Top 20 Material Handling Systems Suppliers 2022

lot has happened in the world since we last presented our “Top 20 System Suppliers” list. This year’s list is based on research we conducted on 2021 revenue for the world’s largest suppliers of automated materials handling systems.

The Covid-19 pandemic, fingers crossed, has subsided in intensity, though supply chain lead-time challenges continue, inflation concerns have heightened and the war in Ukraine has posed additional supply chain risks.

One thing hasn’t changed much: e-commerce growth. In the United States, e-commerce grew at a 14.2% clip in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Some experts predict the e-commerce growth curve will stabilize over the next few years, but it’s no coincidence that e-commerce demand sets the table for growth among automation system suppliers. That’s because the suppliers on this Top 20 list make warehouse automation systems that help fulfill e-commerce orders while minimizing labor requirements, or that help with efficient omnichannel fulfillment.

In total across all 20 suppliers who made the list this year, the tally is $31.9 billion, up from $25.9 billion from the vendors in last year’s Top 20, an increase of 23%.

This year’s chart shows a different tally for 2020 revenue because different vendors are on the list this year, but this year’s total of $31.9 billion is 19.1% higher compared to the Top 20 last year.

As in previous years, we base our Top 20 System Suppliers list on answers we receive to a questionnaire we send to suppliers asking about the types of systems they provide, as well as a total revenue figure for systems, software and services related to materials handling automation. A full explanation of the criteria can be found on page 32.

Any way you slice it, the major suppliers of warehouse automation grew at a rapid pace in 2021, as end-user companies deployed systems to make fulfillment centers more efficient and less reliant on labor and manual processes. Whether 20% growth can continue long term remains to be seen, but this year that level of growth, or better, was reported by numerous vendors.

The smallest companies on the list now all have annual revenue exceeding $300 million, and every vendor in the Top 10 had 2021 revenue in excess of $1.1 billion.

Top 20 worldwide materials handling system suppliers

Source: Modern Materials Handling
Based on figures from parent KUKA Robotics

The Top 10

Daifuku remains No. 1 on the list, reporting $4.39 billion in revenue for 2021, down from $4.54 billion in 2020.

“Underpinned by a strong order backlog, sales have remained firm overall,” says Stuart Oliphant, a spokesperson in Daifuku’s corporate communications department. “This is largely attributable to the semiconductor sector, which is on an upward trend as a result of the global semiconductor shortage, as well as the e-commerce sector, which is seeing significant growth in Japan and North America.”

In terms of changes within Daifuku during 2021, Logan Teleflex Inc. was merged into another Daifuku Group company, Jervis B. Webb, on Jan. 1, 2021. Since Logan Teleflex was already consolidated into the Daifuku Group, the absorption into Webb had no impact on revenue.

Dematic, which has been part of KION Group since 2016 under its Supply Chain Solution segment, grew from $3.22 billion in 2020 to just under $4.3 billion. That strong growth kept Dematic/KION in second place.

“The recent KION Group earnings outlining 2021 results and Dematic’s performance in the Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) segment were outstanding,” says Hasan Dandashly, president of Dematic, and a KION Group executive board member. “The total revenue of the SCS segment increased year on year to €3.796 billion (2020: €2.627 billion). This very substantial rise of 44.5% was primarily attributable to the growth of the long-term project business [business solutions], where revenue jumped by 55.4%. Revenue growth was particularly significant in North America and western Europe, mainly because the segment worked through the order book that it had built up in 2020 and maintained a consistently high level of capacity utilization.”

No. 3 SSI Schaefer Group listed 2021 revenue of $3.73 billion, up from $3.12 billion. According to Steffen Bersch, CEO of SSI Schaefer Group, the growth was aided by strong performance from the company’s Logistics Solutions business unit. Several projects were completed in the fourth quarter, including the largest project in the company’s history, an e-commerce facility for a leading omnichannel retailer in December 2021.

“As within the industry as a whole in 2021, the activities of the SSI Schaefer Group were affected by supply problems for essential components, and material cost increases, in the past fiscal year,” says Bersch. “SSI Schaefer made good progress in all strategic priorities of innovation, profitability, growth, customer satisfaction, sustainability, and adding employee headcount.”

SSI Schaefer also made strategic investments in 2021, including a majority stake in SWAN GmbH. This move enables the company to increase services on projects for companies that have SAP as an enterprise software system and the SAP Extended Warehouse Management solution, but want to integrate easily with WAMAS, SSI Schaefer’s warehouse management system. Another investment was an increased stake in DS Automation, an Austrian maker of self-driving vehicles.

