ROSSMANN implements automated order picking using Linde RoCaP

At the Linde Automation Summit in Aschaffenburg in late 2025, Linde Material Handling (MH) and ROSSMANN, one of Europe's largest drugstore chains, presented an innovative robotic truck for autonomous order picking in warehouses. The Linde Robotic Case Picker (RoCaP) is equipped with a multi-axis gripper arm that picks up individual packages and places them on an integrated carrier. After a successful test phase, ROSSMANN is continuing its initial investments in these trucks.

As any warehouse manager will attest, order picking of mixed pallets or roll containers is among the most labor-intensive tasks in a warehouse. For years, companies have been looking for solutions to automate the manual assembly of orders on pallets or roll containers. The underlying goal is twofold: reduce employee workload and minimize errors, while addressing the growing labor shortage in the warehouse sector. The innovative Linde RoCaP promises a breakthrough in automating this task.

Linde RoCaP as a gamechanger

March last year, preliminary development of the new truck was completed at Linde MH. The next milestone was to validate the marketability of the innovative truck in a customer environment under realistic conditions using

of the proof-of-concept approach. The concept immediately caught the attention of ROSSMANN, an international family-owned company that had long been looking for a solution to ease the strain on employees, especially when picking up packages weighing up to 25 kilograms. First, the company-specific requirements for use in ROSSMANN's regional warehouse in Burgwedel were established. This was followed by several weeks of testing, after which those responsible at ROSSMANN were very positive. “The Linde RoCaP has the potential to represent a significant advance in warehouse logistics. It can help to address the existing shortage of skilled labor and relieve workers from physically demanding tasks,” said Hendrik van Duuren, Managing Director of ROSSMANN Logistics. The cooperation with ROSSMANN is also of great value to Linde MH. “By further developing the robotic truck together with our customers, we ensure long-term success on the market,” said Frank Wiezorek, Senior Director of IKA Solutions for Linde MH. The cooperation with ROSSMANN emphasizes the needs of the retail segment.

A truck packed with high-tech features

The new Linde RoCaP is based on the Linde L-MATIC HD, an automated stacker with a payload of 1.6 tons and a travel speed of up to 7.2 km/h. The truck, navigation and safety technologies, as well as the battery compartment, lift mast and automation arch are the same as those of the L-MATIC HD. This ensures cost advantages and robustness. New is the four-axis intelligent robotic arm. Permanently attached to the fork carrier, it picks up packages and places them on the forks. The carrier structure for roll containers is specially designed for use at ROSSMANN. It is supported by steel supports and has a folding ramp attached to the truck. This allows the roll containers to be moved up and down, while at the same time holding them firmly in place during transport.

The Linde RoCaP receives its orders from ROSSMANN's warehouse management system via a server interface. The RoCaP management system uses several parameters to determine the next shelf location, including the size and weight of items ordered and the optimal route. Upon arrival, the robot's gripper arm is deployed. The device is equipped with a 3D camera with AI chips from NVIDIA. The camera recognizes the pallets in real time, checks their accuracy, performs an optical measurement and delineates the three-dimensional ‘workspace. This is followed by a complex surface scan. This determines the exact location of the packages on the pallet and which package to select according to the defined specifications. The robotic arm then uses special vacuum technology to grip the package and lift it into the desired position.

Ideal for use on brownfield sites

“The cooperation with ROSSMANN has demonstrated the considerable potential of the Linde RoCaP. We now want to expand this potential together with the customer, which operates almost 5,000 stores throughout Europe,” says Peter Krumbholz, project manager in the Advanced Robotic Solutions division, who is directing the development of the Linde RoCaP for Linde MH. The time-consuming manual picking process in ROSSMANN's warehouse will now be gradually reduced for greater safety, efficiency and throughput.

The Linde RoCaP was designed with flexibility in mind, making it suitable for integration into other warehouses and distribution centers. “Thanks to the modular concept, we can also equip other automated trucks with the gripper arm,” explains development engineer Krumbholz. “It is ideally suited for automating brownfield locations with fixed warehouse layouts and mixed operations.” Thanks to advanced safety technology for the truck and the gripper arm, the Linde RoCaP can work simultaneously with human colleagues in the same aisle. “This advantage offers significant opportunities, as mixed operations with both manual and automated or autonomous trucks in warehouse and production environments will become increasingly common in the future,” says Frank Wiezorek. “We aim for the Linde RoCaP to make a significant impact and optimally support our customers in their transition to automation.”