maintenance schedule, maximizing machine uptime and extending equipment lifespans.”

Building AI Into the controls

There was a time when warehouse operators saw 90% planned uptime as a strong target because they assumed some unplanned downtime was inevitable. Nathan Hibbs, U.S. materials handling and intralogistics industry manager at Beckhoff Automation, says some large, sophisticated companies now aim for 100% uptime.

Artificial intelligence helps them hit that goal. “With AI and predictive maintenance now, the goal for these very sophisticated companies is 0% unplanned downtime,” says Hibbs. “That’s achievable and a worthy goal, where in the past that probably would’ve been a pipe dream.”

Controls play an important role in this process. They collect power, temperature and vibration data from conveyors, sorters and other equipment, giving maintenance teams a continuous view of how individual components are performing. 

An increase in the electrical current required to maintain a conveyor roller’s speed, for example, may indicate that its internal gearbox is beginning to fail. The system can flag that change and add the roller to the next scheduled maintenance period instead of waiting for it to stop running.

“The name of the game is using AI to do predictive maintenance,” says Hibbs. “It’s getting the most life out of all of your equipment and components and figuring out before something is going to fail, but not too far before it’s going to fail. Then you can replace it during scheduled downtime.”

Warehouse operators aren’t all at the same stage when it comes to AI in MRO. Some sophisticated end users already connect their equipment, collect large volumes of data and know how to use it. Others have years of historical information but haven’t done much with it. 

Facilities that still rely on legacy controls may need retrofits, added sensors and edge computers before they can collect and process enough data for predictive maintenance.

Hibbs says organizations with strict security requirements can run machine-learning models locally on a programmable logic controller (PLC) or industrial PC, versus being forced into the cloud. “You don’t need to have all of your machines sending everything, all the data, up to the cloud,” he explains. “You can still get actionable data or recommendations with regard to maintenance.”

The good news is that the tools that eliminate unplanned downtime already exist. For example, a PC-based control system can run machine-learning models on the device or connect directly to the cloud without requiring costly additional hardware. Companies also need buy-in for the investment and a plan for turning the data into maintenance decisions. 

“In most cases,” says Hibbs, “it comes down to whether your control system, your equipment and/or your fieldbus choice allow you to do it.”

Making AI in MRO work

Artificial intelligence needs the right infrastructure behind it. Robots have to connect reliably with cloud-based management systems and fleet dispatchers, which requires high-uptime cellular service or industrial Wi-Fi. Bielski recommends keeping that Wi-Fi separate from the company’s internal network, where stricter connectivity rules can interfere with communication.

Mobile robots also need onboard LiDAR, 2D and 3D vision cameras and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology to navigate complex facilities without GPS signals or major building modifications. Open integration protocols are equally important because robots from different manufacturers have to communicate and share space without creating bottlenecks or path conflicts.

Companies should begin by identifying the exact problem they want to solve before buying hardware, Bielski says. Fleet coordination also needs attention early in the process, particularly when multiple vendors are involved. “Work with an experienced fleet integration partner early,” he adds. “Uncoordinated robots from different manufacturers will lead to spatial deadlocks and reduced efficiency.”

Bielski recommends pacing the rollout, starting with one or two autonomous cleaning robots or inventory-tracking bots before adding larger fleets of autonomous forklifts. One good option is to train current employees as robotic specialists who can oversee and maintain the equipment.

“Onsite employees know facility workflows better than anyone,” he adds. “Empowering them to oversee and maintain units like KIRA dramatically improves deployment success and team morale.” 

“Robotics adoption is moving from targeted applications toward a broader role in packaging and processing operations,” says Jorge Izquierdo, vice president, market development, PMMI. “The research shows that end users are looking beyond labor availability alone. They are prioritizing measurable gains in throughput, cost, quality, and consistency — and they expect reliable systems, strong service, and a clear path to ROI.”

Industrial robots represented 63% of the market in 2025, followed by mobile robots at 32% and collaborative robots at 5%. By 2031, mobile robots are forecast to become the largest segment, reaching a 45% market share. The report also anticipates that humanoid robots, currently a small and largely pilot-stage segment, will grow from 0.1% to 5% of the market by 2031.

Among end users surveyed, 72% currently use robotics; that figure is expected to climb to 95% by 2031. Sixty-one percent expect to increase robotics investment over the next year. Momentum is similarly strong among OEMs and integrators: 69% currently include robotics in their portfolios, 86% expect to do so by 2031, and 81% anticipate increasing investment over the next year.

End users identified increasing throughput and productivity, reducing costs, and improving quality and consistency as the top three drivers of adoption. Their leading criteria when selecting an OEM are reliability and uptime performance, the availability and quality of service and support, and demonstrated ROI or payback.

The research also identifies persistent hurdles: high upfront cost, integration with existing equipment and systems, and maintenance and service support concerns. Looking ahead, the applications generating the most interest include robotic arms that load packaging materials into machines, mobile robots that bring materials to the line, mobile robots equipped with cobot arms, and processing applications.

You can access the report here, and an infographic here.

Participation in the transaction will be offered to all of the company’s existing lenders. The 80-year-old company will continue to operate as normal and the FORTNA team remains focused on delivering for customers and advancing projects on time.

“Today’s agreement marks an important milestone for our company,” said Rob McKeel, Chief Executive Officer, FORTNA. “Following this transaction, we will have a stronger balance sheet and enhanced financial flexibility. Additionally, with the support of new ownership that shares our long-term vision, we will be well positioned to execute our strategy with discipline and confidence. Our focus remains unchanged – delivering exceptional value to our customers, investing in operational excellence and driving sustainable long-term growth.”

McKeel continued, “As we look ahead, our priorities remain clear. We will continue helping our customers optimize complex distribution and fulfillment operations with mission-critical solutions, expertise and innovative approaches. We are grateful for the continued trust and support of our customers and business partners and look forward to our continued collaboration. I also want to recognize and thank our employees for their hard work, dedication and commitment, which will continue to drive our success in the years ahead.”

Once the transaction contemplated by the agreement is completed, FORTNA will receive a fully committed equity cash infusion of approximately $150 million, which will be funded by existing lenders, including Ares. In addition, the transaction will deleverage the company’s balance sheet by approximately $1.8 billion, reducing annual interest expense by more than $150 million. Majority ownership will transition through the recapitalization to the company’s existing lenders.

The company fully expects to consummate the recapitalization transaction in the coming weeks, subject to the satisfaction of standard closing conditions. The recapitalization transaction will have no impact or impairment on the company’s vendors, suppliers, and business partners.

In the spirit of that connection, I have some sad news to share.

We received word last week that our former colleague Roberto Michel lost his courageous battle with cancer. He was 66 years old. Following his diagnosis, Roberto retired in April after a career spanning nearly three decades covering software, materials handling and manufacturing trends.

Roberto was a well-known and loved contributor to Modern since the early 2010s and was our full-time senior editor since 2020. He was known for his thoughtful coverage of warehouse software systems, robotics, lift trucks and automation technologies. Before he joined our team, he was the chief editor of Manufacturing Business Technology magazine. He was a bit of an industry icon.

But Roberto was also way more than that.

He was an avid reader (he carried a degree in English Literature from the University of Oregon and a master’s in journalism from Marquette) and loved the outdoors, biking, fishing and cooking/grilling. Smart, quick witted, humble and good company, he was truly not only a professional, but someone you wanted to have interesting conversations with.

He had a gift for explaining the most complex ideas and systems in a simple, digestible way. Roberto always brought a seasoned ability to get to the heart of the story, whether that story was work-related or personal. He had a curiosity that just made him great.

I loved sending Roberto out to cover booth assignments at ProMat and Modex, because he would connect all the dots. It was not just the one product at the booth I sent him to. He always came back with a post-show report or blog tying multiple technologies and ideas together.

Roberto and I worked together in some capacity for 20 years at Modern, and after he joined our staff full-time in 2020, we truly became friends. I think we only met in person a handful of times, but he was a great teammate—thoughtful, kind and always willing to go the extra mile to make things better.

Roberto’s contributions to Modern and to our industry will no doubt leave a lasting impact. On behalf of all of us here at Peerless, I send our deepest sympathies and love to his wife, Karen, his family, and everyone in our industry who got to know him. I will miss him. He was one of the good ones.

The company also announced $20 million in new funding led by Catalyst Investors, a growth equity firm based in New York. Existing investors S2G Investments, Spero Ventures and F7 Ventures all returned, joined by new investor Cibus Capital. Sidney Kullar of Catalyst Investors joins the company’s Board of Directors. The Corvus solutions combine autonomous drones and software to provide more accurate inventory visibility.

“Corvus Robotics was founded on the conviction that the physical world generates enormous amounts of data and almost none of it gets captured or acted on,” said Kabir. “Our fleet currently analyzes over a million locations every month, giving our customers an unprecedented view into what actually happens inside their facilities. Stepping into this role is a privilege, and I am glad Jackie is staying on our board.”

“Corvus has been the work of my career, and I am stepping back from the CEO role for health reasons alone,” Wu said. “Kabir and I have been building this together since 2017, starting with the first Corvus prototype in his MIT dorm room. He has architected every part of the technology our customers run today, and has been deeply involved in the running of the business. There is no one better prepared to lead what comes next. I am grateful to our customers, our team, and our investors for the trust they have placed in us. I look forward to what this team builds from here.”

The transition follows what Corvus describes as the broadest product expansion in the company’s history. The company launched Corvus One for Cold Chain in February 2026, an autonomous inventory robot engineered to operate continuously from ambient through deep freeze at -20°F without localization infrastructure. In April 2026 the company introduced Corvus Trident, an AI copilot that mounts to forklifts and reach trucks to capture pallet movement during normal operations. Together with Corvus One, the products close the loop between inventory at rest and inventory in motion, with all three feeding AIMS, the company’s software platform.

Corvus Robotics now has more than 300 devices deployed across 26 US states, Canada and Mexico. Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits recently expanded to nine distribution centers with more than 40 drones, identifying over 35,000 verified inventory discrepancies. Dermalogica increased inventory imaging frequency by 600% at its global headquarters. GNC increased counting frequency roughly 4x to monthly and redirected 35% of its inventory control labor to higher-value work.

“Corvus Robotics is capturing a layer of data that has never existed, real-time ground-truth visibility into what is actually happening inside a warehouse,” said Sidney Kullar of Catalyst Investors. “Kabir and the team have built a platform that works in a punishing physical environment, and that data is becoming the foundation for a much bigger shift in how warehouses are run.”

With this new funding, Corvus Robotics has raised $38 million to date.

In addition, year-to-date new business volume increased by 16.8% compared to the same period in 2025, and year-over-year new business volume (NBV) rose by 47.3% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.

“Equipment demand surged to new heights in July, on the back of AI-related investment,” said Leigh Lytle, President and CEO at ELFA. “This is the second time this year that the pace of monthly new volumes has set a new record. Credit quality improved as well, with the average loss rate at a nine-month low and delinquencies holding near the low end of their two-year range. With unrelenting demand and healthy financial conditions, it’s going to take a lot more than recent market volatility or a few Fed rate hikes to keep the industry from breaking records in 2026.”

Demand increased significantly due to AI-related investment. Total NBV was $14.3 billion in July, a jump of 34.3% from the previous month. The total new volume series tracks the amount of new activity added by banks, independents, and captives in a given month. The full-year 2026 outlook rose to more than $137 billion, the strongest annual forecast ever recorded, and nearly $17 billion, or 14%, above the 2024 record.

Small ticket volume growth tracks broader economic conditions and is an important barometer of aggregate demand for equipment, the report said. Small ticket deals totaled $6.4 billion, up 84.5%, the highest single month ever recorded. Year-to-date, small ticket deal activity was up 25.9% from the same period in 2025.

Activity at banks was $5.4 billion, down 1.3% from June but still the third-highest month of the year. New deals at independents rose 5.0%, their strongest month since February. Activity at captives surged 94.1%.

The drop in the credit approval rate was not broad-based. The industry-wide average eased 2.1 percentage points to 77.4% in July, more than reversing June’s gain. Nearly the entire decline stemmed from a small slice of the respondent pool. Approval rates across the rest of the panel were little changed, and the industry-wide average was flat year over year. The average small-ticket approval rate declined 1.0 percentage point to 79.7%. Banks accounted for most of the industry-wide drop, while captive approval rates rose 1.5 percentage points and the rate at independents fell 0.7 percentage points.

Delinquencies ticked up from a multi-year low, and losses fell. The overall delinquency rate rose to 1.8% in July after dropping to 1.7% in June. It remains at the lower end of its two-year range and is down roughly 0.2 percentage points year-over-year. Bank delinquency rates rose 0.29 percentage points and independents rose 0.17 percentage points, while captives edged down.

The overall loss rate decreased by 0.08 percentage points to 0.46%, its lowest level in nine months. The average loss rate at banks fell to 0.30%, the lowest reading since January 2023. The rate at independents dropped sharply, more than reversing its June increase, while the rate at captives rose. The average loss rate for small ticket deals was little changed at 0.73%.

The Monthly Confidence Index tracks the sentiment of executives in the industry. The index eased from 63.7 to 62.4 in August. Every respondent in the survey expected capex demand to remain at current levels or improve.

“Businesses continue to navigate a complex environment shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, elevated costs, and interest-rate and market volatility,” said Deborah Baker, VP, Head of Global Payment Solutions, HP Inc. and ELFA Board Chair. “These factors are influencing both the timing and structure of capital investments, but they have not eliminated the need to invest. Financing is an essential tool to enable companies to acquire the technology they need to achieve their business objectives. Over the next three to six months, I expect demand to remain resilient as customers continue to benefit from favorable tax policy associated with equipment investment.”

According to posts on the Zebra Technologies LinkedIn page and the Symbol Technologies Alumni Facebook group, he died in early August. His family held a private memorial ceremony.

Swartz co-founded Symbol Technologies with partner Shelley Harrison in 1973. Together they developed early technology for the optical scanning of bar code symbols, which were then a novel technology with limited application. Symbol’s laser scanning technology became the basis for wider adoption of bar codes in retail, warehousing, and other industries; by 1995 the company held as much as 75% of the market and became the first $1 billion bar code company a few years later. Symbol also pioneered the use of handheld laser scanning, industrial mobile computers for warehouse and manufacturing applications, and wireless LAN technology in industrial environments. Symbol was also one of the original members of the industry association AIM Global when it became an independent organization in 1983.

Swartz attended City College of New York and Polytechnic University in Brooklyn. He held more than 180 U.S. patents. Under his leadership, Symbol Technologies received the National Medal of Technology in 1999. Swartz and Symbol also played key roles in the lawsuit that finally brought an end to enforcement of bar code-related patents filed by the late Jerome Lemelson, which extracted more than $1.5 billion in licensing fees from bar code end users before they were invalidated in 2005.

Swartz retired as chairman and chief scientist at Symbol in 2003 in the wake of an accounting fraud investigation centered around then-CEO Tomo Razmilovic and several other high-level executives. Symbol merged with Motorola in 2007, and was later acquired by Zebra Technologies in 2014.

