Lagertechnik
Also: Lager-Technik, Lagertechnologie, Lagersystemtechnik, Intralogistik-Hardware, Lagerausstattung
AI-generated
Warehouse technology refers to the totality of physical facilities and systems used for the storage, handling, and movement of goods in a warehouse. This includes both manual aids and fully automated systems.
Key facts
- Warehouse technology encompasses all physical resources in a warehouse – from manual racking to fully automated shuttle systems.
- Choosing the right warehouse technology depends critically on the product profile, throughput, and available floor space.
- Automated warehouse technology requires not only higher investment but also close integration with WMS and material flow systems.
- Fire protection, occupational safety, and maintenance requirements must be considered during planning just as much as pure storage capacity.
- Proprietary systems can create long-term vendor dependencies and restrict flexibility for future modifications.
What is warehouse technology?
Warehouse technology encompasses all technical resources used in a warehouse for the receipt, movement, and provision of goods. This includes racking systems such as pallet racks, drive-in racks, and flow racks; industrial trucks such as forklifts and tuggers; conveyor systems such as roller conveyors and chain conveyors; and automated systems such as automated small-parts warehouses (AS/RS), shuttle systems, and stacker cranes. Warehouse technology forms the physical infrastructure on which all warehouse processes are built.
It must be clearly distinguished from warehouse information technology: a Warehouse Management System (WMS) controls processes and data, while warehouse technology is the hardware that physically implements those processes. In modern facilities, however, the two are closely intertwined – conveyor systems report status to the WMS, and the WMS controls automated warehouse machines.
How does warehouse technology work in practice?
The selection and combination of warehouse technology depends heavily on the product profile, throughput requirements, available floor space, and the desired level of automation. A typical distribution warehouse, for example, combines an automated small-parts warehouse for fast-moving items with conventional pallet racks for bulky goods and a manual picking area.
- Static warehouse technology: Pallet racks, shelving systems, and cantilever racks – they create structured storage space without any drive technology of their own.
- Dynamic warehouse technology: Flow racks, carousel systems, and paternoster systems use gravity or drives to move goods automatically.
- Automated systems: Stacker cranes, shuttle systems, and AutoStore solutions handle inbound and outbound storage largely without manual intervention.
- Conveyor technology: Conveyor belts, sorters, and distribution systems connect individual storage areas and workstations.
In operations, intralogistics control plays a central role: material flow systems (MFS) coordinate conveyor technology and communicate with the WMS to manage transports, storage locations, and buffers.
What matters when making a selection?
The decision in favor of specific warehouse technology is long-term and capital-intensive. Important criteria, beyond pure storage capacity, include access speed, energy efficiency, and ease of maintenance. Automated systems offer high throughput performance and labor savings, but require higher investment, qualified maintenance personnel, and reliable IT integration.
In addition, fire protection requirements, occupational safety regulations, and building code specifications must be taken into account during planning. Scalability is also a frequently underestimated factor: anyone planning for just one facility today should check whether the chosen technology can be expanded later. Vendor dependencies with proprietary shuttle or specialized systems can restrict flexibility in the long term – this aspect is a matter of debate in practice and should be explicitly evaluated during the procurement process.
Related terms
- AKL
An Automated Small Parts Warehouse (AKL) is a fully mechanized storage system for bins, trays, or cartons that automates the goods-to-person process using aisle-captive storage and retrieval machines or shuttles.
- AutoStore
AutoStore is a cube-based automated storage system in which driverless robots traverse an aluminum grid to stack plastic bins and retrieve them on demand for delivery to picking ports. The system is considered one of the most space-efficient automated small-parts warehouses available for standardized bin-compatible goods.
- AutoStore-Lagersystem
The AutoStore storage system is a fully automated cube storage system in which robots stack, retrieve, and transport plastic bins across a three-dimensional grid structure to stationary picking stations.
- Automatiklager
An automated warehouse is a fully or partially automated storage system in which the receipt, retrieval, transport and management of storage units are carried out without manual intervention, using conveyor technology, storage and retrieval machines, and a higher-level control software.
- Automatisches Kleinteilelager (AKL)
The Automated Small Parts Warehouse (AKL) is a fully automated storage system for totes, trays and small parts, in which storage and retrieval operations are performed without manual intervention by stacker cranes or shuttle systems.
- Automatisierung
Automation refers to the use of technologies and systems to execute processes fully or partially without human intervention. In intralogistics, the spectrum ranges from simple conveyor systems to fully automated high-bay warehouses with autonomous vehicles.
- Blocklager
A block storage system is a storage method in which load units — typically pallets — are stacked directly on the floor in rows and blocks without any racking structure.
- Bodenlagerung
Floor storage refers to the storage of goods directly on the floor, without the use of racking systems. Pallets, stacks, or marked floor positions serve as the basic structure for area organization.
- Business Case Automatisierung
The Business Case Automation evaluates, from an economic and operational perspective, whether an investment in warehouse or intralogistics automation is justified. It summarizes costs, benefits, risks, and assumptions in a structured way, forming the basis for management approval decisions.
- Dimensionierung
Dimensioning refers to the systematic design of warehouse capacities, material handling equipment, and logistics systems based on volume frameworks, throughput requirements, and peak loads. It forms the planning foundation for investment decisions in intralogistics.