Small parts, pallets, or piece goods? Space-saving, energy-efficient, or designed for maximum throughput? Modern warehouses offer a tremendous diversity of possibilities. What are the respective advantages and disadvantages? We provide an overview of the most important storage solutions that are used depending on the requirements.
2025-07-16
Modern warehouses are all about clear structure, order, and transparency. Anyone looking to set up such a warehouse or redesign an existing one must first navigate the jungle of intralogistics options.
You need to make decisions: Do you want to store in containers or on pallets? With forklifts, shuttles, AGVs, or AMRs? With maximum throughput or high flexibility? These are just a few examples from the many, sometimes complex, questions to answer.
Essentially, automated storage solutions boost efficiency, optimize space utilization, and increase process reliability in modern logistics centers. However, it is essential to understand that not every technology suits every type of stored goods. Before selecting specific systems, a fundamental decision must be made: What type of cargo will be stored automatically – pallets or containers?
Customized automation – pallets or containers?
This distinction is important because nearly all technologies specialize in one of these two formats. It influences storage volume, system sizing, access logic, and last but not least, the level of automation.
What solutions are available in small parts warehouses?
In the area of container storage – also known as tote systems – there are many mature technologies. Different systems are used depending on article structure, space constraints and dynamic requirements. Here are the most important solution approaches:
The automated small parts warehouse is a well-established standard in warehouse automation. Specially designed storage and retrieval machines (called miniloads) run on rails through narrow aisles up to 20 meters high, automatically storing and retrieving containers, cartons or trays. These systems are designed for light loads up to about 150 kg and offer high operational reliability at medium throughput.
When is it suitable?
Ideal for a wide range of small parts, stable inventory and limited space. Thanks to their compact design, automated small parts warehouse solutions enable very high storage density. Some storage and retrieval machines can move up to 4 containers simultaneously – for example storing one while retrieving another – which speeds up processes. Depending on warehouse layout, single-mast devices (for standard widths) or double-mast variants (for wider shelves or higher load capacity) are used.
Dematic shuttle systems
When high dynamics are required, shuttle systems are an especially powerful solution. Many small vehicles – called shuttles – transport containers across multiple shelf levels simultaneously. Each level is equipped with its own shuttle that autonomously runs on rails to store or retrieve containers quickly and precisely. The parallel operation of multiple shuttles results in very short access times, making these systems ideal for warehouses with high order frequency – such as in e-commerce or consumer goods logistics.
When is it suitable?
Thanks to their modular design, shuttle systems can be flexibly scaled and adapted to growing requirements. The compact, multi-layer shelving structure and elimination of traditional aisles ensure efficient use of available space. Thanks to their independence from one another, shuttles adapt flexibly to changing item movements, achieve high speeds and ensure consistently high system performance.
Grid systems come into play when warehouse space is limited. They are based on a highly dense grid of stacked containers arranged vertically within an aluminum frame. Small robots move across the grid’s surface, precisely lifting individual containers and transporting them to workstations – a classic goods-to-person concept that eliminates walking and manual searching.
When is it suitable?
This solution is especially suited for compact warehouses with high quantities per item and large order volumes of similar small parts. Because the system operates entirely without aisles, it maximizes floor space utilization – achieving storage densities often four times greater than traditional shelving systems. The system has a modular structure: Additional robots, containers or workstations can be integrated at any time, allowing the system to grow flexibly with your warehouse needs.
Autonomous mobile robots (AMR) – a top choice for container handling
Autonomous mobile robots provide an especially flexible solution for maximum mobility and adaptability. These freely navigating vehicles transport containers, racks or pallets independently throughout the warehouse – without any fixed conveyor systems or rails.
When is it suitable?
A key advantage is scalability: During peak periods – such as seasonal spikes – an additional "robot swarm" can be easily added. Besides traditional AMRs, specialized models such as the climbing tote AMR can climb shelves not just horizontally but also vertically. This enables automated operation of multi-level container warehouses without the need for complex lift systems. With their versatile design and high safety standards for mixed human-robot environments, AMRs offer highly agile warehouse operations fit for the future.
While these systems differ, they all share one thing in common: They are part of the solution portfolio of our KION Group brands: Dematic, Linde Material Handling, and STILL. No matter your flow of materials requirements, we offer all work areas from incoming goods to outgoing goods from a single source.
