Sustainability is a shared journey between solution providers and their customers. As companies across industries set ambitious sustainability goals, circularity has emerged as a key driver of innovation and operational resilience.

In the supply chain automation industry, it represents a strategic shift with equipment, systems, and materials used in supply chains — with a focus on minimizing waste, maximizing resource efficiency, and extending product lifecycles. The new approach moves beyond the traditional “take-make-dispose” model and embraces a closed-loop where products are designed for longevity, modularity, and eventual reuse or recycling.

In many cases, circularity involves rethinking the full lifecycle of the materials, equipment, and infrastructure that create and maintain automation. It’s where R&D, solution development, procurement, and engineering coordinate to create systems built for longevity, adaptability, and recovery.

Beyond initial deployment, circularity is sustained through robust lifecycle services including predictive maintenance, retrofits, and performance upgrades that continuously enhance efficiency, extend system life, and minimize waste. By embedding circular principles into every phase of product development, supply chain automation companies like Dematic deliver solutions that provide resilient operations and lasting value to its customers and for the planet.

Circularity involves:

• Designing for Longevity and Modularity: Extending the useful life of products and systems with easy repairs and upgrades. Modular design allows components to be reconfigured or repurposed, reducing the need for full replacements and providing the agility to adapt to evolving operational demands.
• Sustainable Material Sourcing: Engaging suppliers to prioritize materials with high recyclability and lower environmental impact and for them to collect primary data (material, substance composition, and processing methods) to ensure transparency and traceability.
• End-of-Life Planning: Developing clear strategies for disassembling, recycling, and repurposing into new components, so products and systems don’t become waste at the end of their lifecycle.
• Lifecycle Assessments: Evaluating environmental impact at every stage, from raw material extraction to end-of-life, guides continuous improvement and drives innovation.

Circularity is more than environmental stewardship — it’s a business imperative. For companies in the supply chain automation industry, circularity means designing products and systems that last longer, waste less, and adapt more easily to change. By rethinking how materials and equipment are sourced, used, and recovered, Dematic can help its customers lower costs, strengthen resilience, and meet rising expectations of consumers, regulators, and investors. In a world largely accelerating toward net zero goals, circularity offers a clear path to future-proof operations — combining purpose with innovation to provide smarter, more sustainable solutions.

Currently customers of supply chain automation companies require more than automation expertise — they need a partner who can actively support their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. When they engage with automation leaders like Dematic, they can expect alignment in both values and action to better understand how automation solutions can contribute to their sustainability targets — for example, through energy-efficiency, circular design capabilities, or responsible material sourcing.

As sustainability maturity grows, the need to quantify measurable requirements such as carbon footprints and recyclability grows, too. Dematic supports this by offering lifecycle data and metrics along with collaborative design strategies that help inform decisions and drive meaningful results.

Sustainability is no longer a side conversation — it’s central to delivering value.

At Dematic and our parent company, the KION Group, circularity is a focus for our development and service teams. We view it not as a trend, but as an essential tool for building future-ready solutions.

We consider circularity to be a key identifier of companies committed to sustainable innovation. Designing or upcycling solutions requires a comprehensive view of product and system lifecycles — with end-of-life considerations integrated from the outset. 

Circularity metrics and accountability frameworks provide transparent, quantifiable insights into product recyclability, carbon footprint considerations, and lifecycle performance. These tools build trust and drive continuous improvement. 

Recently, the Dematic Multishuttle^® 2 became the industry’s first Cradle to Cradle Certified^® shuttle-based automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). This designation from the Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute is a measurable, third-party validation of our circularity efforts — a demonstrated achievement in the industry.

The C2C assessment generally examines these key categories: material health, product circularity, clean air and climate protection, water and soil stewardship, and social fairness. For material health, the third party ensures products are made with safe, non-toxic materials that can be safely reused or recycled. Notably, the product achieved a Silver rating in clean air and climate protection due in part to the high manufacturing standards of our facility in Stříbro, Czech Republic.

What sets this certification apart is its comprehensive approach to product sustainability, focusing on circular design and continuous improvement across the key performance categories and the level of primary data used — information collected directly from our suppliers about material composition and chemical substances. This level of transparency and traceability is rare in the industry and demonstrates our commitment to reliable, defensible sustainability claims.

The Dematic Multishuttle 2 serves as a tangible example of how circularity principles can be embedded in product development and validated through rigorous third-party assessment.