After his retirement, Swartz founded The Swartz Foundation for Computational Neuroscience.

August 2026 Survey Results:

Business Conditions – When assessing the next four months, 26.1% of responding executives believe business conditions will improve, up from 22.7% in July. Those who believe business conditions will remain the same decreased to 65.2 from 72.7% the previous month. The percentage of executives who believe business conditions will worsen increased to 8.7% from 4.6% in July.

Capex Demand – For the next four months, 26.1% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase (down from 28.6% in July). Additionally, 73.9% expect demand to remain the same (up from 66.7% last month), and none believe demand will decline (down from 4.6% in July). 

Access to Capital – Over the next four months, 33.3% of respondents expect greater access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions, 66.7% anticipate the “same” access to capital to fund business, and none expect “less” access to capital, all unchanged from July.

Employment – Regarding employment over the next four months, 42.9% of executives expect to hire more employees, a decrease from 54.6% in July. Also, 52.4% foresee no change in headcount (up from 36.4% last month), and 4.8% expect to hire fewer employees (down from 9.1% in July).

U.S. Economy – Of the respondents, 4.8% evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” down from 15% in July; 95.2% assess it as “fair,” up from 80% last month; and none evaluate it as “poor,” down from 5% in July.

Economic Outlook – Over the next six months, 18.2% of respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will “get better,” a decrease from 22.7% in July. Another 59.1% expect the U.S. economy to “stay the same,” down from 63.6% last month; and 22.7% believe economic conditions will worsen, an increase from 13.6% in July.

Business Development Spending – Over the next six months, 40.9% of respondents believe their company will increase spending on business development activities, 59.1% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, and none believe there will be a decrease in spending, all unchanged from the previous month.

“I'm pessimistic on the economy and bullish on our industry — those aren't in conflict; they're the same thesis viewed from two ends," said Jeffry Elliott, CLFP, CEO, Elevex Capital. "Equipment doesn't stop wearing out because the macro picture gets complicated; what changes is how it gets financed, and a rising-rate, high-inflation environment is where true leasing earns its keep. My number one concern is supply chain risk, and I don't think our industry has priced it: lessees whose equipment sits idle waiting on a part still owe the payment, and uptime is collateral performance. We're deploying our pre-recession playbook now, not later — discipline purchased early is cheap; purchased late, it isn't available at any price.” 

“As recent activity reporting illustrates, new business volume is increasing and portfolio performance is good," said David Normandin, CLFP, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wintrust Specialty Finance. "While uncertainty in the economy, rates, politics and world events continues, business volume and performance is a true indicator of the market’s view of the future and it is positive. We have experienced a strong first half of the year and expect the second half to be strong for our business at Wintrust.” 

The report defines robotic picking to include the use of stationary robots with robotic arms to automate picking and handling tasks within warehouse operations, including palletizing, depalletizing, and item or case picking. Robotic palletizing and depalletizing remain the largest opportunities throughout the forecast period, and together made up the largest share of the market in 2025, with both segments accounting for a combined market share of approximately 83%. However, the report suggests this will fall to approximately 58% by 2030, as growth is outpaced by other segments, particularly bin-picking and robotic trailer unloading.

“From a value chain perspective, we observe several emerging trends. First, robot OEMs are increasingly strengthening their in-house AI picking software capabilities. Over the long term, they are likely to move beyond supplying robot hardware and offer end customers fully integrated robotic picking systems directly," said Irene Zhang, senior analyst at Interact Analysis. "Second, warehouse automation system integrators are also expanding their capabilities in AI-powered robotic picking, either through strategic partnerships with AI software providers or through organic development. As software increasingly becomes a key differentiator, system integrators are seeking to build stronger in-house expertise to deliver more intelligent and integrated automation solutions.”

While increased customer confidence is driving robotic picking growth in the short term, long-term expansion in this segment is primarily driven by the growth of more integrated bin-picking solutions, the report says. As the technology becomes more commercially viable, it is expected to capture an increasing share of the market. The workflow generated $125 million in sales in 2025, and this is projected to rise to $577 million by 2030, representing an average annual growth rate of approximately 36%. The strong growth rate for bin-picking solutions appears to be linked to the increasing availability of tightly integrated solutions that simplify deployment, improve confidence and reduce uncertainty for customers considering robotic picking solutions. Because of this growth, bin-picking is expected to be the key contributor to the overall success of the robotic picking market.

Both robotic and warehouse automation OEMs are demonstrating a growing interest in expanding into perception and action software. For robotic OEMs, this represents the development of their own AI models in this field, either in-house or through partnerships with companies such as NVIDIA. Warehouse automation system providers are increasingly seeking to integrate robotic picking natively into their existing solutions.

The report also indicates that, as well as robotic and warehouse automation OEMs looking to expand into perception and action software, perception and action software specialists are increasingly moving toward system integration. Some companies are already offering combined robotics and software solutions and entering into system integration, suggesting firms within robotic picking see strong revenue potential across the value chain.

The RMI R-Mark Certification is a voluntary program for rack manufacturer to determine if the rack or rack decking systems and components adhere to applicable American National Standards Insitute (ANSI) standards. Manufacturers are required to submit a detailed application including engineering design and test data documentation, quality assurance documentation, and more.

DACS’ Corrugated Steel Rack Decking and Punch Deck have been put through rigorous testing and evaluation to earn the R-Mark, the company said. The R-Mark ensures customers that the quality and integrity of DACS’ products and materials adhere to the highest standards of the industry.

FORT Robotics was founded in 2018 and is a provider of safety solutions across the robotics industry, with more than 600 customers including Agility Robotics, Google DeepMind, Cobot, Zoox, RIVR, Carnegie Robotics, Textron, Forterra, Genie, Ocado, Oxa, DoorDash and others. The company is backed by investors including Tiger Global, Mark Cuban Companies, Prologis Ventures, and Five Eleven Partners and recently announced a strategic collaboration with NVIDIA as part of the Halos for Robotics ecosystem. The company grew out of founder and CEO Samuel Reeves's previous company Humanistic Robotics, which built robots to clear landmines.

The post-closing board of directors is expected to include Sally Miller, DHL Supply Chain Global CIO, Jennifer Vescio, former executive at Uber, Vijay Kumar, Dean of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, and Karl Iagnemma, CEO at Vecna Robotics.

FORT’s Trust Layer serves as the foundational safety infrastructure for physical AI, enabling autonomous machines from different manufacturers to operate safely alongside humans and within shared environments. The platform, which is backed by 25 patents and has been certified to meet Safety Integrity Level 3 per IEC 61508, is intentionally machine-and application-agnostic, designed to serve as a universal layer of trust across mixed-machine workspaces.

In May 2026, FORT expanded The Trust Layer through the acquisition of Mapless AI, a full-stack, safety-first teleoperation company, adding remote human-in-the-loop control and onboard active safety to FORT’s existing platform.

“Physical AI will change the way we work in every industry, and this will be a game changer for workers, organizations and governments worldwide,” said Samuel Reeves, Founder and CEO of FORT Robotics. “However, these new machines come with a completely new and different risk profile, and that must be addressed before autonomous systems can scale. FORT’s mission is to ‘ensure robots cause no harm’ and we are dedicated to pioneering and building a shared framework for trust that robot manufacturers, integrators, end users, regulators, insurers, governments and any other interested party can rely on. How we trust physical AI will be one of the defining questions of our time and answering it will be a key enabler that will move these next generation machines from isolated pilot programs to real, scalable adoption.”

"Newbury Street II is proud to partner with FORT, a category-defining platform addressing one of the world's most complex infrastructure challenges," said Thomas Bushey, CEO of Newburry Street II. "The robotics revolution is at an inflection point, and we believe FORT's universal layer of trust can accelerate widespread adoption. We look forward to supporting Samuel and the team as they advance FORT's horizontal platform for physical AI — as a public company, we believe FORT is well positioned to extend its leadership and create long-term shareholder value."

Existing FORT shareholders will roll 100% of their equity into the Business Combination, retaining an estimated 67% majority ownership stake on an issued and outstanding basis in the combined company at closing, assuming no redemptions.

The joint solution combines image processing with rugged embedded computing technology. Basler’s software ecosystem, including the pylon SDK and Camera Enablement Packages (CEP), simplifies the integration of machine vision cameras into industrial embedded systems. This gives developers a ready-to-use hardware foundation, allowing them to focus on their applications rather than spending time integrating cameras and computing platforms.

"Basler is one of the leading providers of machine vision cameras,” says Michael Jung, Product Manager at Syslogic. “Combining Basler’s ace 2 GMSL cameras with Syslogic rugged computers gives customers a fast and straightforward way to get started with demanding vision AI projects.”

Image data captured by the cameras is processed directly on Syslogic’s rugged computers. Integrated NVIDIA Jetson modules handle AI inference, image analysis, and deep learning workloads directly at the edge. Because processing takes place locally, there is no need to transfer data to the cloud. This reduces latency and enables near-real-time decision-making.

In addition to supporting up to eight GMSL cameras, Syslogic computers can connect to other sensors, including LiDAR, radar, and GNSS systems. This enables powerful sensor fusion solutions for autonomous vehicles and mobile machinery.

The Basler GMSL2 interface enables high-resolution image data to be transmitted over coaxial cables up to 15 meters long, while providing low latency and high immunity to interference. Multiple cameras can also be synchronized, enabling efficient implementation of 360-degree surround vision, spatial image processing, and AI-based object detection.

The joint hardware solution targets applications where reliability and performance are critical. These include autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), agricultural vehicles, construction equipment, and off-highway vehicles. While Basler cameras provide precise image data, Syslogic rugged computers deliver AI processing even under extreme operating conditions. The embedded systems are designed to withstand shock, vibration, dust, moisture, and wide temperature ranges, meeting the requirements of demanding industrial applications.

“With the ace 2 GMSL cameras, we offer a powerful camera platform for modern embedded vision applications,” says Dr. Melanie Gräsel, Product Manager at Basler. “Combined with Syslogic’s rugged computers, the platform can also be deployed in demanding environmental conditions.”

The joint Basler and Syslogic solution is available now for evaluation and integration projects.
 

Marin has more than 30 years of experience in the technology sector. Most recently, as CEO of Fox Robotics, he successfully scaled the organization for commercial growth, which ultimately paved the way for the company’s acquisition by Symbotic. Prior to that, as CEO of Kindred Systems, he drove over 300% growth in robot deployments and guided Kindred through its acquisition by Ocado Group for a reported $262 million. He has also held numerous senior financial positions, including CFO of Pebble and Jawbone.

“Some CEOs are good at winning business, others are good at operations, and yet others are good at predicting where the market is headed. Marin is the rare executive who is good at all three,” said Jazz Venture Partners Managing Partner and Robust.AI board member John Spinale. “His commercial savvy, product vision and financial discipline are just what Robust.AI needs as it enters this next phase of hypergrowth.”

“I am very excited to join the Robust.AI team at such a pivotal moment in the company’s arc,” Tchakarov said. “Carter is a mature product already driving strong value and ROI for our customers, and I am eager to help realize the full potential of this momentum.”

Third-party logistics firms (3PLs) and other warehouse operators are adopting Carter, a fully autonomous smart-cart with the capacity of six conventional AMRs. With its 360-degree array of visual cameras, Carter can operate in crowded environments and execute tasks such as picking, conveyor loops, putaway, and point-to-point transportation. 

Marin Tchakarov

According to the company, Robust.AI is doubling Carter deployments every six months, with customers including DHL Supply Chain, O’Neill Logistics, ShipLab, and Saddle Creek Logistics Services. Its recent partnership with Aptiv will add radar sensing to Carter’s existing camera-based perception, while its manufacturing partnership with Foxconn will ensure Robust.AI can scale production to meet demand.

Later this year, Robust.AI will launch a platform that delivers constant improvement and new capabilities for Carter fleets while turning Carter’s transactional and computer vision data into operational intelligence. Based on Carter sensor data, for example, customers could ask the platform how best to lay out inventory or where and how labor could be better utilized.

“Robust.AI has positioned itself to swiftly take over the whitespace left by legacy robotics companies,” Tchakarov said. “Carter has the ‘X-factor’ that separates truly great products from the rest. Its versatility delivers ROI right from the start. It’s easy to set up, frictionless to adopt, and people love working with it. Next, our new platform is going to 10X+ Carter’s value by turning our robots into intelligence agents. When I consider all the talent, ambition, and sheer product excellence Robust.AI brings to the table, I am both eager and humbled to join this all-star team.”

As Marin steps into the CEO role, Robust.AI co-founder and current CEO, Anthony Jules, will become Chief Innovation Officer. Jules will be responsible for developing strategic physical AI initiatives on and surrounding the Robust.AI platform.

“Now that we’ve established product-market fit, Marin has the experience and vision to make Robust.AI the dominant player in the space,” Jules said. “I’m excited to focus 100% on technical innovation. We’re creating the world’s most valuable dataset for warehouse robotics—not just physical layouts, but interactions between robots and human workers. Carter is the only mobile robot equipped to collect this kind of data. With that unique dataset, our new platform, and the talent we have on board, the possibilities are limitless. Everything we’ve launched so far—everything we’ve talked about—is just a taste of what’s coming.”

The forklifts include the Toyota OME 100HW and Toyota VCE 150A, and the first units have already been equipped with the solution.

The PPS High Performance system is targeted at high-rack forklifts in narrow-aisle warehouses. It provides monitoring throughout the entire aisle in all directions using laser scanning technology and sensors. It continuously monitors the surroundings and automatically brakes or slows the forklift when people or other vehicles are identified. The system also provides automatic speed monitoring, optimized travel permissions, and can be customized for each vehilce and warheouse layout.

Safety distances and protective fields are dynamically adjusted based on travel speed and location. tbm hightech is an exclusive technology partner of Toyota Material Handling.

Norway-based AutoStore provides automation, software and artificial intelligence solutions for automated fulfillment. The company has installed roughly 2,000 systems in 68 countries.

AutoStore announced the agreement during its second quarter earnings call with analysts and shareholders. The company rpeorted Q2 revenue of $192 million and record order intake of $218 million. The company also announced a $75 milliuon share buyback program.

The agreement would give Amazon access to a third-party automation platform to complement its own large portfolio of robotics systems, which it has deployed at warehouses around the world. Previously, AutoStore was being consdiered for use wiht Amazon's micro-fulfillment projects for localized fulfillment and delivery.

Rising space costs, complex brownfield situations and the need for greater storage density are driving demand for automated pallet warehouses. Four-way shuttle systems such as the Movu Atlas store and retrieve pallets multi-deep, making them one of the most sought-after technologies for high-density warehouses.

According to the companies, the partnership makes shuttle warehouses faster to plan, easier to integrate and more efficient to operate. To this end, the two companies will integrate the four-way shuttles directly into the Jungheinrich WMS and software ecosystem, which centrally manages inventory and optimises storage and retrieval. Standardised software interfaces shorten commissioning and connection to existing systems, while joint solution design deepens and speeds up quotation. Coordinated service processes also ensure reliable operation throughout the entire life cycle.