Honeywell Intelligrated listed revenue for 2021 of $2.94 billion, up from just more than $2 billion, and representing growth of more than 45%. That moved Honeywell into fourth on our list, up from fifth last year.

Keith Fisher, president of Honeywell Intelligrated, says the rapid growth is attributable to a growing solutions set that helps companies achieve their fulfillment objectives in this age of e-commerce and heightened customer expectations.

“For businesses and consumers alike, expectations regarding e-commerce and logistics have changed rapidly, spurred on by the impact of the pandemic,” says Fisher. “To maintain superior customer service and operational excellence amidst mounting supply chain pressures, e-commerce and logistics providers are growing their reliance on cutting-edge technologies that can automate and accelerate distribution centers, warehouses and other parts of the supply chain.”

No. 5 Vanderlande, part of Toyota Advanced Logistics Group (TALG), had $2.6 billion (provisional figure, as of press time) in revenue for 2021, up from $2.1 billion the previous year.

Moving up a spot to sixth this year is Knapp with $1.84 billion, up from $1.45 billion. Innovation and technology leadership are two key pillars to Knapp’s ongoing success, says Kevin Reader, vice president of marketing for Knapp North America.

“We view these two elements of our value proposition as key to securing competitive advantage and long-term organic growth,” Reader says. “Investment in innovation continues to be a significant differentiator for the Knapp brand as we have maintained a strong commitment to year-over-year investment. This past year we committed $60 million, including a staff of some 800 employees dedicated to innovation, as we continue to maintain our leadership as a value chain technology partner to many of the industry’s leading and iconic brands.”

North America continues to be one of the company’s strongest markets, adds Reader. Investments in the U.S. market include a new automated parts warehouse, training center and expanded operations that are projected to add nearly 700 employees over the coming fiscal year.

No. 7 Murata Machinery’s revenue came in at $1.78 billion this year, up from $1.49 billion and close to its performance in 2019, when it had $1.8 billion in total sales.

According to Takenori Yanai, general manager of Murata’s Logistics and Automation Division, and a board member of Murata Machinery, the growth was helped by “large scale” investments in automated materials handling systems in Japan, and strong activity in the semiconductor industry, which is trying to ramp up production to overcome semiconductor shortages.

Material Handling Systems (MHS) had 2021 revenue of $1.5 billion, up from $1.05 billion. That 30.4% growth moved MHS into the eighth spot this year, up from ninth. The demand for automation is strong, notes Scott McReynolds, CEO of MHS, though system suppliers need to offer the right blend of people and technology solutions to capitalize on it.

“Our industry holds tremendous promise, and we’ve been fortunate to reap the benefits by continuing to meet high customer demand and expectations thanks to our world-class team,” McReynolds says. “Even as challenges persist, the current labor market and maturing technologies further incentivize investments in automation.”

Jumping up to ninth spot from No. 12 is Witron Integrated Logistics, with $1.24 billion, up from $855 million. Over the past year, Witron has grown from 4,500 to 5,100 employees, with good growth worldwide, but especially strong growth in North America, according to Witron.

Witron’s fully automated warehouse technology (called OPM, for Order Picking Machinery), which stores, sorts and palletizes full cases in the food retail sector, is in high demand, according to the company’s completed questionnaire. Witron is also seeing demand for its All-In-One (AIO) solution for omnichannel break pack operations.

No. 10 is Mecalux, whose U.S. organization is Interlake Mecalux. The company is wrapping up a growth year. For 2021, its revenues were $1.17 billion, up from $765.5 million in 2020.

Strong second half

Who would have thought just a few years back that annual revenue topping $1.1 billion would not be enough to get a supplier into the Top 10, but that was the case this year for Beumer Group, which had 2021 revenue of $1.12 billion and placed No. 11. The group’s revenue was down from the 2020 revenue of $1.4 billion on last year’s list, though above their 2019 level.

No. 12 Siemens Logistics did not return a questionnaire as of press time; and parent company Siemens reports their numbers as part of group of multiple “portfolio” companies, so we list them here at the same revenue level they reported to us last year: an even $1 billion. In February 2022, parent company Siemens AG announced it had reached an agreement to sell the mail and parcel business of Siemens Logistics to the Körber Group for €1.15 billion, with closing expected later this year. At that time, Siemens stated that business generates annual revenue of about €500 million, making the remainder of the company focused on airport baggage handling systems a smaller business going forward from the closing.

