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When warehouses become ‘living’ ecosystems
Anyone who visited the Linde Automation Summit 2025 in Aschaffenburg noticed it immediately: automation is at a tipping point. It is no longer just a few experimental robots or isolated AGVs. What Linde Material Handling demonstrated over these two days was a completely modern systems approach that transforms warehouses into precisely orchestrated logistics organisms.
The common thread running through all the presentations? Automation has come of age. And that changes everything.
The intralogistics sector has always been highly dynamic, but the changes companies are facing today are structural. Labor shortages are no longer a temporary phenomenon, but a constant. Lead times are getting shorter, orders smaller, and seasonal peaks more extreme. More and more companies are realizing that they need to fundamentally reorganize their warehouses, rather than simply making them more efficient.
Linde’s Summit made that evolution tangible. Not in keynotes full of buzzwords, but in concrete deep dives, test cases, simulations, and robots that simply work without fanfare. In a world where the term ‘AI’ sometimes promises more than it delivers, that was refreshing.
Those who followed the presentations closely noticed that Linde repeatedly emphasized one theme: automation is no longer about the technology itself, but about the flow.
As Torsten Rochelmeyer, Senior Director Strategy & Solution Portfolio (Linde), put it: “An AMR that drives from A to B is not automation. A system that understands and optimizes every process parameter—that is automation.”
This vision translated into four clearly recognizable pillars, each interwoven in the demonstrations and testimonials:
The latter element proved to be perhaps the most revolutionary. Automation does not stop at commissioning: it continues to evolve, learn, and optimize—sometimes daily, sometimes seasonally.
In Europe, nine out of ten warehouses are located in existing buildings. So real innovation only works when it lands there too. Linde demonstrated that their hardware is not only designed for sleek greenfields, but can also cope with variable lighting conditions, unexpected obstacles, old infrastructure, floor slopes, seasonal rushes, mixed traffic with manual trucks, etc.
The Linde E-MATIC, the first automated counterbalance forklift truck, stood out in particular. Not because it looks futuristic, but because it can be used in just about any common application: indoors, outdoors, on loading docks, between racks, on slopes. Automating a forklift truck is technically complex—it requires robust sensors, extra safety layers, and advanced navigation. But this is precisely where Linde demonstrates its maturity: a vehicle that is reliable, low-maintenance, and future-proof.
Equally striking was RoCaP – Linde's robotic case picker, developed in collaboration with drugstore chain ROSSMANN. This system combines autonomous navigation with a smart robotic arm that removes heavy boxes from shelves. This is not science fiction, but a direct solution to labor pressure and ergonomic problems. Interestingly, RoCaP works in existing racks and does not require any infrastructure changes. This makes it one of the first robotic picking systems that can be used effectively in brownfields.
The session led by Daan Van Schuylenbergh, Head of Solution Design Automation Business Unit (Linde), and Piotr Kwiatkowski, Solution Design Engineer Automation Business Unit (Linde), was also a real eye-opener. It became clear that the future of automation does not begin on the warehouse floor, but in a digital copy of it.
Piotr walked through the Experience Hub with the portable NavVis VLX 3D scanner. In no time at all, a razor-sharp, photorealistic digital twin was online. Everything was captured automatically. This allows all conceivable scenarios to be simulated. Think of traffic flows, congestion points, pick routes, collision risks, buffer zones, aisle widths, robot density, throughput forecasts, etc.
The result is a radically shortened design and engineering process. In the past, commissioning was a risky and slow process in which everything had to be tested live. Now, 80% takes place in a virtual environment, completely error-free and safe.
This drastically reduces implementation time. Errors are detected before they occur. And companies can finally make decisions based on data rather than assumptions.
The digital twin does not stand alone—it forms the heart of a much larger transformation. Linde's parent company, KION Group, entered into a strategic alliance with Accenture and NVIDIA. Together, they developed MEGA, which stands for Metaverse for Engineering, Guidance & Autonomy. It is not a traditional software platform, but an architectural blueprint for physical AI in intralogistics.