Customers will benefit from a seamless automated material flow, from goods-in through the shuttle warehouse to dispatch. Shuttle systems, conveyor technology and mobile robots are orchestrated through an integrated Jungheinrich software stack providing full visibility, reduced complexity and a scalable foundation for future growth.

Movu shuttle systems are already deployed at more than 200 warehouses and in use in numerous Jungheinrich customer projects across Europe and North America. At Coppenrath & Wiese, for example, an automated warehouse for packaging materials is currently being built, bringing previously decentralised storage capacities together in a single central facility. At Mascot online in Almere, the Netherlands, an automated pallet warehouse with around 11,500 pallet locations is under construction. Ten Movu four-way shuttles ensure high storage density and fast provision of materials there. The warehouse supports the growth of a rapidly expanding retail company and forms the basis for the further expansion of its logistics processes.

“Four-way shuttle systems increasingly combine high-density storage with other functionalities like replenishing picking processes and sequencing goods for dispatch just in time, all within the same footprint,” said Noë van Bergen, CSO of Movu Robotics. “With this strategic partnership, we combine Movu’s innovative shuttle technology, its racking manufacturing capabilities as part of stow Group, and Jungheinrich’s integration, software and service expertise. Together, we make high-density automated warehousing easier to implement, more flexible to design and more scalable for future growth. End-users benefit from Jungheinrich’s comprehensive solution portfolio, from manual to fully automated solutions that grow with their requirements.”

The two companies will align solution design, interfaces and service processes even more closely. In doing so, Jungheinrich strengthens its position as a global system integrator that combines warehouse automation, software and service into an overall system that grows with its customers’ requirements.

“That training needs to be specific and concise to, first, keep them safe, but also help drive some of that productivity, help them grow from a skill set,” says Damon Hosmer, director of technology solutions sales at Toyota Material Handling North America. “A lot of people forget that the operator cabin of many of the vehicles that we sell is somebody’s office, so you want them to feel comfortable, you want them to feel empowered to do right, and to be able to exceed in that situation.”

Technology is changing how fleet managers approach operator training in four key areas, according to Hosmer. They include: 

1. Digital compliance and recordkeeping 

Electronic recordkeeping is often the gateway into telematics as an easy way to maintain compliance. Checklists like pre-shipped inspections and OSHA documentation can be easily performed while also ensuring that truck operators know what they’re doing.

Errors in digital compliance can be a red flag that more training is needed. 

“Are they completing those pre-shift inspections? Are they going through the safety questionnaires that are required for that set environment?” asks Hosmer. 

2. Accountability  

Digital compliance and accountability often tie directly into one another as many checklists begin with operator access control to verify an authenticated operator. This step ensures fleet managers do not have untrained drivers on equipment they shouldn’t be on. 

“Having that in a digital format specific to the operator through that access control gives you the ability then to make sure that their certifications are current within each of those areas,” explains Hosmer. 

3. Equipment protection 

Equipment protection comes down to having better control over equipment through connected technologies. While prevention should be priority No. 1, accidents happen.

“There are tons of impacts within a warehouse, so not only do customers and operators need to know when there’s an impact, but we also need to be able to control the vehicle behavior associated,” says Hosmer. “Being able to lock it out, ensure that it stops in place, you have the accountable party, you’re able to get health and safety over there to investigate in immediate fashion, not let things linger.” 

This is especially important as industrial and warehouse environments continue to see large amounts of employee turnover. 

“We see a lot of job hopping and labor constraints… we see a lot of employees shifting within the business environment, depending upon the dedicated places, and the last thing you want is somebody that’s unauthorized on that individual piece of equipment or in that environment to be able to write, log in, gain access and then operate that vehicle unsafely,” says Hosmer. 

4. Workforce insights 

Collecting data, KPIs and metrics around your workforce empowers leadership teams to implement better training and coaching scenarios. Hosmer recommends looking at metrics like productivity reporting trends, idle time, charging and incidents to prompt training opportunities. 

“Looking at things differently, whether it be pick paths, process improvements… it’s all with the hopes and focus on that operator individually to increase that performance piece,” he adds.  

Packaging is one area that gets pushed down the list. A company that spends millions on an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) or an automated conveyor line may still leave its packing and shipping operations largely manual. Someone still has to size up an order or product, select the right packaging and dunnage, pack it, seal it and send it to manifesting and carrier dispatch.

Matthew Kelly, vice president of business development at Packsize, sees this all the time in an industry where end-of-line functions like packaging rarely get the same attention as broader warehouse infrastructure investments. Those gaps can add cost, slow throughput and create bottlenecks at a critical juncture: right where orders need to get out the door. Kelly talked to Modern about why this happens, the risks it creates and how companies can start addressing the issue.

Q: Why do these gaps happen, and what happens when packaging is an afterthought?

A: A lot of companies are still working with older processes and automation they invested in 10 to 20 years ago. They’re out of room, but moving to a new facility isn’t simple when they still have to keep production running and meet customer expectations. 

Many organizations have invested in upstream technologies like shuttle systems, AS/RS and AMRs to improve parts of the operation, but that equipment can push bottlenecks downstream if packaging is still manual. When that happens, the return on the broader automation investment can be diminished because the end of the line can’t keep pace.

Q: Are more companies looking at autoboxing as a way to avoid this?

A:  Yes, but adoption is still early. Many operations still default to adding labor because packaging has always been manual. Someone erects the box, adds the product and dunnage, tapes it up, and sends it down the line. That’s familiar, so changing it can feel like a bigger step than it is. 

Q: What role do integrators play in bringing packaging into the conversation earlier?

A: Integrators can help customers think about packaging before the picking, conveying and sortation decisions are already made. When packaging is part of the early conversation, companies have more options for connecting pick, pack and ship into one coordinated flow instead of forcing the packaging operation to fit decisions that were already made.

Q: What holds companies back from adopting autoboxing systems?

A:  Some companies have packaging requirements that make automation more complicated, such as highly custom or heavily printed boxes. Change management is another hurdle. Procurement teams, warehouse managers and packaging teams may have been doing things the same way for years. These are also major capital investments, so companies have to think about redundancy, available space and maintenance support. Footprint is a common concern, but the space calculation changes pretty quickly when one autoboxing machine replaces 10 manual pack stations while also reducing box inventory.

Q: What would you tell a company trying to move past older packaging systems and processes?

A: Go see the technology in the field. If you looked at autoboxing five years ago and decided it wasn’t the right fit, try again. The technology has changed a lot since then. Also look at the full reason behind the investment. Some companies are trying to reduce material waste and packaging costs. Others are addressing labor challenges or peak demand. Ultimately, the package is part of the customer experience, so it shouldn’t be treated only as a warehouse decision. 

Without it, even the most experienced teams are forced to rely on assumptions, averages and tribal knowledge—introducing risk into decisions that are expected to deliver measurable results.

Data integrity is an operational discipline, not an IT exercise

Data integrity is often viewed as a system issue tied to enterprise resource planning (ERP), warehouse management system (WMS) or manufacturing execution system (MES) implementations. In reality, it is an end-to-end operational discipline that directly affects how manufacturing and distribution processes perform on the floor.

From a manufacturing and distribution perspective, strong data integrity includes:

• Accurate unit-of-measure and conversion logic    across raw materials, work-in-progress (WIP) and finished goods;
• Reliable weight and dimensional data at the SKU level;
• Clearly defined SKU attributes and product families;
• Accurate bill of materials (BOM) and routing information at every level; and
• Complete transaction visibility across the full product lifecycle.

These elements form the baseline for understanding how product moves through, and is stored in, an operation—not how it was intended to move.

Enabling practical, fact-based process design

Clean, complete data allows organizations to design processes based on actual operating conditions, not theoretical models.

With reliable data, teams can:

• Quantify material movements between work centers and storage locations;
• Understand WIP accumulation and its impact on throughput;
• Design layouts that align production flow, material staging and outbound demand; and
• Reduce unnecessary handling, travel distance and congestion on the floor.

When data is incomplete or inconsistent, process design becomes reactive—often resulting in excess handling, poor line support and layouts that struggle to scale as volume increases.

Supporting Defensible Automation and Capital Investment Decisions

Automation and capital investments demand credibility. Clean data provides the factual basis needed to move beyond “we think” to “we know.”

Accurate SKU attributes, routing data, and transaction history allow organizations to:

• Quantify touches per unit and labor content by operation
• Identify true bottlenecks and constraints
• Calculate material movement frequency and handling intensity
• Build ROI models that reflect real production and distribution behavior

Without this foundation, automation initiatives are often justified using high-level assumptions, making it difficult to prioritize projects or validate expected returns after implementation.

Improving Labor Visibility and Manufacturing Workforce Planning

Labor remains one of the most significant and variable costs in manufacturing and distribution operations. Strong data integrity enables organizations to:

• Analyze labor by SKU, routing step, and handling type
• Understand variability across shifts, production lines, and product families
• Model staffing requirements under different volume and mix scenarios

Without clean data, labor planning becomes reactive, limiting an organization’s ability to improve productivity or support growth without adding cost.

Understanding the Limits of Incomplete Data

Just as important is recognizing what organizations cannot do effectively without strong data integrity:

• Accurately model future capacity or line utilization
• Compare alternative process flows or layout concepts
• Standardize operations across multiple plants or DCs
• Confidently plan automation, expansions, or greenfield facilities

In these situations, decisions default to historical norms or anecdotal experience—approaches that become increasingly risky as operations grow in complexity and variability.

Building a Foundation for Long-Term Manufacturing Excellence

At St. Onge, we consistently see that successful operational transformations begin with a strong data foundation. Clean, structured, and complete data enables organizations to:

• Design manufacturing and distribution operations that perform as intended
• Evaluate tradeoffs between labor, space, and automation with clarity
• Plan for future volume, product mix, and operational change with confidence

Data integrity is not a one-time cleanup effort—it is an ongoing commitment that supports both daily execution and long-term strategic planning.

Final Perspective

In manufacturing and distribution, data is not just a reporting output—it is the backbone of operational decision-making. When the foundation is solid, organizations can design, optimize, and invest with confidence. When it is not, even well-designed initiatives struggle to deliver value.

Strong data integrity doesn’t just support better outcomes—it makes them possible.

At St. Onge Company, we integrate onsite observations, discussions, and data to develop recommendations.  We find many companies struggle to provide the level of data ideal for developing solutions.  If we can help your company improve data integrity, please let us know.

Carter Luckenbaugh brings extensive experience in on-site operations, data collection and analysis, and facility design within manufacturing and distribution environments. His work revolves around facility layouts, material flow and handling, storage and labor analysis, and other operational challenges presented by clients. He has contributed to more than 60 projects for more than 40 distinct clients during his tenure at St Onge Company.

The electric ReachStacker is powered by four 130-kilowatt lithium-ion battery packs capable of supporting a full 8-hour shift. Two battery packs are placed on either side of the truck, and the full solution can be charged from 20% to 80% in approximately 4.5 hours when using the right charger. Shared software across Hyster electric lift trucks supports common displays, operator interfaces, service tools and diagnostics.

“Ports around the world are laser-focused on reducing emissions while maintaining high levels of productivity, and ITG is helping lead that transition in inland container transport,” said Lucien Robroek, President of Global Big Trucks, Hyster. “Deploying this Hyster battery-electric ReachStacker with them is an important step in proving how this technology can support demanding real-world duty cycles in terminal operations while further refining the operator experience and supporting terminal operators’ progress toward lower-emission, more sustainable operations.”

The ReachStacker deployment is part of ITG's larger sustainability initiatives. The company was the first inland terminal operator in the Netherlands and Belgium to earn a third Lean & Green Star – a certification recognizing results in reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. 

"The commissioning of our first fully electric Hyster ReachStacker is an important step in making our material handling equipment more sustainable,” said Jan-Jaap Kroft, Sustainability Manager, Inland Terminals Group. “This investment contributes directly to our ambition to achieve an emission-free transport chain. Together with Hyster and Heffiq, we are continuing to build future-proof and sustainable terminal operations." 

The local authorized Hyster dealer, Heffiq, has a longstanding relationship with ITG, providing equipment and service to keep terminal operations moving. Heffiq will handle all conventional maintenance requests and serve as the first line of response for service just as they would other Hyster equipment, with factory support available for high-voltage systems.

“The various terminals across the Netherlands and Belgium operated by the ITG have been valued Heffiq customers for several decades,” said Martijn Veerkamp, Commercial Director, Heffiq. “Sustainability is a key priority for both ITG and Heffiq. It is therefore fantastic to mark our strategic partnership with the delivery of their first battery electric Hyster ReachStacker. This is a major milestone and something we are extremely proud of.”

According to A3, the first half of 2026 continued a trend that has been building over the past several quarters: robotics demand is becoming increasingly diversified across industries. While Automotive OEM orders declined 25% compared to the first half of 2025, growth in Automotive Component and several general industry sectors helped offset that decline, including:

• Semi & Electronics/Photonics: +35% units
• Life Sciences/Pharma/Biomed: +32% units
• Automotive Component: +24% units
• Food & Consumer Goods: +17% units
• Plastics & Rubber: +6% units
• All Other Industries: +6% units
• Metals: +3% units

Several industries posted double-digit year-over-year gains in robot orders during the second quarter. Semi & Electronics/Photonics increased 38% year over year, while Automotive Component grew 20%. Food & Consumer Goods and Metals each increased 18%, and Life Sciences/Pharma/Biomed posted 9% growth. Non-automotive customers accounted for 56% of robot units ordered during the quarter, continuing the trend of robots being adopted across a variety of industries.

Collaborative robots continued to represent a significant portion of automation investment during the first half of 2026. Companies ordered 2,774 collaborative robots valued at $114 million, accounting for 15.4% of all robot units ordered and 9.8% of total order revenue. In the second quarter alone, companies ordered 1,137 collaborative robots valued at $44 million, representing 12.7% of total units and 7.1% of quarterly revenue.

Collaborative robot adoption remained particularly strong in Life Sciences/Pharma/Biomed and Semi & Electronics/Photonics, where collaborative robots accounted for 43.7% and 36.5% of first-half robot orders, respectively.

"The first half of 2026 shows how the mix of the robotics market continues to evolve," said Alex Shikany, Executive Vice President at A3. "Automotive remains an important driver of demand, while we’re also seeing growth across a wider range of industries. Results were not uniform across every sector, but the breadth of growth outside Automotive OEM is an important trend we’ll continue to watch."

Despite continued uncertainty across the broader economy, manufacturers continued investing in automation during the first half of 2026. Manufacturing PMI remained in expansion territory for a sixth consecutive month in June, with new orders and production continuing to grow. Federal Reserve data also showed manufacturing output 1.1% above its year-earlier level in June.

