At LogiMAT 2026 in Stuttgart, Isabel Rocher, SVP Global Marketing at AutoStore™ and Cyril Taiclet, EMEA AutoStore Sales Director at Dematic, discussed how changing business models are reshaping warehouse automation. As e-commerce growth, expanding product ranges, and volatile demand increase operational complexity, automation must move beyond fixed systems toward flexible and scalable solutions. Cube-based storage such as AutoStore provides high density storage while allowing gradual capacity expansion. Integrated orchestration across storage, transport, and software ensures smooth end to end material flow. When combined with operational data and integration expertise from partners such as Dematic, modern automation supports adaptable, resilient fulfillment operations that can evolve as business requirements change.

Warehouse automation improves efficiency, reliability, and productivity. Yet modern supply chains rarely remain stable for long. Customer expectations evolve, product assortments expand, and fulfillment channels multiply. A system that once supported the business perfectly can quickly become a constraint if it cannot adapt to new operational realities.

The real challenge for many organizations is not whether automation delivers value. It is whether that automation can evolve as its business model changes.

This shift is already visible. Retailers now combine store replenishment with e-commerce fulfillment. Manufacturers increasingly serve both wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels. Order profiles are moving from large predictable shipments toward smaller and more frequent orders. Delivery expectations continue to accelerate.

Research confirms how fundamental this transformation has become. E-commerce has reshaped warehouse operations, increasing SKU complexity and creating far more volatile order patterns. Systems designed primarily for stable pallet flows often struggle in environments that require high-speed piece picking and rapid scaling during peak periods.

This shift creates a new operational requirement. Warehouses must remain efficient while also becoming significantly more flexible. Systems must scale with demand, support changing order patterns, and handle peaks without sacrificing reliability.

Industry research consistently highlights this need. The MHI Annual Industry Report 2026 shows that nearly three quarters of supply chain leaders plan to increase investment in automation and robotics, with flexibility and scalability among the most important drivers. The report also highlights a broader structural shift, stating “supply chains can no longer be optimized at the edges, they must be rewired end to end.” According to the study, performance is increasingly defined by how effectively operations scale and integrate these technologies across their operations.

In other words, automation alone is no longer enough. The architecture around it must be adaptable. This is why modern warehouse automation increasingly focuses on flexibility and integration rather than isolated machine performance. The MHI report notes that companies are moving aggressively toward smart technologies “to achieve the flexibility and scalability required to address customer needs and changing market conditions.”

High-density automated storage solutions such as AutoStore illustrate this new approach. AutoStore uses a cube based grid structure where robots travel across the top of the grid to retrieve bins and deliver them to workstations. By storing inventory in a compact. three-dimensional cube, the system can use space far more efficiently than traditional shelving or rack storage. In many cases, organizations can store up to four times more inventory within the same footprint.

However, the strength of the system lies not only in its density but also in its scalability. Additional robots increase throughput. Additional bins expand storage capacity. Grid extensions allow the system to grow without redesigning the entire operation.

This modular approach reflects a broader industry trend. According to research by Gartner, supply chain technology is increasingly moving toward composable automation architectures. Instead of large fixed systems, operations are adopting modular technologies that expand or reconfigure as business requirements change.

Yet automated systems alone do not create successful fulfillment operations. Storage, transport, picking, packing, and shipping must operate as a synchronized flow.

Dematic acts as a global integration partner for AutoStore systems, connecting the cube-based storage engine with the wider facility. Conveying systems, picking workstations, packing operations, and shipping processes are managed by warehouse management and control software. Instead of operating in isolation, the AutoStore system becomes part of a coordinated end-to-end fulfillment process.

As Isabel Rocher, SVP Global Marketing at AutoStore, explains, “The value for our strong partnership comes from us bringing in the inventory engine and you making sure that this orchestrates well from end to end.”

Automation creates the most value when software connects individual technologies and coordinates the material flow, equipment, and labor across the entire operation.

Integration ensures that goods move smoothly from inbound receipt through storage, picking, packing, and final shipment. It also allows operations to adapt processes as order profiles change or as new channels are introduced.

At Dematic, this integration begins by understanding the outcomes the operation must achieve. Throughput requirements, service levels, material flow, workforce realities, and cost structures shape the design. Cross-functional teams of designers, engineers, and software specialists translate these operational goals into solution architectures.

This outcome-led approach ensures that automation is efficient on day one and prepared for the changes that will inevitably come. Systems have clear pathways for capacity growth, process adjustments, and future technology integration so that the operation remains competitive.

Flexible and scalable warehouse automation addresses challenges by combining modular technologies that can grow and adapt over time. Solutions may include automated storage and retrieval systems, autonomous mobile robots, automated guided vehicles, and robotic picking technologies. Each component supports a specific operational function, but together they create an adaptable automation environment.

Modern automated warehouses generate vast amounts of operational data. Robot movements, inventory flows, workstation activity, and equipment performance create thousands of data points across the system. Value emerges as data is sorted and analyzed to reveal meaningful information.

As Cyril Taiclet, EMEA AutoStore Sales Director at Dematic, notes, “The idea is not only to collect data, but to transform it into information so our customers will be able to make decisions in real time.”

Data visibility and advanced analytics are becoming essential capabilities to anticipate disruptions, optimize resource allocation, and maintain throughput even during demand spikes. Automation provides speed and precision, while integrated software ensures that every component works together as part of a coordinated system.

Still, deep operational knowledge remains essential. Dematic teams bring experience from thousands of real warehouse and fulfillment environments across many industries to understand where bottlenecks emerge, where variability disrupts performance, and how equipment, software, and people interact inside a live operation. This operational judgement ensures that the physical system matches the required performance.

This is the idea of The Mind Behind the Machine. Automation becomes more than a collection of technologies. It becomes a system shaped by experience that supports decisions and keeps operations running when complexity increases.

As the MHI Annual Industry Report warns, rigid architectures can quickly become a barrier when markets change. In a market where change is constant, adaptability becomes one of the most valuable capabilities operations can have.

Use this checklist to design warehouse automation that delivers today’s business outcomes and can scale as needs change. It focuses on outcome-driven design, modular growth, end-to-end integration, resilience for peak demand, and data-driven operations.