Pallets form the backbone of many goods flows – heavy, bulky, and often goods transported in large volumes. To efficiently store and move them, well-designed systems are essential. Fortunately, a variety of automated solutions can be combined to meet different needs. Here's an overview of key variants – from the proven storage and retrieval machine to the freely moving shuttle.
An automated pallet warehouse in Zhang, China
The S-MATIC cube automated 4-way pallet shuttle system from Linde MH
Four-way shuttles are designed for maximum storage density. These vehicles automatically move along rails throughout the entire shelving system. They precisely store and retrieve pallets within channels, even traveling beneath the pallets inside those channels. This ensures particularly efficient use of available space, especially for large quantities of similar items. These systems support both FIFO (First In, First Out – pallets stored first are retrieved first) and LIFO (Last In, First Out – pallets stored last are retrieved first), depending on the warehouse layout and process requirements.
When is it suitable?
This offers a reliable, space-saving solution for warehouses with high item uniformity and predictable turnover. Advantages: The technology is especially low-maintenance and energy-efficient, as the shuttles move precisely and can even navigate through channels. However, these systems reach their limits when dealing with a wide variety of items.
When maximum flexibility and throughput are required, modern multilevel shuttles with autonomous level changing offer a particularly dynamic solution for automated pallet storage. Unlike systems that rely on central vertical lifts, these shuttles move not only horizontally within their shelf level but also between multiple levels – without needing additional lifts.
When is it suitable?
The system is ideal for applications with tight cycle times, numerous items and high access speeds. This capability for fully automated movement along two axes (horizontal and vertical) enables a continuous and highly flexible flow of materials. At the same time, potential bottlenecks at central transfer points are eliminated, as each shuttle independently navigates to the optimal route and destination.
The storage and retrieval machine (SRM) is the classic solution for automatic pallet warehouses and one of the oldest systems in intralogistics automation. Guided by rails in long, narrow aisles, it performs millimeter-precise storage and retrieval of pallets. Thanks to its robust construction, it safely handles even heavy loads and operates at heights exceeding 45 meters.
When is it suitable?
Storage and retrieval machines are highly reliable, low-maintenance, and ideal for continuous operation. They are commonly used in industry, wholesale, and food sectors – wherever large inventories demand efficient organization. Typically, storage and retrieval machines work in double-deep configurations, though some variants support multi-depth storage – meaning several pallets arranged one behind another on each rack side. Access operations are sequential, enabling orderly material provision.
In the past, aisle-change storage and retrieval machines were considered clever solutions for servicing multiple aisles with a single device – for example by using transverse lift systems or movable platforms. This reduced the required equipment, saved space, and lowered investment costs, especially with medium throughput and seasonally fluctuating demands.
When is it suitable?
Today, aisle-change devices remain relevant mainly in retrofit projects where existing building structures must be utilized. Their functions are increasingly taken over by automated VNA solutions, which operate efficiently and reliably at heights between 13 and 15 meters with comparable flexibility.
This solution consistently separates horizontal and vertical pallet handling: While a shuttle moves the pallet laterally across a level to a transfer point, a lift simultaneously manages the vertical movement to the targeted warehouse or picking location. The two movements operate independently and in parallel – reducing wait times, easing the load on individual components and ensuring a consistently high flow of materials.
When is it suitable?
Its modular architecture allows for easy capacity expansion through additional shuttles, lifts, or transfer stations, making it ideal for dynamically growing warehouse structures. This system is especially efficient in high-frequency picking warehouses, where numerous movements occur simultaneously, and at production interfaces where replenishment must be precise and rapid.
The following also applies to pallet-based solutions: The KION Group and its brands offer precisely the right solution for every requirement, industry, and company size. Our experts provide personalized advice to customers on which solution fits best.
In modern intralogistics, there isn’t a single “right” storage solution but rather multiple suitable approaches – depending on goods type, process requirements, and growth potential – some of which can be combined. A clear distinction between pallet and container solutions forms the foundation of every plan.
What matters is not only the choice of system but also its integration into a comprehensive overall concept. This is exactly where the KION Group and its brands come in: offering scalable, combinable technologies that adapt flexibly for high-performance warehouses that will continue to run smoothly into the future.