While the timing of large Automotive OEM projects and broader economic conditions will continue to influence quarterly results, the first-half data suggests manufacturers continue to view automation as a long-term investment in competitiveness, according to A3.

Working with sustainability consultancy Tunley Environmental, PECO established its first companywide greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory covering Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, aligned with the GHG Protocol and BS EN ISO 14064-1. The work established a 2023 baseline, with subsequent verification of the company's 2024 and 2025 GHG inventories to support ongoing measurement and reporting, alongside the development of a roadmap towards net zero by 2050 and near-term emissions reduction targets for Scope 1 and 2 activities.

Alongside this, PECO completed an externally verified cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of its reusable block pallet in accordance with ISO 14067, ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. The assessment was undertaken to better understand the environmental impacts associated with the pallet throughout its life cycle.

Under the study assumptions, the comparative assessment found that the PECO reusable block pallet generated 88% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than an average whitewood stringer pallet. This equated to an estimated reduction of approximately 108.2 kg CO₂e for every 100,000 lbs of product moved, or 8.2 times lower greenhouse gas emissions than the reference pallet.

"Completing these verified assessments marks an important milestone in our sustainability journey," said Katie Bishop, Sustainability Program Manager at PECO Pallet. "The findings strengthen our understanding of where we can create environmental value today and where we can improve tomorrow. As demand for transparent, science-based sustainability information continues to grow, we're committed to providing customers and stakeholders with data they can trust."

“Reliable environmental data enables organisations to make informed decisions and communicate environmental performance with increased confidence," said Emily Alexander, Senior Associate Scientist at Tunley Environmental. "By completing independently verified greenhouse gas and life cycle assessments, PECO has established an evidence base that can support both internal strategy and customer engagement.”

According to the company, the assessment programme has also helped inform wider environmental improvement initiatives across PECO's depot network. These initiatives include evaluating electric forklift feasibility, installing LED lighting, improving ventilation and paint booth efficiency, investing in wood-waste shredders and balers, and introducing filtered water refill stations to help reduce single-use plastic consumption.

PECO has also strengthened resource recovery by reusing suitable pallet components during repairs, repurposing shredded wood, recycling removed nails, and recovering cardboard and plastic packaging where possible. These activities support the company's reusable pallet model and broader circular economy approach by helping to maximise the value of materials already in use.

“Manufacturers have moved beyond asking whether sustainability matters; they are now determining which investments can deliver measurable environmental and operational results,” says Jim Pittas, president and CEO of PMMI. “That’s why PACK EXPO International 2026 gives them one place to compare technologies in operation, learn from experts, and identify practical solutions for their businesses.”

Taking place Oct. 18-21 at McCormick Place in Chicago, PACK EXPO International 2026 will feature 2,600 exhibitors and 48,000 attendees from more than 40 vertical markets. As the largest and most influential packaging and processing trade show in North America, the event gives attendees unmatched access to machinery, materials, automation, and sustainability-focused solutions in action.

Key sustainability-focused destinations and tools at PACK EXPO International 2026 include:

Innovation Stages — Three stages will feature fast-paced, 30-minute sessions fromled by top suppliers and technical experts, offering practical insights into the latest advances in packaging machinery, materials, automation, digital tools, and real-world applications. Sustainability-focused sessions include:

• Sustainable Load Stability: Reducing Plastic Without Sacrificing Performance
• Packaging Sustainability Myth Busters: Beliefs that Brands Still Get Wrong
• Navigating EPR: Source Reduction Strategies and the Levers Brand Owners Can Pull in Flexible Packaging
• Flexible Packaging That WOWs Consumers: Material That Excites, Surprises, and Delights

Sustainability Central — Presented by Packaging World and sponsored by EFP, LLC, this dedicated education hub will feature expert-led presentations, case studies, and trends shaping sustainable packaging. Attendees will learn how material choices, system design, and operational changes can reduce environmental impact while supporting business goals.

Thought leaders and innovators will share strategies to help attendees improve recyclability, advance circularity, reduce environmental impact, and stay ahead of customer and regulatory demands. Sessions include:

• Design for Recyclability is Required by Law. Are You Ready?
• Advancing the Circular Economy: How Collaboration Delivers Value
• Protect the Product, Reduce the Footprint
• 2026: The Year EPR Stopped Being Optional 

Reusable Packaging Learning Center, sponsored by the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) — This educational stage gives attendees a practical look at how reusable packaging systems are being implemented across supply chains. Session topics include the State of the Industry 2026, technology AI & leveraging Data, public policy and retail automation.

Reusable Packaging Pavilion, sponsored by the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) — Here, show attendees can explore reusable packaging systems from members of RPA and uncover solutions designed to reduce waste, improve durability, streamline logistics, and deliver measurable supply chain cost savings.

Sustainability Solutions Finder — This online tool helps attendees locate vetted PACK EXPO Green Exhibitors that offer eco-friendly materials, components, machinery, and services. Attendees can search by sustainability attribute, package type, or solution category.

Showcase of Packaging Innovations, sponsored by Smurfit Westrock —This special show-floor display features award-winning packaging designs from around the world, including formats that push the boundaries of sustainability, recyclability, and material efficiency.

In addition, Dow is the official sustainability partner and sponsor of show-floor recycling. Dual-stream recycling and trash bins will be placed throughout every exhibit hall.

“Achieving sustainability goals requires more than a single material or technology; it takes a systems-level approach,” Pittas says. “PACK EXPO International gives manufacturers the opportunity to see how packaging design, equipment, reusable systems, and operational improvements can work together to reduce environmental impact while strengthening performance and long-term competitiveness.”

Learn more about sustainable packaging and processing solutions at PACK EXPO International 2026 and register today at www.packexpointernational.com.

"Exhibitor ingenuity is the engine behind ProMat's growth. As companies race to meet rising consumer expectations, our exhibitors are answering with equipment and technologies that make supply chains faster, smarter and more resilient," says Daniel McKinnon, MHI Chief Exhibitions Officer. “This recognition from TSE underscores the role ProMat plays in connecting buyers with the full breadth of advanced supply chain and logistics solutions available today."

"MHI's priority is to bring key supply chain decision-makers and a growing global audience to ProMat. As digital technologies reshape the industry, we have expanded the range of innovative solutions on display at the show,” says MHI CEO John Paxton. “Being named a finalist for Greatest Trade Show of 2025 reflects that commitment — and reinforces the competitive edge we aim to deliver for every exhibitor and attendee who walks the floor."

Adding to its accomplishments, ProMat was also recently named to TSE’s Gold 100’s honoree list for being one of the 100 largest trade shows in the United States in 2025.

ProMat, held April 19-21 at Chicago’s McCormick Place, will be the largest supply chain event of 2027. The show will host more than 1,100 exhibitors, 200+ education sessions, three keynotes and over 50,000 attendees from the supply chain and manufacturing industries. To learn more, visit promatshow.com.

AIP also announced that Trew chief executive Alfred Rebello would serve as CEO of the new organization. Rebello held leadership positions at both Intelligrated and Trew. The company also announced the appointments of Bryan Jones as CFO and John Naylor (another Intelligrated and Trew veteran) as Chief Revenue Officer.

Modern Materials Handling spoke with Rebello to learn more about what customers can expect from this merger, and his plans and goals for the company.

From the customer perspective, what are going to be some of the key benefits (or potential future benefits) of having these solutions in a single organization?

Alfred Rebello: These are two companies each with their own strengths, and customers will now have the best of both worlds. We have a broad and proven product portfolio and solutions across conveyors, sortation, robotics and software. Being vertically integrated gives us control over our supply chain at scale, and we have a highly capable workforce that understands our customers and has expertise in designing solutions that are integrated with a large variety of technologies. All of that bodes well for our customers.

We also have great project execution and lifecycle support services. All of that will allow us to deliver what the customer needs very reliably.

Are there integration challenges that you will need to address?

Alfred Rebello: There are always a number of challenges when integrating companies together, especially when you are carving a division out of a large company like Honeywell. Given the similarities between the two companies and how they operate, I think that will help the process.

As CEO, what do you consider your initial goals for the business? Are there some long-term goals/opportunities you can discuss?

Alfred Rebello: In the short term we are focusing on having a smooth transition, and on integrating our customers and teammates. Each company will keep supporting customers as they have been while we plan and gradually merge operations of both organizations into one. How we best serve our customers is going to be the priority.

The expected growth in demand for warehouse automation over the next three to five years will give us beneficial tail winds as we invest and expand the solution portfolio and our capabilities. We will have a great story to tell as the market expands.

Intelligrated is in its 25th year in business as an integrator, and over time has built quite a large installed base that needs to be modernized. Additionally, we also acquired Transnorm, which has great products and serves a variety of businesses globally. I think all of these things fit together pretty well and gives us a good portfolio to work with

For existing customers, what are your key messages to them about this acquisition?

Alfred Rebello: In the short term, I don’t think things will change. As we move forward, they should expect great service and quality that will improve over time as the two companies come together. Our focus will be to avoid disruptions in the near term, and our operations will be even more optimized as the employees get to know each other.

This combination creates a stronger platform for integration, growth, and enabling a long-term commitment to our customers, employees and partners. Expanded innovation across robotics, automation and software will create opportunities over the long term, and will give us the ability to scale and grow the business.

The facility (which opened on August 5) measures 295,000 square feet, bringing TMHNA’s total Columbus footprint to 1.9 million square feet. While the Columbus campus currently has more than 2,100 employees, the new factory brings an additional 140 jobs. At $100 million, the new factory is the largest investment the company has made to increase its overall manufacturing footprint. With this strategic move, TMHNA is positioned to meet the forecasted market demand for electric forklifts as the market grows over the next five years and beyond.

“In 2023, 66% of all lift trucks sold in North America were electric powered, and currently the market is approximately 70% electric. The electric forklift demand is likely to reach 80% before 2035, and our new factory is poised to address this electrification trend,” said TMHNA President & CEO Brett Wood. “The factory is symbolic of our continued ambition to lead the material handling industry with forward-thinking strategic initiatives. It has been rewarding to see the collaboration over the last two years of the Toyota team, suppliers and city and state representatives to make our Columbus campus the epicenter of electric forklift innovation for years to come.”

TMHNA was joined the ribbon cutting ceremony by Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) leadership, customers, dealers, suppliers, as well as federal, state, and city officials. TICO President Koichi Ito stated that the 100-year-old innovative spirit of the broader Toyota Industries Group was clearly evident in the new Toyota factory on the Columbus campus. Governor Mike Braun praised TMHNA’s efforts in making Indiana a leader in advanced manufacturing. Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon issued a proclamation, acknowledging the long-standing positive impact TMHNA has had on the city. Rep. Erin Houchin seconded TMHNA’s impactful role in the community. Most ceremonial remarks commented on the company’s success with its future-forward strategy, as exemplified by the fact that it manufactures more than 1 in every 3 forklifts sold in North America.

According to the company, collaboration between Toyota Material Handling North America subsidiaries, The Raymond Corporation and Toyota Material Handling, Inc. has taken the forefront at this new facility. The factory’s initial product, the electric Class 1 Stand-Up Counterbalanced Forklift, has an updated design and was produced at the TMHNA factory in Greene, NY until recently. The shift in production location allows the Greene factory to focus on increasingly important products such as reach trucks, order pickers, and automation, while the new factory in Columbus provides increased capacity for counterbalance forklift production.

“This facility is the result of thinking beyond today. Years ago, we made the decision to invest in our future,” said TMHNA Chief Supply Officer Tony Miller. “Today, that investment is strengthening our manufacturing network, expanding our capacity, and positioning us to better serve our customers for years to come. It's also an investment in our associates, this community, and the future of manufacturing in North America." 

The factory features a blend of automation and human craftsmanship that positions the facility to adapt as customers’ needs evolve, including quickly expanding assembly lines as needed. Sustainability is also woven throughout the facility, from the zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) powder coat process to a building designed for future rooftop solar installation.

Construction on the factory began in June 2024 and production started in July 2026.

The manufacturing operation had been using this mix of internal combustion and lead-acid electric trucks for about 15 years to move raw material and finished paper products around their plants.

Badger operates four facilities nationwide, a total of 225,000 square feet of production space. They use lift trucks to keep everything moving from unloading trailers at the docks, moving raw and finished materials inside the facilities, and moving materials back onto trucks to shipping.

To start converting its fleet away from lead-acid batteries and propane, Badger replaced two forklifts in its 50,000-square-foot Fredonia, Wisc., facility, one in California, one in Texas and one in North Carolina.

The introduction of lithium-ion (Li-ion) powered lift trucks (Big Joe Forklifts) to the fleet has been a game changer both in terms of environmental benefits and a savings in maintenance costs and time. To start, Badger has rolled out five lithium-ion lift trucks across its network.

“Long term, we would like to get a full lithium-ion fleet in each facility,” says Jacob Smiley, president of Badger Paperboard. “We have an expansion coming in our Wisconsin facility of 50,000 square feet, and we are planning to equip it with all lithium-ion.”

Badger is gradually rolling out new lithium-ion forklifts in its facilities as they need to be replaced versus scrapping the whole fleet of some very functional trucks. This is giving the manufacturer time to prove out the concept with its operators and see how the trucks perform moving heavy raw material and paper rolls on a day-to-day basis, shift after shift.

“When we connected with the lithium-ion forklift supplier, we found the lithium-ion to be a huge burst of technology for the environmental reasons, but mainly for us on the maintenance side,” Smiley says.

The benefits are clear. Smiley estimates that maintenance costs are down 50%, and as importantly, productivity is up with less time spent on maintenance. In addition, based on actual data from the Big Joe Pulse telemetry system, the 5,000-pound capacity truck is saving the operation $2,788 a year in fuel costs over the IC truck they were using.

History of sustainability

Badger Paperboard has been a leading custom paperboard converter and manufacturer of shipping and packaging materials for 25 years. Starting out by recycling and custom-cutting excess paperboard, the company has expanded from a single Wisconsin location to a nationwide supplier with facilities across the United States, including Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston, Texas; and Los Angeles, California. The company invested heavily in automated, high-speed equipment and enterprise management systems to maintain uniform operational quality across all their plants.

Today, Badger Paperboard supplies commercial, industrial, retail, and food and beverage industries with custom chipboard sheets, solid fiber products and paperboard edge protectors.

The company has grown its workforce to 150 full-time manufacturing employees. The facilities run two-shifts Monday through Friday that cover the 24-hour period. Operations do take a two-hour gap between shifts and use that time to opportunity charge the trucks.

The benefits to lithium are many for Badger and include less maintenance, easier charging and better ergonomics for the drivers. In addition, Badger is saving on fuel costs, and it’s reducing the amount of carbon dioxide it’s putting into the air.

Trucks for many jobs

Badger uses a combination of forklifts in its operations for different applications across the network. The operation is currently using multiple classes of lift trucks. They were able to convert two of the classes to lithium, but the large heavy-duty forklift has had to remain propane until they can find a vehicle with enough power to convert it.

“We really need three to four different class levels of truck to cover our whole need,” Smiley says.

