For many companies, e-commerce and in-store fulfillment capabilities are nearing capacity. Automated material handling is the way forward.

Before decision-makers can implement solutions, they must find the right partner.

When future-proofing, it is wise to trust the best material handling companies with extensive experience and holistic approaches.

What Are the Best Material Handling Companies?

These organizations follow warehouse automation trends closely and value long-term partnerships, making them ideal partners for implementing new technologies.

1.   Solutions in Action

As a leading material handling systems integrator, Solutions in Action is among the best material handling companies. It designs, implements, and maintains innovative automation solutions tailored to clients’ needs.

Its turnkey service takes a consultative approach, leveraging analytics expertise and decades of experience in automated material handling. The result is a unique system that addresses facility-specific needs. Implementation may lead to productivity and operational enhancements.

2.   Dematic

Founded in 1819, Dematic has over two centuries of material handling expertise. This supply chain solutions provider can automate shipping, storage, receiving, transport, and picking. Its IT engineers can customize software to meet a facility’s specific needs.

Dematic Operate — its modular asset management tool — connects fulfillment, warehouse management, and analytics within a single ecosystem. It averages a continuous flow algorithm, dynamic slotting, and system-directed picking logic to maximize efficiency and reduce errors.

3.   SSI Schaefer

Family-owned SSI Schaefer is a global intralogistics solutions provider specializing in picking, conveying, and storage. Its offerings include a free-roaming pallet shuttle, a semiautomated goods-to-person racking system, and automated guided vehicles (AGVs).

For a contract manufacturer in the pharmaceutical sector, it built a fully automated high-bay warehouse. Interconnected systems — AGVs, storage and retrieval machines, and extended warehouse management software — supply 20,000 double-deep pallet spaces.

4.   Daifuku

Established in 1937, Daifuku has grown into a leading logistics systems provider. Its process spans consulting, design, engineering, installation, and after-sales services. Its equipment can work independently or together to decrease mispicks and improve cycle times.

One workwear business commissioned an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) at its 15,000-square-foot distribution center. Automation enabled it to fulfill 300 boxes hourly — up from 30 — while drastically reducing mispicks and improving customer satisfaction.

5.   Fives

The world’s largest manufacturers, distributors, and e-commerce retailers trust Fives because of its 200-year history. It can tailor process, sorting, or automation equipment to specific facilities by engineering custom hardware and utilizing proprietary software.

In under two years, it designed dozens of handling systems and turnkey automated sorting solutions for an international parcel delivery service’s new hub. Its involvement enabled the brand to sort up to 10,000 parcels per hour.

6.   Symbiotic

Symbiotic specializes in AI-powered robotics and intelligent vision systems. Its autonomous robots can build mixed-case pallets in variable-height bays. They use smart routing, enabling them to reach speeds of up to 20 mph.

Intelligent tools achieve superior handling efficiency. For instance, its smart depalletizer can process 1,700 cases per hour, while its vision-enabled palletizer cell rates can reach 1,350 cases per hour.

7.   Muratec

Muratec — a Murata Machinery brand — can engineer and integrate tailored storage, retrieval, and sortation solutions. Since 1974, it has installed tens of thousands of systems, many of which have been in operation for over 25 years.

One global beverage manufacturer contracted it when orders increased by 20,000 picks daily. It engineered and installed a custom AS/RS, improving performance by 45% and reducing annual logistics costs by $500,000.

8.   Bastian Solutions

Since 1952, Bastian Solutions has grown from a small Midwest company into a global organization. Its material-handling automation solutions include robotics, AGVs, goods-to-person systems, AS/RS, and sortation systems.

Its AutoStore systems — comprising 840,000 bin locations, 18,800 feet of conveyor, and 1,000 robots — enabled one technology retailer to offer free next-day delivery to 50 million people while optimizing store replenishment.

9.   Fortna

Design-build firm Fortna specializes in software and robotics for supply chain automation. It takes a holistic approach to engineering, considering the upstream and downstream impact of implementation.

One of its largest projects involved a gear and apparel retailer whose e-commerce and in-store fulfillment capabilities were at capacity. By retrofitting sortation systems and upgrading the warehouse execution system, it completely overhauled the center without disrupting operations.

10.        Gebhardt

Owner-managed Gebhardt produces all components and systems in-house. It has multiple plants spanning over 242,000 square feet. It uses this space to develop tailored intralogistics systems aligned with Industry 4.0.

Its high-throughput sensing sortation system helped drive international expansion for another company. The sorter processes up to 11,150 shipments per hour at the 300,000-square-foot fulfillment center.

Trends Shaping Material Handling

Automated material handling trends follow SKU proliferation, order volumes, and shelf space limitations. Autonomous robots, machine learning, and AS/RS solutions are finding themselves in warehouses that previously supported only pallet handling and case picking.

The companies listed may not deploy humanoid robots or build self-managed warehouses, but such systems are still largely theoretical. These companies drive the future of fulfillment by engineering innovative solutions and remaining responsive to change. Their equipment enables clients to adapt to demand fluctuations and maintain resilience to supply chain disruptions.

Some fulfillment centers may only need conveyors and warehouse management systems, while others will require intelligent end-of-arm tooling and AGVs. These organizations offer a range of solutions — including custom-engineered hardware — to meet any facility’s needs.

Key Criteria for Evaluating Prospective Providers

Integration with existing systems is an essential consideration because a properly implemented system enables faster throughput with fewer delays and scalable growth without a complete overhaul.

Decision-makers must consider equipment, software, labor, data, and analytics to avoid misconfigurations, data silos, and communication errors. Companies should be able to integrate their equipment into existing systems. The ability to install and control other vendors’ systems helps facilities create a unified ecosystem that serves as a single source of truth.

Partners should provide consultation, design, engineering, implementation, controls integration, testing, commissioning, training, and support. Turnkey services may not be a dealbreaker, but they simplify the selection process.

While design, engineering, and installation are critical, companies with after-sales services are superior to those without. Ongoing support can increase hardware longevity. It may even lower costs, since companies don’t need to find multiple vendors to service a single system.

Deciding Between Warehouse Automation Partners

While early adopters may gain competitive advantages, this is not a decision supply chain leaders should rush. Since these material handling companies are the best, deciding between them will take time.