How to Choose a Reliable Warehouse Automation System Manufacturer？

These roles overlap, but they are not identical.

• An original equipment manufacturer makes a core product such as a shuttle, stacker crane, conveyor or robot.
• A warehouse system integrator designs and coordinates the complete material flow, equipment, controls, software and implementation.
• A software provider supplies WMS, WCS, WES or related applications and interfaces.
• A consultant may define requirements, compare concepts or support procurement without supplying the equipment.

MHI notes that different integrator types serve different stages and scopes. A targeted equipment replacement may suit an OEM-led project, while a new automated facility usually needs broader system-integration responsibility.

Ask each bidder to provide a responsibility matrix. It should show who owns layout, structural interfaces, equipment, controls, safety, software, networking, installation, permits, testing, training and post-launch support. “By others” must name a party and a deliverable.

Step 1: Define Your Requirements Before Comparing Suppliers

A reliable supplier cannot fix an undefined brief. Give every shortlisted company the same data pack:

• warehouse layout, clear height, column grid, floors or foundations and staging areas;
• pallet, tote, carton or product dimensions, weight, condition and allowable variation;
• SKU count, inventory by SKU, batch rules, shelf life and growth assumptions;
• daily and peak inbound, outbound, replenishment and order-line volumes;
• required response times, operating hours, availability and recovery expectations;
• temperature, dust, moisture, hygiene, hazardous-area or other environmental conditions;
• current ERP, WMS, WCS, MES and equipment interfaces;
• labour model, exception flows and manual fallback requirements;
• project location, codes, implementation window and future expansion plan.

MHI’s pre-automation guidance emphasizes understanding the current operation and ideal future process before selecting technology. If two suppliers receive different assumptions, their prices and throughput claims cannot be compared fairly.

Step 2: Evaluate the Engineering Method

The manufacturer should be able to explain why the proposed concept fits the operation. Look for:

1. A traceable data model: volumes, peaks, SKU behaviour, storage rules and exceptions should connect to the design.
2. Material-flow logic: the proposal should show receiving, buffers, storage, picking, replenishment, dispatch and fault paths.
3. Capacity calculations: system throughput should be based on coordinated equipment and software cycles, not one machine’s maximum speed.
4. Alternatives considered: the team should explain why a shuttle, stacker-crane AS/RS, conveyor, mobile robot or manual process is included or rejected.
5. Constraints and assumptions: pallet quality, floor tolerance, network availability, fire design, operator tasks and upstream dependencies should be visible.
6. Expansion and redundancy: future capacity, single points of failure and degraded operating modes should be addressed.

Be cautious when a proposal appears before the supplier has asked for load data, peaks, layout constraints or interface details. Fast quoting may indicate that a standard machine is being fitted to the customer rather than the system being designed around the operation.

Step 3: Verify Manufacturing and Supply Scope

“Manufacturer” can mean that a company makes every component, assembles selected core equipment or manages a supply chain of specialist partners. Any model can work if it is transparent and controlled.

During a factory audit or video inspection, ask to see the processes relevant to your order. Review incoming material control, fabrication, assembly, electrical-panel work, software configuration, inspection records, traceability, nonconformance handling and packing. Match what you see to the quoted bill of materials and subcontractor list.

Request model-specific drawings, specifications and test plans. Company-wide certificates or general brochures do not prove that a particular configuration meets the project requirements. If standards or certifications are claimed, verify the legal entity, scope, number, validity and applicability.

Step 4: Check Software and Integration Capability

Automation depends on data and control interfaces. The supplier should describe how the WMS, WCS, PLCs, scanners and external business systems exchange tasks and status.

Ask for:

• an interface architecture and ownership matrix;
• message definitions, error codes and retry rules;
• master-data and inventory synchronisation logic;
• user roles, audit trails, backups and recovery procedures;
• test environments and interface simulation;
• version, licence, update and cybersecurity responsibilities;
• procedures for equipment faults, lost connectivity and manual recovery.

A live demonstration should include an exception, not only a normal storage-and-retrieval cycle. Ask what happens when a pallet fails a dimension check, a destination is blocked, a barcode cannot be read or an interface message is duplicated.

Step 5: Review Safety and Compliance by Project Location

The manufacturer should identify applicable laws, codes and standards rather than claim that one certificate covers every market. Structural design, machinery safety, electrical work, fire protection, seismic requirements and data security may involve different authorities and specialists.

OSHA’s warehousing guidance warns that conveyors, robots and other automated tools can introduce struck-by, caught-between and related hazards if they are not properly integrated. Its robotics guidance also stresses application-specific risk assessment, safeguarding, validation and training.

