From the beginnings of industrial storage, Dematic companies have been part of defining how materials are best processed in large volumes by taking advantage of vertical space. In the 19th century, overhead cranes handled the movement and stacking of heavy loads, with steam power introduced around 1840. That model lasted for more than 100 years until the late 1950s, when engineers moved the handling equipment from the ceiling to the floor. That early innovation led to the high-bay warehouse.

In 1962, Demag, a predecessor company of Dematic, installed the first stacker crane of this kind for the German book-seller Bertelsmann. It stored 7 million books on pallets at heights of up to 20 meters, fundamentally changing how operations used vertical space.

Today’s solutions store goods up to 45 meters high while continuously adapting to changing volumes and SKU types, an evolution that reflects decades of applied engineering insights. Consequently, modern solutions go well beyond decisions about capacity to leverage expertise in flexibility, performance, and long‑term scalability, as demonstrated by Asahi Beverages in Australia.

As demand began to grow for increased order volumes and improved consistency, Dematic engineers helped transform sorting from manual processes relying on chutes, gravity conveyors, rollers, and slides into high-throughput, automated systems. By the 1950s, our engineers developed powered conveying and the first automated sorters, including shoe and tilt-tray systems. Powered conveying and sorter technologies by Dematic provided greater consistency, scalability, and reliability — particularly in high-demand postal and parcel operations.

Modern Dematic sortation systems support goods-in and goods-out handling for retailers such as Landmark in the UAE, providing efficient order fulfillment that processes up to 50,000 shipments per hour while adapting in real time to operational variability. These capabilities reflect decades of operational learning to increase throughput, improve accuracy, and maintain performance under peak demand.

Early material transport started with overhead cranes, conveyors, and elevators carrying goods through facilities to accommodate demand. From the earliest conveyor systems to today’s intelligent transport networks, Dematic has played a central role in defining how materials move inside facilities.

Over time, systems were developed to bring material transport down to floor level where conveyor belts and roller systems moved goods continuously. What began as movement infrastructure evolved into intelligent systems through decades of Dematic engineering and real-world deployment. Today, these systems do more than transport goods — they identify items, validate data, sequence orders, and optimize flow across the operation, as demonstrated by Southern Glazer’s distribution center in the United States.

Dematic can combine these capabilities with mobile automation like autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) so operations adapt dynamically to changing demand. 

Until the mid-20^th century, workers walked warehouse aisles to locate items, pick orders, and manually prep them for shipment. The process took time and introduced errors, but it sufficed when order volumes were low and the numbers of SKUs were limited. As order complexity increased, Dematic helped shift fulfillment models to goods-to-person systems designed for speed, accuracy, and efficiency.

In the 1970s, Dematic introduced automated small-parts storage, stacker cranes, and conveyor technology that brought intelligence directly into the picking process — reducing travel time, minimizing errors, and improving worker ergonomics.

Today, Dematic continues to build on that foundation with robot-assisted and hybrid solutions that apply operational insight to improve performance, reduce strain, and allow scalable fulfillment in increasingly complex environments — as demonstrated at Lotte Chilsung’s automated warehouse in South Korea.

In the 1970s, software began to control warehouse operations. By the 1980s and 1990s, faster computers and industrial networks provided a 360-degree view of entire operations while warehouse management systems took over the planning and routing of goods automatically. Dematic played a key role in integrating systems, data, and decision-making into a unified operational layer.

Over time, that capability evolved from basic control into orchestration — where systems continuously analyze data, anticipate disruptions, and optimize performance in real time. The Handtmann Group’s distribution center in Germany is an excellent example.

Today, solutions like Dematic Command Center provide a unified, real-time view across systems for faster, more informed decisions. Decades of system design experience converge here with software and AI to turn data into actionable insight that improves performance, safety, and sustainability.