Within MEGA, robots are no longer tested exclusively in real life. They are trained virtually in thousands of scenarios, ranging from changing order profiles to blocked aisles and unusual human behavior. The simulation power of NVIDIA Omniverse allows calculations that previously took weeks to be completed in minutes, making ROI estimates and project planning much more reliable.
It is crucial that the digital twin remains constantly connected to the real warehouse. Sensors send feedback data to the simulation, which then sends optimized settings back to the physical environment. This creates a closed-loop system that continuously learns, adjusts, and grows with changing circumstances. The warehouse is thus no longer a static installation, but a self-learning logistics organism.
MEGA does not view automation as a collection of devices, but rather as a coherent system architecture—a foundation on which companies can continue to build in the coming decades.
If hardware is the muscles and digital twins are the brain, then software is the conductor. The MATIC:move platform is not only stable and fast, but also designed for heterogeneous fleets:
Whereas traditional systems often operate in isolation, MATIC:move acts as a hub. A low-code interface allows workflows to be designed visually. For complex operations, there is MATIC:move+, which can handle traffic management and multi-vendor integration.
The bottom line: automation doesn't always have to be ‘all or nothing.’ With MATIC:move, scalable, modular automation is possible—perfect for companies that want to grow step by step.
A striking constant at the Summit was the ‘human first’ aspect. Although the technology was impressive, there was a strong focus on safety and change management. Luca Borg, Logistics Expert (ROSSMANN), shared how the company consciously involved its employees in their RoCaP process. Not with large campaigns, but with transparent explanations, real-time demos, ergonomic added value, clear safety explanations, direct interaction with the robot, etc.
The result: employees did not see the robot as a threat, but as a physical aid. This was mainly because RoCaP consistently took on the heaviest boxes.
It also became clear that safety is non-negotiable. Linde's vehicles operate with multiple sensors, redundant braking systems, clear light signals, and safe stopping zones. Mixed traffic—the reality in almost every warehouse—was demonstrated live several times.
One of the most enlightening contributions during the Summit came from Dr. Oliver Zuchowski, Head of Intralogistics Automation (Bosch), and Matthias Koblitz, Senior Automation Consultant (Bosch). Their story made it clear that automation will only be successful when companies think systemically, based on a well-considered set of criteria, standards, and partnerships, rather than on a project-by-project basis.
They explained how Bosch evolved from ‘automation projects’ to a mature automation framework that is being rolled out across Europe. No more proliferation of solutions, but predefined selection criteria, a centralized partner catalog, a clear decision-making model, and—above all—a radical reduction in project lead times.
This approach, known internally as the pit stop methodology, reduces time loss at every stage of a project: from needs analysis to commissioning. Zuchowski emphasized that true scalability only comes about when automation is embedded in the organization. When there is clear governance. When all stakeholders speak the same language. When technology is standardized without losing the flexibility to optimize locally.
What ultimately sticks in the mind after two days in Aschaffenburg is how automation is gradually taking shape as a fully-fledged business architecture. Companies that set the pace have shown that the greatest acceleration comes when technology, processes, and organization are brought together in a single coherent framework. Insights into selection criteria, partner catalogs, and the pit stop methodology illustrate what mature automation looks like when it is supported by clear governance.
Digital twins and Omniverse technology make it possible to eliminate errors before they even occur. Projects become shorter, more predictable, and less dependent on trial and error. And solutions such as the case picker or the automated forklift truck prove that automation is not reserved for new sites, but can also be profitable in existing infrastructure—without sky-high investments.
It is this common thread that made the Summit so powerful: automation is evolving from separate devices to a scalable, strategic system that continuously learns and grows with the complexity of modern supply chains.
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✔ Leading provider of comprehensive intralogistics solutions since 1973✔ Official importer and distributor of Linde's leading forklift trucks and warehouse trucks✔ Technologically advanced products and years of expertise✔ Three branches across Flanders and Wallonia (Antwerp, Ciney, and Dottenijs service location)✔ Solutions from A to Z: new sales, used equipment, rental, 24/7 maintenance, advice More than half […]
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