No. 13 TGW Logistics has its U.S. organization based in Grand Rapids, Mich., and a fiscal year ending on June 30. For its latest fiscal year (ending June 30, 2021), the company generates revenue of $924.5 million, down a bit from its previous fiscal, which set a record at $1 billion in total sales.

“We are looking into a promising future and are expecting further growth,” says Harald Schroepf, CEO of TGW Logistics Group. “TGW is making massive investments into research and development, infrastructure as well as the education and training of our employees. Because we are set up as a foundation company, we have the security and stability we need to think and act for the long term.”

Swisslog finished No. 14 with $737 million, up from $646 million. The company’s strength is in warehouse automation generally, and in e-grocery, set a foundation for future growth, according to Markus Schmidt, president of Swisslog Americas.

“We’ve seen strong demand for warehouse automation solutions throughout the world. We’ve also seen good development in business volume driven by e-grocery,” says Schmidt. “The speed at which e-grocery volumes have grown has been astounding, going from 3% of total grocery sales entering 2020 to 10% of sales at the end of 2021. We are entering a very exciting stage in the evolution of e-grocery. We expect 2022 to be the year when virtually every major grocer solidifies their e-grocery strategy, and many move into the execution phase using automated micro-fulfillment centers and e-grocery fulfillment centers.”

Fives Intralogistics, part of Fives Group, slots in at No. 15. The Paris-based company, which has been on our Top 20 list before though not in recent years, is back on with $664 million. That is up from up from $548 million its previous year.

“Fives’ growth is the culmination of a focused effort over the past several years to build a successful culture whereby our team members have a voice in the incremental improvements required to meet the challenges of our customers,” says Don Keel, president and CEO, Fives Intralogistics Corp.

Robotics enters focus

Kardex AG is No. 16 this year, with revenue of $514 million, up from $466 million, and nearly on par with their $532 million for 2019.

On one hand, according to comments by Kardex management, “catch-up effects in customer investments, the increasing trend toward automation and the expanded solution portfolio drove demand and filled order books to unprecedented levels. On the other hand, pandemic-related restrictions, massive disruptions in global supply chains and associated price increases presented very significant challenges to the company. This mainly affected the ability to plan personnel deployment and production, as well as deliveries and installations. Nevertheless, Kardex systematically continued its extensive investment program in new technologies, capacity expansions and digitalization.”

No. 17 Bastian Solutions, which is part of Toyota Advanced Logistics North America, pulled in revenue of $426 million, up from $405 million.

“2021 saw unprecedented strain on the global supply chain and related industries. Labor shortages paired with inventory shortages and increased consumer demand forced companies to quickly adjust to a challenging manufacturing landscape,” says Greg Conner, vice president of corporate development for Bastian Solutions. “Through it all Bastian Solutions provided best-in-class solutions for our customers through leading technologies in both materials handling equipment and information systems coupled with proven operational strategies.”

AutoStore is a new entrant this year at No. 18. Known for its robotic, cube-based storage and order filling system, its technology is used in many warehouses and some micro-fulfillment centers. The Norwegian company went public last year and had 2021 revenue of $327.6 million.

“This impressive performance by our team and partners brings our 2021 revenue to USD 327.6 million, well above our target of approximately U.S. $300 million in 2021,” says Karl Johan Lier, AutoStore’s CEO. “The development proves that AutoStore continues to benefit from a huge, underpenetrated market with high expected growth rates for fast cubic storage. Drivers for the development are a strong macro backdrop of pressure on warehouse costs and productivity, acceleration in e-commerce growth, and labor shortages.”

No 19 Elettric80 posted $372.4 million, down from 2020, when it notched $394.9 million in turnover. The Italian company has its U.S. headquarters in the Chicago area and is known for its automatic guided vehicles.

Rounding out our list at No. 20 is System Logistics, which reported revenue of $322 million, up from $262 million. The Italian company has its U.S. organization based in Arden, N.C.

Well, there you have it, a slightly different makeup to the Top 20 this year, with the entry of one new robotics-focused suppliers, growth among most suppliers, and the return to the list of some established yet innovative players.

As the comments from executives on the Top 20 make clear: The demand for updated warehouse automation and robotics solutions is strong as companies try to gain automation efficiencies, but the same supply issues and inflationary pressures that beset many industries provided a headwind to companies in 2021 who were trying produce and install systems amid significant disruption and higher costs.

Through it all, the growth is impressive, and next year, it’s highly likely we’ll see additional new entrants to our list as the industry consolidates and robotics vendors that were once startups go public and begin sharing revenue numbers.