Ask who will produce the risk assessment, safety requirements specification, guarding layout, emergency-stop zoning, lockout procedures and validation records. Confirm what will be checked during factory acceptance and what can only be validated after installation.

Step 6: Make FAT, SAT and Acceptance Measurable

A credible proposal includes a testing path.

Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) checks equipment and software before shipment as far as the factory setup allows. Site Acceptance Testing (SAT) checks the installed and integrated system under agreed site conditions. A later performance or reliability test may be needed after ramp-up.

Define test loads, product mix, duration, throughput calculation, allowable downtime, data accuracy, safety checks, fault recovery and pass/fail rules. Also define who supplies test stock, operators, interfaces and utilities.

Avoid acceptance wording such as “system runs normally.” Use observable criteria tied to the approved requirements. Record open items and assign closure dates before final sign-off.

Step 7: Investigate Delivery and Lifecycle Support

Warehouse automation remains an operating system after the installation team leaves. Compare:

• project schedule, critical path and change-control process;
• site supervision, local contractors and language coverage;
• operator, maintenance and administrator training;
• manuals, drawings, backups and source-file handover scope;
• recommended spare parts and replenishment lead times;
• preventive maintenance and remote-support arrangements;
• response and escalation paths by time zone;
• software support, updates and obsolescence management;
• warranty start point, exclusions and post-warranty service.

Visit a relevant reference site when permission is available, but match the reference to your application. A small ambient-temperature tote system does not prove capability for a high-bay frozen pallet warehouse. Ask the customer about commissioning, change requests, faults, support and performance after the initial launch.

Step 8: Compare Total Cost and Commercial Risk

Place proposals in a common comparison sheet. Include design, equipment, software, licences, integration, freight, duties, civil work, installation, testing, training, spares, maintenance, energy and expected upgrade costs.

Check payment milestones against real deliverables. The contract should address intellectual property, data access, subcontractors, delay responsibility, change orders, acceptance, warranty, support and termination. Currency, taxes and Incoterms should be explicit for international projects.

A lower initial price may exclude software interfaces, site work, safety measures or performance testing. A higher price is not automatically better. The goal is a complete, testable scope with understood lifecycle risk.

Use the same scorecard for every bidder and change the weighting to match your project. The example below is a procurement framework, not an industry standard.

Record risks and clarifications beside the score. Do not hide a critical safety, interface or capacity gap inside a high average mark.

• The solution is proposed before the supplier understands loads, peaks and exception flows.
• Throughput is stated without assumptions, simulation logic or acceptance conditions.
• The quotation does not identify excluded interfaces or third-party work.
• Product parameters change across the proposal, drawing and demonstration.
• The supplier will not provide a responsibility matrix, test plan or documentation list.
• Certificates, projects or customer names cannot be matched to a legal entity and relevant scope.
• The demonstration avoids faults, recovery and manual fallback.
• Spare parts, software licences, remote access or post-warranty support remain undefined.
• Pressure to sign replaces technical clarification.

One warning sign may be a documentation gap; several together indicate procurement risk.

1. Which parts do you manufacture, integrate and subcontract?
2. Who owns overall system performance and each interface?
3. Which data and assumptions produced the proposed capacity?
4. What happens during equipment, software or network failures?
5. Which standards and approvals apply at our project location?
6. What will be tested during FAT, SAT and performance acceptance?
7. What documents, backups, training and spare parts are included?
8. How are changes, delays and unresolved defects controlled?
9. What support is available in our language and time zone?
10. Can you show a relevant project and explain problems encountered during commissioning?

Should I choose a manufacturer or an independent integrator?

Choose according to scope and internal capability. A full-facility project may need system-level integration, while a defined equipment replacement may be suitable for an OEM-led contract.

How many suppliers should I shortlist?

Use enough qualified bidders to compare concepts and commercial scope without overwhelming the evaluation team. Apply the same data, questions and acceptance criteria to each.

Is a factory visit necessary?

It is valuable for major or custom systems because it helps verify relevant people, processes and test capability. A visit should follow a written audit plan rather than a general tour.

What is the most important contract document?

No single document is enough. The requirements, responsibility matrix, technical proposal, interface specifications, test plan, acceptance criteria, schedule and commercial terms must agree.

How can I compare throughput claims?

Require every bidder to use the same load mix, peak profile, operating window, availability assumptions and pass/fail test method.

HEGERLS presents automated storage systems, warehouse racking, conveyors, software and project services as configurable parts of a warehouse solution. The final scope must be based on the facility, loads, inventory and required flow.

Before requesting a concept, prepare your layout and clear height, load-unit dimensions and weights, SKU and inventory profile, average and peak flows, operating environment, current software, project location and target schedule. You can send these inputs through the warehouse automation project enquiry page for technical and scope discussion.