For one, Badger uses a forklift rated for 3,500 to 4,500 pounds. These three-wheel trucks move 2,000-pound pallets of materials around the facility but can also navigate tight spaces. This truck is being used in the California facility to replace an older sit-down counterbalanced model that was using drop-in, lead-acid battery.

“These are used primarily for handling finished good pallets throughout the plant,” Smiley says. “We use them for loading onto racking, picking off racking and then loading on to shipping trailers.”

Badger also uses larger trucks rated for 6,500 pounds that they use for moving products. These vehicles move pallets that are 20 feet long and weigh up to 4,000 pounds. The loads of raw materials are moved as large paperboard rolls onto machines where they are converted to material that can be used as protective packaging.

“These trucks are used to handle some heavier raw material pallets we receive,” says Smiley. “We use it for both unloading and handling in the facility. We also have some extra-long [10- to 20-foot long] pallets that need at least a 6,500-pound truck to handle around the facility.”

This truck is being used in the North Carolina facility and replaced an older Class IV internal combustion cushion tire forklift.

Smiley wanted to get away from internal combustion forklifts for a few reasons.

“We use our trucks indoors and this IC truck was giving off propane fumes; it created heat under the operator’s legs; we found it difficult and dangerous to replace the propane tanks; the engines were always breaking down on us and needing maintenance; and the cost of propane was expensive,” Smiley says.

Badger’s operations also require a heavy-duty 12,000-pound truck that can pick up rolls of material that weigh 2,000 to 5,500 pounds and move them around the plant. These trucks are currently internal combustion propane in Badger’s facilities, but it is his long-term goal to find a lithium-ion truck that can handle the requirements.

“Absolutely, long term we would like to find a lithium-ion truck that can handle these requirements,” he says. “It’s not available now by anyone, but with the pace of technology, it may be soon.”

Badger’s fleet needs to handle a specific application for a product they manufacture called a push pull sheet. Instead of using standard forks, a special attachment on the lift truck replaces the pallet to help manipulate 2,000-pound loads of this product. The new lift trucks are able to handle these special attachments.

“This ability was really good for us and our customers,” he says.

Flexible fleet

The lift trucks Badger uses in its manufacturing operation need to be versatile. The manufacturer needs the ability to move between 4,000- and 5,500-pound paper rolls, but also needs the ability to get into tight spaces.

“Some of our trucks are versatile but some of our trucks are focused on specific tasks,” says Smiley. “When our forklifts are down, it’s a real issue for us. It was becoming so costly to perform maintenance on the older IC and lead-acid trucks. We would pull some of our other techs off of other equipment to try to get us up and running again, but then we wouldn’t have anyone on machine repair or preventative maintenance."

Badger now uses supported dealers for maintenance, and it saves time whenever an issue arises. Previously, they would have to have a technician come out to examine the forklift, diagnose the problem, see if it needs a part, leave and order the part, and then come back to fix the forklift. Now, the Big Joe dealer can log into a dashboard and see what the issue is and come out and fix it.

In terms of charging, the new forklifts fast charge on a 240-volt charger during operator downtime. Lithium-ion batteries don’t run slow or lag when they are running low, they maintain a consistent level of power throughout a shift, and when fast charged on breaks can easily run an entire shift for Badger.

“We’re very excited about the charging aspect on these trucks,” Smiley says. “We’re very big on opportunity charging and just plugging it in on breaks or between shifts or if there’s other downtime. Especially as our other trucks were getting older, they started needing more and more time to charge. We would have to water them and the batteries were located under the seats. With these trucks, we just plug them into the charger on the side of the truck.”

Part of the fleet rollout includes access to a dashboard called Big Joe Pulse from the supplier. This dashboard can be used to track and evaluate any maintenance needs, but it can also be used to determine charging habits.

“We’re so impressed by how advanced they are with this,” Smiley says. “They have a lot of technology on the dashboard to track performance. When the forklift is dead, you can see if a driver missed an opportunity charge. If a driver comes with a complaint that the truck isn’t charged or isn’t charging, Big Joe can look in the dashboard and let us know why.”

For now, it allows the production manager to look at the trucks functioning in each plant. Ultimately, this provides Badger with the opportunity down the line to take a consolidated look at operations across facilities.

“I love that we can get live data on what we are doing in each plant,” he says. “If we had more of these trucks in all our facilities, we could narrow down what’s going on and what we need.”

In terms of ergonomics, the new forklifts bring a number of advantages over lead acid. Operator comfort is improved with no heat coming off the battery under the seat. The forklifts also run a quieter engine and offer more room in the operator compartment.

“With operators in the manufacturing environment, I have to make sure employees are happy and happy to come to work,” Smiley adds. “These trucks are quieter, they have more cabin space and the seat is more comfortable. Making sure they’re happy is a big thing.” 

On-board charging

Industrial lithium technology has become a viable option as an upgrade from traditional lead-acid solutions and well as a solution that finally empowers customers to move from internal combustion (IC) engines to electric. And, according to research firm Interact Analysis, in 2025, lithium solutions accounted for 37% of the total market and is forecast to reach 80% by 2034. It’s a technology on the rise.

Lithium batteries eliminate the need for battery-changing rooms and messy daily maintenance. By enabling “opportunity charging” during 15- to 30-minute
breaks, they can drastically improve fleet uptime and productivity.

Big Joe Forklifts was an early adopter of lithium battery technology in the materials handling industry and has integrated their own lithium battery technology directly into the chassis of the truck, eliminating the need for battery exchange. Additionally, their trucks feature single-phase 120-volt and 240-volt onboard chargers as standard equipment, which is ideal for demos and applications like rentals, where the truck experiences considerable idle time.

Badger decided to go with Big Joe integrated lithium forklifts to replace their IC truck fleet as a solution over using traditional lead-acid or third-party lithium battery drop-ins. By integrating the lithium battery directly into the chassis, the truck’s center of gravity is optimized while providing a more spacious and comfortable operator compartment. When paired with a disciplined opportunity charge practice, the truck batteries are compatible with high power three-phase fast chargers, providing a solution for two-shift and most three-shift applications. The batteries provide optimal performance throughout the shift and are virtually maintenance-free.

Lithium likes to be charged often and fast. Unlike lead acid batteries, it’s not important to fully cycle lithium batteries from empty to full charge. To ensure truck performance and productivity is maintained throughout the shift, the driver simply plugs the truck in to the wall during any idle time to maximize the battery’s state of charge.

At Badger Paperboard, the short idle time between breaks and the longer idle time between shifts, the battery state of charge is always optimized to allow for consistent, high-performance operation throughout their shifts.

Fleets look different from one operation to the next. In a smaller DC, one or two counterbalanced trucks and a couple of pallet jacks can handle receiving, replenishment and shipping as well as they did 10 years ago. In a mid-sized operation, newer reach trucks, orderpickers, pallet trucks, tow tractors and forklifts operate across multiple shifts, temperature zones and dock schedules.

For large warehouse operators, fleet managers track hundreds of vehicles across multiple buildings, along with maintenance needs, charging or fueling requirements, operator assignments, utilization patterns and replacement schedules.

In many ways, the lift truck is still the same old warehouse workhorse that it always was. It looks like its predecessors and handles much of the same work, but the environment around these vehicles has been in a constant state of flux. Labor constraints, the warehouse automation boom, the e-commerce surge and SKU proliferation have all affected fulfillment operations.

Lift truck vendors have responded with more electric options, lithium-ion batteries, improved operator controls, better ergonomics and advanced telematics that give managers more visibility into fleet usage. Because of that, smart fleet acquisition plans now factor in the truck itself, the power source, the operator, the maintenance plan and the vehicle data.

To understand how companies are making those decisions this year, Peerless Research Group (PRG) conducted Modern Materials Handling’s “2026 Lift Truck Acquisition & Usage Study.” The study looks at what lift trucks companies are currently using, the equipment they plan to add, how they’re paying for those vehicles, how the economy is affecting those plans, and how fleets are being maintained and managed.

Quality and cost count most

This year’s report is based on responses from 117 qualified Modern Materials Handling magazine subscribers, all of whom help evaluate and purchase lift trucks for their facilities. Respondents represent a range of facility types, including manufacturing operations (36%), DCs (33%) and warehouses (19%). Respondents work in a range of industries, including manufacturing (69%), retail trade (10%), wholesale trade (7%) and other non-manufacturing businesses (7%). On average, their companies have 247 employees and $465 million in annual revenues.

Electric-powered rider trucks lead the pack in 2026, with 58% of companies running counterbalanced, sit-down and stand-up models. Respondents also use electric-powered pallet trucks like walkies, riders, low- and high-lift models and reach types (43%); and electric-powered narrow-aisle trucks, including orderpickers, side-loaders, turret trucks, stackers and reach trucks (31%).

Internal combustion-powered (IC) counterbalanced lift trucks with cushion tires are in use at 30% of companies. Another 21% use IC-powered counterbalanced lift trucks with pneumatic tires, while 11% use rough terrain lift trucks. The spread underscores how varied lift truck fleets remain, even as electric models take the top spots in this year’s study.

Fleet size looks different from one respondent to the next. Companies are using 21 lift trucks on average, those vehicles are about 10 years old and the oldest truck in the fleet is 17 years old on average. Thirty-six percent have three to nine lift trucks in their fleets, while 24% have fewer than three. Larger fleets are also part of the study, with 12% reporting more than 100 trucks, 11% reporting 25 to 49, and 10% reporting 10 to 14.

Product quality and cost top the list for companies evaluating lift trucks for purchase or lease. Seventy-two percent of respondents say the quality of lift trucks and parts is important, while 70% point to purchase price and 55% cite safety. Respondents also weigh the cost to run the truck over its lifetime (55%), parts availability (53%), service response time (45%) and the relationship with local dealers (41%).

Extended replacement timelines

Companies are stretching their lift truck replacement timelines this year. The average replacement timeline is now 8.3 years, up from 7.9 years in 2025 and 7.2 years in 2024.

Thirty-five percent of respondents say they typically replace their lift trucks after 10 years or more, up from 27% last year. Another 22% replace trucks after eight to less than 10 years, compared to 18% in 2025.

Nineteen percent of companies replace lift trucks after five to less than eight years, down from 25% last year, and 9% replace trucks after less than five years, compared to 16% in 2025. These longer replacement timelines may reflect a more cautious approach to fleet spending in 2026 as companies balance budget constraints, higher equipment costs, tariff concerns and other uncertainties.

Economic and market factors aren’t affecting every fleet purchase the same way. In fact, 41% of respondents say the economy or market factors have little or no impact on how they acquire lift trucks. Another 30% say those factors have some impact, while 29% say they have a great impact. Respondents also shared insights on how current economic factors influence purchasing decisions, with
lift truck acquisitions still mainly coming down to operational need.

“We need it when we need it,” one respondent says. Other survey participants pointed to timing, budgeting and market conditions. “Economic conditions influence our timing and budgeting for lift truck replacements,” another person says. “Market factors such as equipment pricing, lead times and service/ parts availability can affect when we move forward with a purchase.”

Fleet structure and day-to-day management

Beyond replacement timelines, the study also looked at how companies structure their fleets, acquire new trucks and handle older equipment as it is removed from regular service. This year, 43% of companies are operating a core fleet of lift trucks that they use regularly, down from 51% last year. When they acquire new trucks, 68% purchase them, 18% lease them and 15% use both methods.

More than half of respondents (56%) are buying new trucks to replace those currently being used, while 44% are adding to their current fleets. And when it’s time to retire or replace lift trucks, 39% of respondents resell them, 38% turn them over to the dealer when the new trucks are delivered, and 35% store them in case they need them later. Another 14% keep replaced trucks and use them for parts.

The study also looked at three key day-to-day fleet management issues that affect
how lift trucks are used, supported and maintained:

• Operator training: Seventy-eight percent of companies say they train lift truck operators through an internal training program. Another 26% use their dealer for training, while 14% use an independent service provider.

• Autonomous technology: Twenty-four percent of respondents say they’re using or plan to use autonomous or semi-autonomous forklift technology, up from 18% in 2025. The remaining 76% say they are not.

• Maintenance: Companies primarily maintain their lift trucks by outsourcing to a lift truck dealer (43%), using in-house staff (29%), or outsourcing to a maintenance or service contractor (22%).

Tracking the fleet

Fleet management software adoption rates continue to climb, with 49% of respondents using the technology. Of those users, 80% track maintenance history, 71% track maintenance costs, 63% track safety incidents and 63% track operating costs. Others use the software to monitor utilization (57%), truck age (40%) and uptime (39%).

Companies report positive results from their fleet management technology. In 2026, 40% say their implementation has been very successful, 34% call it somewhat successful and 20% say it has been extremely successful.

The write-in responses add some color to those numbers. Companies that aren’t using or planning to implement fleet management software cite implementation cost, lack of need, existing internal systems and small fleet size. Those using or implementing the software say their challenges include budget, data consistency, getting information into the system, keeping records current, owner support and turning fleet data into usable information.

Future acquisitions remain active

Over the next 12 to 24 months, 58% of respondents say they plan to buy or lease new lift trucks (versus 64% in 2025). Among those planning acquisitions, 37% expect to buy or lease two to four trucks, 26% will acquire one truck and 18% expect to add five to nine trucks. On average, respondents plan to buy or lease 5.5 trucks over the next 24 months.

Future spending plans are more modest right now compared to last year. Over the next 12 months, 57% of respondents expect to spend less than $50,000 on lift trucks. Another 15% plan to spend $100,000 to $249,999, while 10% expect to spend $50,000 to $99,999. The average expected spend in 2026 is $182,290, down from $214,110 in 2025.

The survey also looked at how companies are purchasing lift trucks. Dealers remain the primary sales channel, with 82% of respondents buying direct from dealers and 21% getting their vehicles right from the manufacturer.

Companies are also planning for the spare parts needed to keep their lift trucks in service. Wheels and tires top the list at 59%; followed by batteries and battery accessories (58%); chemicals, lubricants and oil (47%); and tune-up parts (40%). Others expect to buy brake components (37%), safety equipment (26%), LPG equipment (23%) or seats (21%) in the next year. 

“From a manufacturing and a warehousing perspective, labor is one of the No. 1 asks from customers because they’re struggling with turnover, wages are increasing, and it’s just a problem across the industry that employers are trying to solve as they struggle to find employees,” says Noah Salmonson, automation sales manager at Hyster.

Many larger companies are investing in technology such as autonomous lift trucks not only to supplement lost labor, but also to help attract and retain their workforce and improve safety across operations—something that has become a major concern as turnover among lift truck operators increases.

“Because of the labor pains, it’s leading to quick and oftentimes just hasty hires with folks that don’t have much experience operating lift trucks, especially in the warehouse environment, where you’re introducing a lot of vertical moves as well,” says Kyle Smart, automation sales manager at Yale Lift Truck Technologies. “That can lead to more and more safety incidents, whether it’s damage to product or equipment, and sometimes people.”

