Why Pallet AS/RS Success Depends on Integration
Takeaways
- Integration determines automation success — modern operations rely on multiple technologies working together, communicating and coordinating real-world operating conditions.
- Pallet AS/RS performance depends on the full operation, including connection points to conveyors, software interfaces, transfer zones, and replenishment processes.
- A strong integration partner helps align the complete operation with each site’s operating conditions while reducing risk across the project lifecycle.
Companies in Southeast Asia are investing in pallet AS/RS to maximise storage capacity where land is limited, including sites beside production facilities. Automation can reduce reliance on variable labour and strengthen storage reliability. In cold storage, high-density systems can also reduce the area requiring cooling and help manage electricity use.
Modern warehouse operations combine pallet systems, case shuttle systems, conveyors, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), and software such as WCS and WMS to meet requirements for speed, storage density and flexibility. As these technologies become more connected, effective integration is critical to overall performance.
Warehouse automation integration challenges
According to 2026 Dematic global market research surveying 116 respondents, 75% identified the complexity of integrating with existing systems as a barrier to adopting new technologies. This is a global finding, rather than a Southeast Asia statistic.
An inexperienced integration approach may focus too closely on the performance of individual systems: how many pallets can be stored, how fast a shuttle can move, or how many tasks a robot can complete. But overall performance depends on how those systems communicate, coordinate and respond to changing operating conditions.
Pallet AS/RS integration for high-density storage
Pallet AS/RSs, including crane-based and shuttle-based systems, can form the backbone of food and beverage, grocery, manufacturing and 3PL operations. They support high-density storage, reliable pallet handling and inventory control, connecting receiving and reserve storage with picking, production supply and dispatch.
Because pallet AS/RSs sit at the centre of inbound and outbound flow, integration is critical. Shuttle-based systems can deliver high storage density and fast movement, but cannot reach their full value if pallets do not arrive on time or downstream conveyors cannot accept them. Crane-based systems face the same issue when software logic, conveyor sequencing or upstream replenishment are not aligned.
Across Southeast Asia, the operating context varies by country and industry. Malaysian sites may be shaped by semiconductor, food and beverage manufacturing, grocery or 3PL requirements, while Singapore 3PL and high-value manufacturing operations may have different handling profiles. In Thailand, retail, grocery and pharmacy operations may begin with other priorities. Across the region, workforce availability and labour planning remain important considerations. The key question is how the full pallet flow will perform in the actual operation.
Overcoming warehouse automation bottlenecks
Performance issues may arise where different systems connect. Transfer areas, software interfaces, task priorities and exception handling are common sources of disruption. A small gap in design, such as conveyor capacity that does not match AS/RS output, can create bottlenecks, idle equipment, manual intervention and lower-than-expected throughput. A solution may appear compatible on paper, yet struggle in daily operation if those differences are not addressed through a clear integration strategy.
“There are assumptions that define the theoretical model, which is used to simulate performance and establish a performance threshold. That threshold is then compared to the actual system performance. There are going to be differences between that model and the actual output. You must look at the differences and identify ways to improve,” says Michael Segaar, systems integration expert at Dematic. The challenge becomes even greater with systems from multiple suppliers, where control philosophies, data requirements or operating assumptions may differ.
Requirements management for successful system integration
Effective integration looks beyond individual systems to the complete operation. This includes material flow, controls, software, equipment interfaces, maintenance needs, safety considerations and future growth. “Project requirements change over time. For example, customers add new SKUs, which change the original order profile data used in the simulation. We try to account for those changes in our design as part of the process,” says Segaar.
The key question is how the full operation will perform under real conditions. Capturing requirements thoroughly matters because the cost of correcting missed requirements rises sharply as a project progresses, particularly during acceptance testing. Dematic follows a robust system engineering framework to:
- Minimise defects and ensure that system boundaries and interactions are well understood.
- Capture the entire breadth of requirements across software, interfaces, production, operations, and maintenance.
- Anticipate changes in customer requirements over the course of the project.
Best practices for pallet AS/RS performance
Best practice for successful integration includes:
- Following strong requirements management practices.
- Recording requirements before engineering to reduce the cost of later corrections and possible delays.
- Creating verification and validation plans so the design can be checked against requirements as early as possible.
- Validating early and regularly to confirm that the operation meets the requirements.
For pallet AS/RSs, that system-level view is essential. Your partner helps determine how crane-based or shuttle-based storage connect to the wider operation, how pallets move in and out of the system, how inventory is managed, and how the warehouse responds during peaks or disruptions. Dematic expert account manager Dave Bull adds, “We complete ‘what-if’ scenarios to understand how your operation respond to changes in SKU type or order surges.”
A coordinated integration approach provides clear accountability and helps coordinate the full solution to reduce risk throughout the project lifecycle. Segaar adds, “System ramp-up, for example, is a critical step in the project lifecycle. You’ll start to see the differences in the theoretical and actual very quickly, so discussing ramp-up plans is very important. We model the ramp-up to ensure actual performance meets expectations.”
As warehouse automation advances, warehouse success depends on selecting technologies that work together reliably, at the required scale and in line with the operating flow. When pallet AS/RSs are central to the operation, experienced integration is an essential part of the solution.
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