Fourfold award success: SSI SCHAEFER impresses at the materialfluss Product of the Year 2026
The future-proof distribution logistics solution for Schou, featuring a fully automated high-bay warehouse, is awarded 1st place in the category "Conveying and Lifting Technology"
The WAMAS Emulation Center, the digital echo of the real warehouse, secures 1st place in the category "Software"
The RackBot System Compact at the Transmec Group achieves 2nd place in the category "Project of the Year"
The SSI Carrier with its automatic loading and unloading receives 2nd place in the materialfluss Product of the Year category "Storage and Picking Technology"
Neunkirchen, Germany, March 6, 2026 – Once again, readers of materialfluss had the opportunity to vote for products of the year. After a two‑month voting period, the 2026 award winners were announced on March 5 in Munich.
Mauro Lunardelli, Head of Business Unit Logistics Solutions at SSI SCHAEFER, emphasizes: "The renewed recognition of our systems clearly shows that with consistent automation, intelligent software, and scalable solutions, we deliver exactly the answers our customers need today. Whether SSI Carrier, SSI Exyz, RackBot System, or WAMAS, each of these products and solutions stands for future readiness, efficiency, and maximum reliability. The recognition from the readers strengthens our commitment to further advancing our technological ambitions with determination."
Automated high-bay warehouse with 40,000 pallet locations for Schou
The SSI SCHAEFER solution for Danish retailer Schouis a fully automated high‑bay warehouse with 40,000 pallet storage locations, serving as the centerpiece of a new centralized distribution center in Kolding. The 42‑meter‑high facility operates entirely without manual intervention and was planned, built, and integrated into the overall process by SSI Schaefer as general contractor. Six energy‑efficient SSI Exyz storage and retrieval machines handle pallets in double‑deep storage, enabling up to 28 double cycles per hour. At peak times, the system processes up to 2,520 transport units per day.
WAMAS Emulation Center replicates all relevant hardware and software components of the warehouse
Unlike simulation, which reflects the modeled behavior of the system, emulation includes the replication of all relevant software solutions, hardware components, and PLC controls of the warehouse. The WAMAS Emulation Center brings this emulation capability into a single software solution, acting as a realistic digital echo of the warehouse and authentically reflecting the interaction between system logic and control. Running in parallel with live operations, the WAMAS Emulation Center operates on a test server where all warehouse processes can be replicated. This allows material flows to be analyzed, bottlenecks identified, and efficiencies optimized under a variety of operating conditions - without any impact on ongoing operations.
RackBot System Compact in use at the Transmec Group
As a logistics service provider, the Transmec Group sought a solution to process orders faster and more transparently. SSI Schaefer, acting as general contractor, built a picking warehouse with 13,000 storage locations, supplied fully automatically by a robotics solution. This increases order throughput by 50 percent compared to manual warehouse logistics, with an annual capacity of 800,000 orders. The RackBot System Compact maximizes storage density and warehouse availability. A fleet of 15 mobile robots handles all storage and retrieval movements.
Higher level of automation: SSI Carrier with automatic loading and unloading
With the automatic loading and unloading of the SSI Carrier overhead conveyor system, a fully automated sorting process based on hanging conveyor technology becomes possible. The solution combines robot‑based loading with automatic unloading via newly developed SmartDrop pockets, adding two decisive automation steps to the existing system. By merging high system reliability, end‑to‑end automation, and intelligent control, SSI Schaefer delivers an innovative solution that offers both economic and technological advantages in meeting the increasing demands of modern intralogistics.
At the festive award ceremony of the materialfluss Product of the Year 2026 in Munich, SSI SCHAEFER received four awards.
l.t.r.
Riccardo Brunazzi, Operations Responsible, Transmec Log s.r.l.
Martin Schreiner, Head of Product Team Overhead Conveying Systems, SSI SCHAEFER
Rene Elgaard, Managing Director, SSI SCHAEFER Denmark
Peter Kanonir, Senior Productmanager WAMAS Product Line Software, SSI SCHAEFER
Isabella Longhi, Sales Director, SSI SCHAEFER Italy
Simone Corradini, General Manager, Transmec Log s.r.l.