Automation allows facilities to assign their more experienced drivers or laborers to the workflows that still require a high level of human intelligence, says Smart, while automated trucks takeover the more repetitive, mundane tasks.

“A big part of how automated trucks solve those pains are really starting to allow customers and operations to move folks around in their facilities and reallocate headcount that are dedicated to their craft, dedicated to the operation, and have the right experience to really take on those use cases and workflows that are still going to require that level of human intelligence,” says Smart. “Automated lift trucks are not for all the work workflows, but they are, of course, really well suited for the repetitive, mundane tasks that are going from point A to point B all day long.”

Elevating the role of the lift truck operator

By allowing trucks to take over the non-value-added work, companies enable their workforce to further specialize in their job function and take on new roles.

“As with all things in the world of AI and robotics, we’re starting to see roles elevate,” says Cody Upp, chief commercial officer for Vecna Robotics. “It’s very natural for a picker who is running a forklift to become a supervisor and to be effectively managing the material flow of the entire automation solution, and so we’re seeing new roles emerge as people put real dollars down on these investments and they want to make the most of them.”

For example, Upp is seeing more automation-oriented roles created to manage the changing dynamics of the warehouse while the autonomous truck handles the actual materials handling function.

“There’s this human-in-the-loop element that is just always going to be there, in my opinion, just because of how dynamic warehousing is,” says Upp. “Things can change in a moment’s notice… you need a human in the loop to be able to make adjustments in real time.”

Jim Gaskell, director of automated and emerging technologies at Crown Equipment, refers to this type of worker as an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) tender, which he says is typically a position filled by a former lift truck operator.

“Five AGV tenders can manage a 50-truck fleet of automated vehicles,” Gaskell explains. “Their new job is to mitigate any process error that an automated vehicle might get stuck on. For example, if the automated lift truck can’t read a bar code or a warehouse management system error occurs when the vehicle is called to an empty pallet location, these AGV tenders can intervene.”

A specialized workforce for cleaner, safer facilities

Redeploying experienced laborers to higher-value tasks can also directly lead to improved performance and a cleaner, safer warehouse environment.

“Those operators are more confined to that space, which allows them to better dial in their craft of interacting with product overhead,” says Smart. “And, many times it’s going to help reduce overall manual lift truck traffic in that warehouse environment.”

He adds that picking from an automated truck additionally creates a level of improvement in pallet placement and quality.

“Those operators are trained on and mindful of, ‘What is this automated truck; how is it going to be able to interface with this load,’ and that just flushes through the overall workflow as they’re more mindful of how they’re placing product or picking product, and they’re more mindful of product quality that might need to be addressed before they hand over to automated trucks,” says Smart.

Crown’s Gaskell echoes this sentiment noting that because automation generally requires better processes, higher pallet/load quality, better bar codes and improved warehouse layouts, automated systems that are sustained over time can produce dramatic process improvements and less product damage.

“Users of such systems can continue to enhance their processes to achieve greater efficiency, lower cost and higher quality operation,” Gaskell adds.

Because automated lift trucks require clear paths to operate, it also further enforces a culture around cleanliness.

“A lot of companies are searching for opportunities to improve their 5S and with the requirements of an AGV, for instance, and having clear paths… it kind of enforces those things without even really trying to,” says Salmonson.

Removing the hurdles to employment

Finding truck operators with the right certifications and experience is especially challenging as turnover rates remain high. Automation lessens that burden by taking over some of the more industry specific trucks, as well as reducing the barrier of entry into the role.

“Where it might have been in the past you had to have a forklift specialty certification to hop on a vehicle and use it and operate it, now it’s as easy as pressing a button on a screen and sending it to the next location,” says Salmonson.

Upp adds that the time and costs associated with operator training is another major hurdle for companies looking to retain good employees.

“Reducing the complexity of the task, bringing it down to the point where anybody that can tie their shoes can execute the role, makes it far better for employers in terms of attracting and retaining associates,” he says.

Automation starts with good workflow design

Implementing automated lift trucks is not as simple as dropping a truck into a facility and just letting it go, however, says Gaskell.

“One of the biggest misconceptions is that you can replace a manual process with an automated system with little to no process changes,” says Gaskell. “The idea that your operation can just remove the person and have the truck run by itself is inaccurate.”

This is where Upp sees the conversation around autonomous lift trucks really changing, as warehouses focus on multi-agent orchestration across workflows rather than just moving objects from dock door to staging area.

“It’s reconciling the subset of tasks that are available in the order pool or available in the system and determining at what point which task makes sense for which operator for which pending order,” says Upp. “It’s this multivariate analysis of which workflow do we execute and when and by whom and for what that is effectively the calculus that we’re building today. That’s where the game has matured.”

Instead of looking at automation simply as the solution to your labor problem, Upp says today’s companies instead should be asking, “What is the best use of labor, and what is the best use of automation to achieve the lowest cost per order?”

He adds that integration and software play a huge part in being able to make these decisions.

“If you don’t have asset access to those tasks, it’s really, really difficult to execute them,” Upp explains. “Part of this is having contemporary integration architecture that allows us to ingest and digest different tasks that are coming into our system and treat them differently.” 

With most of those questions either answered or no longer relevant, warehouse and DC operators have largely shifted over to electric power. Many in-service vehicles can be converted from lead-acid to lithium-ion batteries, but it’s not always a straight swap.

Battery compartment size, charger compatibility and ballast all have to be factored in, particularly on counterbalanced trucks that use battery weight as part of the truck’s stability profile.

But much like the electric vehicle (EV) is now a familiar sight on highways nationwide, electric lift trucks are becoming the standard inside the warehouse. “Electrification is no longer a forward-looking projection. It’s the default industry standard moving forward,” says Rahul Baliga, vice president of product management at Delta-Q Technologies. “Total cost of ownership is a key driver as companies look at their bottom line for ways to save money. Electrification is helping them achieve that.”

Factor in benefits like lower emissions, easier charging, less noise and less day-to-day battery maintenance into the decision, and once the price became workable, companies naturally shifted over to using them. Total cost of ownership is a strong argument, says Anton Clark, product strategy manager for Enatel, even though lithium-ion batteries cost more upfront than lead-acid batteries.

“The cost gap is closing; it’s not as much as it used to be,” says Clark. “Lithium-ion batteries are also more flexible, and they can be charged faster. You can do things with lithium-ion that you couldn’t do with lead-acid.” That includes opportunity charging, lower maintenance and fewer rules around how and when the battery has to be charged.

Still, some things have to happen before electric batteries become the de facto power source in the average warehouse. For starters, smaller outfits with smaller fleets and low usage will probably stick with lead-acid, at least for now. Some of that comes down to the upfront cost, or the fact that older vehicles can’t always accommodate a lithium-ion battery without some work around size, weight, charging and fit.

Some electric-specific issues and habits also need addressing. For example, operators can’t just hop into a lift truck and drive away without detaching the charger cable first, yet this still happens regularly. “They’ll drive away with that wire still connected and it damages the charger and maybe even the equipment,” says Joe Ferris, market segment manager at Anderson Power. “That creates downtime.”

Shifting from internal combustion engines to electric power is also pushing equipment into different environments, including outdoor yards, construction sites and other harsher locations where dust, debris and water intrusion can be a problem. To help, Ferris says Anderson Power developed an IP68-rated (i.e., sealed against water, dust and debris) connector for use across a variety of equipment for charging and power transfer.

“We seal our connectors to prevent any kind of damage in those environments,” Ferris says. “We’ve also developed a connector that has more signals, so users can identify and maybe even develop a lockout system to prevent someone from just jumping in and driving away before checking the cable.”

Opening the floodgates

When Mark D’Amato got into the lithium-ion battery business in 2017, he had about seven browser bookmarks for lithium battery competitors. That list is now 55 strong and mainly includes overseas-based companies. Some of that is because most of the world’s lithium manufacturing happens in China, plus a smaller percentage in Korea, Japan and South Africa. This isn’t the latest news by any stretch, but it has created a gap for the U.S. warehouse that has a fleet of electric lift trucks working two or even three shifts a day.

“Chinese manufacturers are engineering their products for the single-shift operation,” says D’Amato, vice president of sales at Eneroc. “That’s not the deal here in the United States. If you want the biggest marketplace in the world, you have to tweak your products so they can function and thrive in a two- or three-shift operation.”

D’Amato says the cells themselves aren’t really the problem. It’s the rest of the battery design, including how well it accounts for lift trucks being used in U.S. warehouses and DCs, where heavy lithium markets can mean three shifts and 12 to 19 hours of daily runtime.

The same applies to the service side of the picture: target response times, parts availability, local stocking strategies and whether the customer can get a human on the phone when something goes wrong. “You can sell a good product,” D’Amato says, “but when it breaks and a United States user can’t get the part to fix it, it hurts their overall uptime.”

Regardless of where the batteries come from or how many time zones away those customer support teams are, lithium-ion batteries
still have to do the job they were brought in to do: lower the TCO for the fleet. For that to happen, the trucks have to keep running, the repairs have to be handled quickly and the spare parts have to be available for quick delivery. As his bookmark list continues to grow
and include even more global competitors, D’Amato says the core argument doesn’t change.

“In the end, we’re not really selling batteries,” he says. “We’re selling reduced cost of ownership.”

Thinking beyond the battery swap

The shift to lithium-ion adds some new variables for warehouse and DC operators. Like, what happens when lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries have to coexist in the same operation, along with different voltages, chargers and equipment types?

Baliga says operators have always had to manage mixed fleets, including vehicles that run at 24V, 48V and 80V. Now they’re adding another layer on top of that: different battery chemistries. “You have a completely new battery chemistry mix that includes both lithium and lead to maintain,” he says. “That adds another layer of complexity.”

Fast charging also changes the power equation. With lead-acid, operators often charged one battery while another one powered the truck. With lithium-ion, the goal is often one battery per truck, with fast charging used to minimize downtime. That can work well, but charging several trucks at the same time can create a peak power demand that the facility wasn’t built to handle.

“Companies need to figure out what the peak power demands are going to be within their facilities,” Baliga explains, “and whether they need to upgrade their AC infrastructure to support that level of charging.”

Clark points to another transition issue: lithium-ion batteries protect themselves differently than lead-acid batteries. If a lead-acid battery is overused, the truck may slowly grind to a stop. A lithium-ion battery is more likely to cut itself off to protect the battery. “You don’t want to do that while the truck’s operating,” Clark says. “It can leave a truck stranded with its forks and its load raised.”

These are some of the reasons why the battery swap itself is only one part of the decision. Operators also have to think through charging capacity, mixed-fleet management, truck compatibility, training and how the operation will handle new failure points before they create downtime.

There’s also a people component to factor in here. For example, Ferris says companies should expect a driver training curve as they move from gas- or propane-powered equipment to electric.

Operators who are used to filling a tank now have to learn the ins and outs of charging, connectors and electric equipment. He also recommends following the manufacturer’s guidance on use, replacement parts and service schedules, particularly around
charging components.

“When you’re charging batteries, they can get hot,” Ferris says. “If you’re using an aftermarket part for a replacement part because somebody drove away with that wire and connector and damaged those parts, make sure you continue to use what the manufacturer recommends.”

The road ahead

Electrification may be becoming the default, but battery management is no longer just about picking the right battery. The bigger questions have become how the fleet charges, how much power the facility can support, how well the equipment integrates and whether the people, parts and service network are ready for the shift.

Clark says operators should also think carefully about charger infrastructure as they move through the transition. “Choose charging infrastructure that can suit both chemistries,” he recommends, and particularly for warehouses running lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries at the same time.

According to Baliga, automation is adding another layer to that equation as more autonomous mobile robots (AMR), automatic guided vehicles (AGV) and automated lift trucks are installed in warehouses and DCs. Most of them run on lithium-ion battery power. “Nobody is designing a brand-new AGV or an AMR with a lead-acid battery at this point,” he says.
“The vast majority are all lithium-ion platforms.”

For operators, that means today’s battery decision has to account for both their current and future fleets. “Choose a charging infrastructure that can handle all the different batteries you’ve installed,” says Clark, “and that can grow with the operation.” 

Title: Plant manager

Location: Chicago, Ill.

Experience: Nearly 48 years with BBI, overseeing plant operations and manufacturing

Modern: You’ve been with BBI since 1978. When you think back to your first day, what’s the biggest difference between forklift fleets then and now?

Geldernick: When I started, almost every lift truck was powered by propane or gas. There were very few electric trucks. Today, especially in industries like food and beverage, there’s been a big move toward electric because of regulations and building requirements. The equipment is cleaner, more efficient and much more specialized than it was when I started. Back then, things were a little more fast and loose. Today there’s a lot more planning and technology behind every decision.

Modern: Beyond electrification, what’s the biggest technology change you’ve seen over the years?

Geldernick: Battery watering was one of the biggest changes. I remember visiting a Chrysler plant years ago where one person’s full-time job was standing there with a hose filling batteries with water for an entire shift. Today, if you have an automatic watering system, that same process takes about 5 seconds. Fast charging has also completely changed how warehouses operate. Years ago, you had to remove the battery from the truck and wait about 8 hours for it to charge. Now an operator can plug the truck in during lunch, come back, and it’s ready to go again.

Modern: Are there moments when you stop and think, “I can’t believe we used to do it that way?”

Geldernick: Absolutely. When I first started, if we built five batteries in a day, that was a lot. Today, we can build five or six in an hour. There were processes that required the entire plant working together that now can be handled by just a few people with the help of automation. When I tell younger employees how we used to do things, they look at me like I’m making it up because they’ve never seen manufacturing done that way.

Modern: How have both robots and automation affected your workforce?

Geldernick: At first, people naturally wonder if the machines are going to take their jobs. But once they see the robots handling repetitive work and taking some of the physical strain away, they usually embrace them. Their jobs don’t disappear. The work just becomes easier and more efficient.

Modern: Around the plant you’re known as “The Warehouse Warden.” How did that nickname come about?

Geldernick: I walk about 6.5 miles every day around the plant, and I carry a pretty large ring of keys. One day somebody heard the keys jingling before I walked into an area and yelled, “The Warden’s coming!” The nickname stuck, and now everybody knows it’s me before I even walk through the door.

Modern: You originally came to BBI thinking it would be a summer job. What made you stay for nearly five decades?

Geldernick: I came here after my freshman year of college thinking I’d work for the summer, and I never went back. My responsibilities kept changing. I started at the bottom, worked in assembly, managed the warehouse and eventually became plant manager. Every new role brought a new challenge, and I always felt like I could help make the place better. Before I knew it, 48 years had gone by. 

Warehouse and manufacturing managers put their focus on the equipment that gets the job done, from conveyors to automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) to automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) and more, and with good reason. But there’s value in understanding some basics around the systems that power that equipment, too.

Like all facets of materials handling, motors are an evolving sector. New innovations, changing sizing and power, and of course, the addition of AI and machine learning are all advancing the efficiency of motors. Understanding this can help with buying decisions, as different motors provide different features and benefits.

Whether building a greenfield site from the ground up, or retrofitting a brownfield site with new equipment, having an education on motors is worth your while.

“It’s helpful for end users to have an understanding of their motor infrastructure because while they often think of them as a commodity, they can quickly find out the hard way that choosing a low quality, poor performing or inexpensive motor can very quickly spiral into a significant financial and operational downtime consequence,” says Dustin Horning, industrial automation, corporate strategy and M & A at Regal Rexnord’s Kollmorgen. “End users don’t need to be motion experts, but they do need to understand that the motor is where their machine’s performance ultimately lives or dies.”

It’s important to understand the different types of motors that might be powering your equipment. You may have motorized driven roller (MDR), which are often used in zone-controlled and zero-pressure accumulation systems where these individual powered rollers run warehouse sorting lines.

Or, you may have gear motors, which are electric motors (AC or DC) directly coupled to a gear reducer, which lowers speed while increasing torque to pull heavy loads. Or, you may have drum motor where the motor and gearbox are completely enclosed inside the driving pulley, which eliminates external motors, chains and sprockets. Or, you may have a combination of two or all three.

“A well-designed drive delivers the torque needed to move the load efficiently while maintaining reliable operation and minimizing energy consumption. In many cases, a larger motor doesn’t translate into better performance, it simply increases operating costs,” says Dimitrios Pavlidis, vice president of manufacturing at Van der Graaf (VDG). “The best solution is one that’s properly sized for the application and designed to perform reliably over the long term.”

Sizing and modularity

As the demands continue to ramp up in e-commerce and intralogistics, equipment must meet the moment. But it can’t do that without evolving power transmission systems.

According to Nathan Hibbs, materials handling and intralogistics U.S. industry manager at Beckhoff Automation, one way that motors are meeting this moment is through motor-driven roller conveyor (MDR) controllers. “MDRs offer zone-based operation, which leads to good efficiencies,” Hibbs says. “But they’ve traditionally been limited by their bus systems.”

Beckhoff’s answer to that is their EP741x MDR controller. Integrated with EtherCAT, updates occur in the sub-millisecond range, allowing for synchronization of the routing logic, even when conveyor lines are complex and lengthy.

One of the biggest advantages of this new controller, according to Hibbs, is the fact that it is supplier agnostic. “The key is that we can control any manufacturer’s roller, even with multiple OEMs involved, and that’s unique in the market,” he says. “We can integrate into the roller or onto the side of the conveyor.”

Hibbs says the MDR controller works well in greenfield and brownfield sites, too. German logistics provider Arvato SE recently took advantage of Beckoff’s technology to completely retrofit the central conveyor line running between its central order picking site and surrounding warehouses.

Prior to the retrofit, Arvato SE’s conveyor technology was based on roller drives with three-phase motors, which were loud, ran continuously, and because they were two decades old, frequently failed.

The fix included technology updates with mechanical and electrical elements, and a move to roller motors controlled by Beckhoff’s controllers. Along with those changes, Arvato converted its control hardware and migrated its software. To create modularity for the future, the new system uses 27 control cabinets distributed throughout the system to supply power to the drives.

Eliminating control cabinets is a continuing trend, with many equipment suppliers today opting for a machine mountable power supply. This leads to more flexibility and modularity, which sets you up well for the future and enables easier machine troubleshooting.

According to Horning, there’s also increasing demand for 48-volt motors over 24-volt versions. The systems weigh less, require less wiring, and are not as complex as their predecessors.

“This is often driven by space constraints,” Horning says. “Higher voltage condenses the power density and reduces the need for space. You get both cost and space savings.”

Using 48-volt motors also prevents energy drops and performance lags. Where a 24-volt system might perform less efficiently the longer they run, a 48-volt motor will keep power and speed consistent throughout all shifts.

Another way to save space and conserve energy is to use a drum motor. “With the VDG drum motor, all drive components are enclosed and protected within the drive drum,” says Pavlidis. “This integrated design eliminates external components, including motors, gearboxes, chains, sprockets and couplings, that typically require routine maintenance. As a result, maintenance cycle requirements and associated downtime costs are eliminated.”

The VDG drum motors are designed as complete, integrated drive systems with high electrical and mechanical efficiency. VDG drum motors are inverter-duty rated as standard and tested well beyond industry requirements, allowing customers to confidently use variable frequency drives for precise speed control, improved efficiency and dependable long-term operation, according to Pavlidis.

“The trend isn’t just toward higher voltage, it’s toward smarter, more efficient drive systems that reduce operating costs while improving reliability,” he adds.

Data driven

The data surrounding motor performance has been a constant for some time now, but it’s only in the past several years that manufacturers are putting it to good use. That’s thanks to AI tools and improved sensors, which when combined, can provide more insights into operational efficiencies as well as issues—in real time—than ever before. Intelligent data analytics and diagnostic tools enhance a company’s ability to cut trouble off at the pass.

“We’re seeing AI in a couple of ways,” says Mitsubishi Electric Automation’s Benjamin Strong, industry marketing manager. “One is at the device level, where we have built-in AI functionality.”

That device-level capability is a boon to maintenance personnel, says Strong. “It used to be that a fault code would pop up, the maintenance guy had to look it up and try a list of remedial actions to fix it,” Strong adds. “Now with AI, the motor can tell you the mostly likely cause of the error so that you can troubleshoot it faster.”

In the area of maintenance, some motors are shedding encoders, good news for maintenance teams who find them burdensome. Motors without encoders will have better speed controls and higher energy efficiency.

In the future, look for AI to set motor speeds, optimizing systems and adding efficiencies, says Strong. For now, this is quickly becoming reality in big, horse-powered manufacturing equipment, but it will arrive in the materials handling world soon, as well.

Power drives are also now IoT ready, according to Strong. This means cyber security is a bigger priority and hackers will have less chance of wreaking havoc with your equipment. “We’re rapidly adapting to new standards in hardware and software,” he says.

Condition monitoring is becoming an increasingly important part of conveyor maintenance because it allows operators to identify potential issues before they become unplanned failures.

VDG offers several monitoring options, including GV-Therm, RTDs, thermistors, thermocouples, and encoder feedback for speed and position monitoring. These sensors can be connected to a customer’s existing PLC or plant monitoring system or integrated with one of the supplier’s AI-driven condition monitoring platforms.

“By continuously monitoring operating conditions and analyzing trends, maintenance teams can identify changes that indicate developing problems, allowing maintenance to be scheduled before production is affected,” Pavlidis says. “The combination of reliable sensor data, AI-based analytics, and the VDG drum motor design contributes to maximizing uptime, reducing maintenance costs, and improving overall conveyor performance.”

While motors are never going to be the first thing you think of when it comes to equipment, they are the heavy lifters that make operations tick. Getting to know them can only enhance your operations.

“Throughput, maintenance, and reliability all rely on whether the right motor is running the right duty cycle,” says Horning. “By understanding the basics of what their motor does and should do, they can identify and catch problems before they become operational stoppages and help them understand how to spec new equipment designs and re-engineer for changeovers.” 

Decentralizing motion architecture

Food and beverage lines are some of the most demanding out there today: SKUs have proliferated, e-commerce has taken on increasingly larger sections of the business, and traditional brick-and-mortar retail partners want more customization than ever before. This means packaging is more complex than ever before. With all that at hand, speed is critical, as is space. CosmoPack, an established global packaging company, felt all those pressures and more.

To meet the moment, CosmoPack set a goal of having a single architecture that could handle different materials and formats while simplifying automated packaging line integration. This would serve as a replacement to older, single-purpose models to serve a wider range of customers and their products.

CosmoPack’s new machines would need to fit into compressed food and beverage lines, including applications like vegetable oils and cheese trays, for example. This required clean machine edges, simplified cabling and easy washdown access. There was also a need for reconfiguration, sometimes on little notice, for different production lines, without a major redesign. To accomplish all that, the electrical cabinet would need to be smaller yet support more axes and functionality.

To meet its goal, CosmoPack partnered with Kollmorgen to design the decentralized motion architecture built around the company’s AKD-N servo drives and AKD-C power supply. Kollmorgen mounted the intelligence closer to the motors on the machine, and centralized the power only, resulting in reduced cabinet size and shortened cable runs.

Kollmorgen was able to shorten the setup and installation time because much of the drive configuration happened right at the machine, rather than through complex cabinet wiring. This saved time and costs, and automating the packaging line integration became faster and more predictable as well.

CosmoPack was able to measure the payback on several fronts. Commissioning time dropped significantly because the machines can now coordinate up to 30 axes and achieve up to 80 cycles per minute per track. Even when peak season is in play, the machines operate on a three-shift schedule with high performance and reliable operation. The result: the ability to process more than 500,000 packages with no unplanned downtime.

Future plans include the adoption of the same decentralized motion architecture for a legacy mixer machine and future project designs.

“Lift trucks are no longer viewed as stand-alone pieces of equipment,” says Kaushik Ravichandran, product portfolio director at Toyota Material Handling. “They are becoming part of the larger warehouse operation, tied into data, energy use, maintenance planning and overall productivity.”

Manufacturers are responding with advances that touch nearly every aspect of lift truck operation. Lithium-ion batteries are extending uptime and reducing maintenance, telemetry is delivering actionable fleet insights, operator assistance systems are helping reduce accidents, and automation is boosting productivity.

But technology alone isn’t driving this transformation. The most successful operations are finding ways to integrate these innovations into broader warehouse strategies by using data to make smarter decisions, improve operator productivity and maximize every asset on the floor.

Modern talked to the industry’s top lift truck manufacturers to understand their perspectives on what trends are here to stay.

Toyota Material Handling

For Toyota Material Handling, the biggest changes in lift truck design center around electrification, operator assist systems, automation, connected trucks and charging infrastructure.

“A lot of it comes down to labor, productivity, risk reduction and the move toward electrification,” says Ravichandran. “Customers are trying to move more product with fewer experienced operators, and they need equipment that helps people work more consistently.

“They also want better visibility into how their fleets are being used, less downtime and equipment that is easier to maintain,” he adds. “On top of that, many companies are pushing electrification because of sustainability goals and the long-term operating benefits.”

Toyota remains focused on addressing these customer needs in a holistic way. Rather than focusing on a single area of innovation, Ravichandran says what sets them apart is the combination of proven reliability, operator-assist features, manufacturing discipline through the Toyota Production System, strong dealer support and a broad solutions portfolio.

“Customers are not just buying a truck; they are buying the support, uptime, process knowledge and long-term value that come with it,” says Ravichandran.

Of note in regard to innovation are Toyota’s SEnS+, Smart Environment Sensor Plus, and MyInsights Telematics solutions, which Ravichandran says provide good examples of Toyota innovation because they are practical, useful, scalable and focused on real customer needs.

SEnS+ uses stereoscopic vision to help detect pedestrians and objects around the truck, while MyInsights gives customers standard telematics capability, so they can better understand their fleet.

Ravichandran considers telematics and operator assist technologies the most often overlooked areas of innovation, whereas automation tends to draw a lot of attention.

“Automation is real, and it has a strong future, but successful deployment takes a lot of work,” he says. “You have to look at the site, the process, the throughput requirements, the warehouse systems, the support model, and how people will adapt to the change. In many operations, the better near-term answer is not full autonomy everywhere; it may be operator-assist technology, better fleet data, targeted automation or a mix of those solutions."

Connecting all of these technologies is ultimately what will have the biggest impact on materials handling equipment, Ravichandran concludes, predicting that while the basic job of the forklift has not changed, architecturally, the truck of tomorrow will be very different.

“It will be more electric, more connected, more software-driven and more supportive of the operator," adds Ravichandran. “Similar to what we’re seeing in the automotive industry, the lift truck will continue to evolve from a mechanical asset into a smarter, more integrated part of the customer’s operation.”

For Toyota Material Handling, the biggest changes in lift truck design center around electrification, operator assist systems, automation, connected trucks and charging infrastructure.

Linde Material Handling

Linde Material Handling, which is a subsidiary of the KION Group, sees the most interesting areas of innovation happening at the intersection of equipment, data and technology.

While automation, safety systems and telemetry have become an industry standard, John Pizarro, senior product manager of electric counterbalanced forklifts at Linde, says innovation is no longer limited to the truck itself.

“The lift truck is increasingly part of a connected ecosystem, where data from the equipment can help operators, fleet managers and facility leaders make better decisions about utilization, maintenance, safety and overall productivity,” Pizarro says.

That emphasis on using data to make smarter decisions and improve operations is driving a lot of today’s innovation, according to Pizarro.

“That means innovation is increasingly about visibility, connectivity and actionable insights,” he says. “The best technology isn’t just adding complexity; it’s helping customers better understand what’s happening in their fleets and where they have opportunities to improve.”

In response to these driving forces, Linde launched the myLinde fleet management system earlier this year, the successor to Linde Connect.

“This represents a major step forward in our digital product offering, with improved user experiences across both the forklift and office interfaces, our first AI-powered product feature, and a platform foundation that allows us to continue developing new capabilities without requiring customers to deploy new hardware,” Pizarro says.

Linde also continues to focus on physical innovation by redesigning one of their most popular electric forklifts, the Linde E18-E20, in 2025. The goal was to focus on thoughtful updates that would help future-proof the truck for evolving customer needs while also supporting increasingly connected operations.

“Many of those improvements manifested in ergonomics and visibility, such as slimmer mast profiles and a less intrusive front dashboard,” says Pizarro. “We also incorporated new compatibility with our digital product line, helping ensure the lift truck can continue to support the connected fleet environments our customers are moving toward.”

This focus on operator-centered design is something Pizarro finds to be commonly overlooked as the industry moves toward automation and digital integration. “Most facilities still rely heavily on skilled operators,” he says. “While smarter trucks and connected fleets are driving the industry forward, improvements in ergonomics, visibility, control and ease of use can have a major impact on productivity, safety and retention and shouldn’t
be overlooked.”

Looking to the future, Pizarro expects the lift truck will become even more integrated into the broader warehouse and supply chain environment—rather than operating as a stand-alone piece of equipment.

“Ultimately, the lift truck of the future will still need to do the fundamentals well—move product safely, reliably and efficiently—the difference is that it will also be a smarter, more connected tool that helps the entire operation perform better,” he concludes.

The Raymond Corporation

The Raymond Corp., a subsidiary of Toyota Industries Corp., has found that customers are looking beyond individual pieces of equipment and focusing on how trucks and technology can work together to drive efficiency and productivity.

This is the main focus of the lift truck manufacturer’s iWarehouse suite of intelligent warehouse solutions, which connects lift trucks, operators and facility data into one single ecosystem.

“What differentiates Raymond is our customer-centric approach to develop integrated intralogistics solutions in combination with a growing portfolio of individual product lines,” says Shannon Curtis, director of product marketing at The Raymond Corp. “We approach innovation from the perspective of the entire operation, connecting lift trucks, automation, telematics, energy and data-driven technologies into a cohesive ecosystem. Our ability to combine intralogistics software…enables customers to gain deeper operational visibility.”

Raymond also continues to advance its energy solutions, including its lithium-ion battery, in an effort to continue adapting to real-world warehouse challenges in diverse applications.

The battery, Curtis says, is engineered around the peak energy demands of Raymond lift trucks and can be integrated with connected technologies that provide real-time visibility into battery performance and energy consumption.

“This innovation allows customers to power equipment and manage energy as a strategic operational asset,” she says.

As interest continues to grow in connected systems like integrated operator assist technologies, Curtis emphasizes the importance of purposefully and thoughtfully integrating advanced technology.

“Many organizations understand the value new technologies can provide, but implementation often comes down to readiness,” she says. “Operation leaders want to ensure all investments align with their business objectives and can be successfully integrated into existing workflows, without delaying current projects.”

This, Curtis adds, comes down to choosing technologies that can provide measurable value while ensuring you have the right optimizations in place first.

“Organizations that establish visibility into their operations and develop a clear technology roadmap are often better positioned to adopt new innovations successfully,” she concludes.

Yale Lift Truck Technologies

Two of the biggest topics of innovation in lift trucks today, according to Yale Lift Truck Techonologies, are automation and advanced operator-assist technologies, with advances primarily focused on making sophisticated technology easier to deploy and manage.

“Operations are looking for solutions that are easier to install, configure and scale without requiring specialized expertise,” says Steven LaFevers, president of technology solutions at Yale Lift Truck Technologies. “Reducing complexity is critical to accelerating adoption, which is why Yale has focused on developing automation technologies that can be deployed quickly, modified easily and integrated into existing workflows.”

LaFevers adds that, ultimately, continued innovation will depend not only on advancing technology itself, but overcoming the barriers around cost, complexity, implementation and limitations around technical resources.

Yale’s automation solution, Yale Relay, was designed for this exact reason: to make automated lift trucks more practical and accessible for real-world materials handling operations, says LaFevers.

Rather than treating automation as a large, complex project that requires months of planning and implementation, Yale Relay was developed to simplify the deployment of automated lift trucks with faster installation, intuitive configuration and the flexibility to adapt as operational needs change, he says.

“Yale Relay also allows warehouses to automate without a huge capital expense or hidden costs. Automation can be deployed in as little as a day, and operations can take advantage of a rental model that rolls all costs into a single monthly or annual fee,” LaFevers explains. “This low financial barrier to entry lets operations pilot the program with only one or two trucks and get real-world operational data to drive future automation decisions.”

Another major focus area for Yale is around safety, which LaFevers considers an underappreciated opportunity for innovation. He adds that Yale Reliant and Yale Vision help customers improve safety through operator-assist features, telemetry, cameras, sensors and actionable fleet data.

“These technologies—both the passive technologies like lights and alarms, and active technologies that alert and intervene to assist operators—play an increasingly critical role in helping operators identify hazards, improve situational awareness, monitor impacts and provide actionable fleet data,” says LaFevers. “While these technologies may receive less attention than automation, they can deliver immediate safety and operational benefits across an entire fleet.”

Approaching innovation through a lens of adaptability remains a strong tenet for Yale as they look to the future, where LaFevers says lift trucks will likely be far more intelligent, connected and autonomous, yet still will retain a role for human operators.

“Automation is going to become more flexible and widespread, but not necessarily fully autonomous in every application,” he predicts. “That’s one of the reasons why Yale’s automation strategy centers on dual-mode equipment that can operate autonomously while still allowing operators to take control when circumstances require it. Ten years from now, the most advanced lift trucks will likely blend automation, AI, operator-assist technology and connected fleet intelligence into a single platform to enable safer, more productive operations while keeping people involved where they add the greatest value.”

Crown Equipment

Innovation is largely driven by the workforce at Crown, where developments have consistently focused on how to improve operator productivity and better fit a changing workforce, says Jim Mozer, senior vice president at Crown Equipment.

“It is certainly no secret that nearly every operation is seeking to do more with existing resources or even fewer resources that were available previously,” says Mozer. “Consequently, there is always a great deal of interest in any lift truck feature that offers the potential to increase productivity.”

Crown’s SP 1500 series orderpicker, for example, includes additional visibility features that help operators work more efficiently and productively, which Mozer says is especially important as order picking has evolved with the rise of e-commerce.

“The SP 1500 series also includes what we call the Xpress Lower feature, which accelerates platform and mast lowering up to 205 fpm, reducing cycle time and increasing productivity up to 25%,” says Mozer. “For some customers, the extra productivity translates directly into savings by postponing or eliminating fleet expansion.”

Crown also introduced the WJ Series electric pallet jack, which is designed to assist operators with maneuvering pallet loads up to 3,300 pounds in tight spaces with reduced effort compared to manual pallet jacks. It also offers the convenience of one-handed V-Force lithium-ion battery swapping and simplified charging options that plug directly into a standard wall outlet.

At the same time, Mozer adds that warehouse managers are also keenly aware of what attracts and retains employees. Lift truck features like Crown’s operator assist solutions that help reinforce operator training or improve the operator experience are growing in importance for their potential to address employee turnover.

“There are a number of emerging technologies today, and each takes its turn on the hype cycle, if you will,” says Mozer. “The truth is that customer needs vary greatly, and they often require a solution consisting of multiple technologies that best fit each customer’s business. Our focus is on understanding customer challenges and developing a comprehensive solution that may involve multiple technologies, integrated in a way that best addresses individual customer needs.”

The big question, Mozer adds, is whether these technologies help address core requirements for increasing productivity, reinforcing training or improving the operator experience, and how well they are integrated into the operation of the lift truck.

“Many early adopters have learned valuable lessons about the importance of integration with their materials handling equipment as well as their business processes and the expectations of their workforce,” he says. “The technologies are important, but the process for their implementation is equally important to their success…Every implementation requires careful planning, clear goals and measurable outcomes.” 

Headquartered in Sydney, All Lift Forklifts is a family-owned business with six locations across Australia. The company operates a diversified rental fleet, serves customers across a broad range of industries and provides comprehensive service capabilities.

“We are excited to join forces with the Jungheinrich Group and look forward to combining our strengths to create new opportunities for our customers and the business,” says Dean Kretchmer, Managing Director of All Lift. “For more than 26 years, our success has been built on great people, strong customer relationships, and a commitment to quality service. We believe Jungheinrich is the right partner because they share our values and long-term vision and will support the continued growth and development of our business, our employees, and our customers as we enter this exciting next chapter for All Lift.”

“The acquisition of All Lift is a logical step in strengthening our presence in Australia and advancing our growth ambitions in the APAC region,” says Nadine Despineux, Member of the Board of Management for Sales at Jungheinrich AG. “As part of our Strategy 2030+, we are expanding our footprint in attractive growth markets and strengthening our position beyond Europe. Australia is a highly dynamic market, and rental solutions are becoming increasingly important for customers seeking flexibility and lifecycle-oriented offerings. Together with All Lift, we will significantly accelerate our development in this strategically important segment.”

According to the company, All Lift brings extensive rental expertise, a strong customer base and a well-established service network. Together, Jungheinrich and All Lift will further strengthen their offering across ownership, rental and service solutions, creating additional value for customers and supporting sustainable growth in the Australian market.

Following the acquisition, All Lift will continue to operate under its existing brand name, ensuring continuity for customers, employees and business partners.

Earlier this year, Jungheinrich acquired a 4.9% stake in the Chinese industrial truck manufacturer EP Equipment, as well as a stake in Navflex, which provides physical AI and truck loading automation solutions.

To achieve clear and positive returns from their AI investments, CSCOs must deploy a “rightsized” change management strategy, that explicitly links change execution to AI strategy, supply chain strategy and broader enterprise priorities, so that change resources are directed toward outcomes and not individual activities.

“Organizations are getting better at executing change for individual initiatives,” said Lorraine Gavin, Senior Principal Analyst in Gartner's Supply Chain practice. “The bigger challenge today is deciding where to invest limited change management resources so that they support the business outcomes that matter most. AI is making that decision more important than ever.”

Gartner surveyed 394 supply chain professionals from organizations with annual revenue of at least $250 million between November 2025 and February 2026, to determine the allocation of their organizations’ digital investments. To document supply chain AI use cases and clarify the ROI of these activities, Gartner surveyed 135 senior supply chain leaders from January through April 2026.

Rapid AI evolution is causing use cases to proliferate faster than organizations can develop effective change management approaches to support them. Gartner research distinguishes between change methodologies and change strategy.

While change methodologies provide the steps and activities used to execute change for individual initiatives, a change strategy establishes how finite change management resources should be allocated across AI initiatives to achieve broader supply chain and enterprise objectives.

CSCOs should establish an AI change strategy that aligns change investments with business outcomes and protects AI investments from fragmented adoption (see Figure 1).

Rightsized Change Management to Double ROI

As AI initiatives continue to multiply, CSCOs must move beyond fixed, one-size-fits-all approaches and deliberately align change investments to the outcomes they are trying to achieve. Gartner predicts that by 2030, organizations that rightsize their change management efforts in this way will achieve twice the ROI on AI initiatives compared with those that continue to rely on legacy methodologies.

According to Gartner research, CSCOs seeking to improve their organizations’ AI outcomes should:

• Establish a Formal AI Change Strategy: Institutionalize AI change management as a distinct strategic discipline that supports the organization's AI technology strategy and creates a foundation for intentional, outcome-driven execution.
• Prioritize and Allocate Change Resources Strategically: Treat change management capacity as a scarce resource and concentrate investment on high-value AI initiatives with the greatest potential to drive supply chain outcomes and ROI.
• Adopt a Composable Approach to Change Execution: Define different change approaches based on the scale, speed and organizational context of each initiative, rather than relying on a single standardized methodology.
• Build AI Change Leadership Capabilities: Develop leaders with business acumen, workforce development expertise and risk management capabilities so they can effectively guide AI-enabled transformation.

Carlin joined IoPP on July 1 and is working alongside Chase throughout July to ensure a seamless transition for members, volunteers, partners, sponsors, and stakeholders. Chase, who announced her retirement in June, concludes more than 30 years of service to IoPP and the packaging profession on July 31.

“Following a thoughtful search, the Board of Directors is excited to welcome Conor Carlin to IoPP as President.  His leadership skills, passion, and commitment to the packaging profession make him the right person to build on the strong foundation Jane Chase has established. We are thrilled to have him and look forward to the valuable insights he will bring to our mission,” Nicole Kandoth, Chair of the IoPP Board of Directors, said.

Carlin brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across the packaging, plastics, and advanced materials industries. Throughout his career, he has built strategic partnerships, led business growth, advanced professional education, and supported innovation across the packaging value chain in North America, Australia, and Europe.

He joins IoPP from Clefs Advisory LLC, where he serves as President, advising companies on sustainable business strategy, market expansion, packaging recyclability, and the application of AI to small and medium sized manufacturing firms. Previously, he served as Executive Vice
President and General Manager of North American operations for ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG., leading commercial strategy, business growth, and customer partnerships across food, consumer packaged goods, medical, and industrial packaging markets.

A longtime association leader, Carlin recently completed a nine-year term on the Executive Board of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), including service as the first VP of Sustainability and President. His experience includes strategic planning, board governance, volunteer leadership, chapter engagement, and advancing education and professional development for members worldwide. He has also served as Managing Editor of SPE's divisional publications and has been an IoPP member since 2020.

Carlin is also a recognized thought leader in packaging and sustainability. He is the co-author and editor of the second edition of Plastics & Sustainability: Grey is the New Green, has contributed articles to international industry publications, and has represented the plastics industry through the United Nations Environment Programme. In 2023, he was recognized by Plastics News as a "Notable Leader in Sustainability."

Looking ahead, Carlin sees tremendous opportunity for both IoPP and the packaging profession. “I am honored and excited to be joining IoPP. The organization is more relevant and important today than at any point in its history. EPR legislation in the US, PPWR requirements in Europe, and sustainability mandates worldwide are creating a new category of required expertise that IoPP members deliver every day. If you are making decisions about packaging materials, design, supply chain, or sustainability, you should be here with us,” Carlin said.

Following the official transition on August 1, Carlin will lead IoPP’s continued efforts to create networking and educational opportunities that help packaging professionals succeed. He will work closely with members, chapters, technical committees, volunteers, partners, and staff to build on the organization's strong foundation while advancing its mission and strategic priorities.

About the Institute of Packaging Professionals 
The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) is dedicated to the proposition that packaging is a positive, environmentally responsible, and economically efficient force operating in a modern economic society for society's benefit and improved well-being. IoPP is committed to leadership in packaging through the continuing education and growth of its members and other packaging professionals.

Stronger coordination across the supply chain and within organizations can support more effective planning, reduce disruption, and improve response to future obsolescence events, according to the report. The analysis of the operational impact of obsolescence describes how end users, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and component suppliers can overcome gaps between industry needs and current practices.  

Despite the costly and disruptive nature of obsolescence, a substantial number of end users, OEMs, and component manufacturers have not established a formal process to address it. Nor do they have a dedicated obsolescence manager. In addition, obsolescence communication timelines and the time during which obsolete components are available tend to be shorter than industry preferences.  

To mitigate the negative effects of obsolescence, end users rely on backstocking, seek alternatives, purchase new machinery, and extend component life via preventive maintenance programs. They want OEMs to communicate obsolescence events as early as possible, avoid custom components, and assist in planning for and mapping obsolescence challenges.

However, OEM obsolescence management tactics primarily focus on providing conversion kits, creating new components, and selling new machinery. OEMs would also like early communication and assistance with planning and mapping potential obsolescence events. In addition, they wish component manufacturers would be more transparent about R&D cycles.

To address these needs, some component manufacturers explain why a component is being discontinued, offer alternatives, and provide estimates of product lifespan and conversion kit costs.

The report concludes that all stakeholders have a role to play in communicating, planning for, and managing obsolescence events. Collaboration and more formal processes would help prevent obsolescence events that trigger cascading impacts across multiple components or systems or result in a premature lack of backstocked components.

OEMs and component manufacturers should prioritize proactive communication and provide as much lead time and supporting information as possible when issuing obsolescence declarations. They also should be prepared to communicate this information to multiple contacts and departments within customer organizations, according to the report.

To manage future risks and costs, end users would benefit from the data needed to factor obsolescence into total cost of ownership calculations and into upfront offerings such as proactive service agreements and component planning strategies.

As the report makes clear, managing obsolescence requires earlier communication, stronger planning and closer collaboration among end users, OEMs and component suppliers. PACK EXPO International 2026 provides a timely forum for those conversations, bringing 48,000 attendees together with 2,600 exhibitors to see machinery in action, compare emerging technologies, discuss equipment lifecycle and service strategies, and make more informed total-cost-of-ownership decisions. Across 1.3 million net square feet, attendees can connect directly with the partners and solutions that can help reduce disruption and prepare their operations for future obsolescence challenges.

Visit packexpointernational.com to learn more and register.