Thirteen products and solutions from eight nations have reached the finals of the IFOY intralogistics competition in 2026. Four companies will present themselves as "Start-up of the Year" at the Intralogistics Test Camp in  Dortmund's Westfalenhalle, where they will be judged by an international jury and audited by experts. 

Fig.: IFOY

According to the IFOY organization, 49 applications were received for the global innovation competition, and 17  devices and solutions (including start-ups) from eight countries have  earned their place in the final in Dortmund after a critical pre-selection process.

Innovations from Crown, idealworks, Jungheinrich, Knapp, Libiao Robotics, Locus  Robotics, Mobotic, Nomagic, PureLoX Solutions, SSI Schäfer, Still, The Mobile Robot Company, and  Wiltsche Fördersysteme are nominated. AI2Connect, Koiotech, Pyck, and Romb Technologies are competing for the "IFOY Start-up of the Year" spin-off award .

For six weeks, applications were pre-screened to nominate the finalist panel. "The IFOY  Audit will be a real nail-biter," says Anita Würmser, Chair of the IFOY Jury. "Artificial intelligence has  arrived in intralogistics – as a pragmatic tool with clear benefits, not as an end in itself."  It's no longer just startups delivering disruptive solutions: Established manufacturers, hidden champions, and medium-sized businesses are demonstrating how innovation works today. Exciting debates are therefore guaranteed before the winners' trophies are awarded on June 25th in the atrium of IFOY event partner AEB in Stuttgart .

Category Integrated Customer Solutions

The section on integrated customer solutions shows in practice what AI and  automation can already do today: with Jungheinrich at Liebherr and Locus Robotics at «The Quality Group».

Liebherr spare parts warehouse

Liebherr has built a new central spare parts warehouse at its headquarters in Ehingen, which  has been centralizing its global spare parts supply for cranes since April 2025. 90,000 items are handled there automatically via the AI- based warehouse management system (WMS) from the Hamburg-based intralogistics specialist  Jungheinrich. The WMS controls both the high-bay pallet warehouse  with 18,000 storage locations and the small parts shuttle warehouse with 40,000 container storage locations, as well as  a key role in meeting the time-critical cut-off times of the  The Jungheinrich "Data Center" module plays the optimal picking start time and automatically controls the retrieval process. In the first  few months alone, the system made more than 97,000 decisions based on over 830,000  predictions. The result: More than 96 percent of picking processes were  completed on time, and manual intervention was reduced by more than 80 percent.

The LocusONE platform

Locus Robotics, with its European headquarters in Amsterdam,  the LocusONE platform with 350 autonomous Origin AMRs for The Quality Group (TQG) at its Elsdorf site and integrated it with the TQG WMS.   The system orchestrates mobile robots and employees in real time across 40,000 square meters. It flexibly scales capacity in a  during Black Week  more robots across three halls.

Category: Industrial Trucks

This year's finalists in the industrial truck category come from the USA, Germany and Denmark:  Crown, Still and The Mobile Robot Company reflect the innovative potential of classic forklift and  warehouse vehicles.

The Crown WJ 50

Crown impressed in the preliminary selection with the new WJ 50 electric pallet truck as a modern electric  alternative to manual pallet trucks. Its practical overall package combines the familiar comfortable Crown ergonomics with easy handling and intelligent battery management. Although  lightweight itself, this pedestrian-operated pallet truck can move loads of up to 1.5 tons. With a front overhang of just 370 mm, it is ideal for tight spaces – such as in wholesale and retail, truck transport, or curbside deliveries .

Special version of the RX 60-50/600

Still demonstrates how inclusion in intralogistics can be practiced with a 5-tonne front forklift for employees of short stature  – without compromising performance or safety.  Developed in collaboration with Barrus Engineering for Voss Edelstahlhandel, this special version of the RX 60-50/600 electric forklift features  an electrically adjustable platform, adapted entry, additional handrails, and hydraulic fork adjustment. At the touch of a button, the forklift can be converted to standard height and used by all employees. The conversion concept is transferable to RX-60 models and existing vehicles  .

The Mobile

Robot Company is showcasing the J1600. "Manual if you want – autonomous when it makes sense": this pallet truck is a dual-mode machine with a 1.6-ton lifting capacity. It can be used both as a  using 3D LiDAR navigated an easy entry into automation.

Category: Robot Warehouse Systems

This is all about AI. Libiao Robotics from China, SSI Schäfer from Germany and Nomagic from Poland impressed during the nomination phase.

Libiao Robotics is launching the AirRob PRO, a climbing warehouse robot capable of handling both cardboard boxes and plastic containers directly from the shelf without repacking. A unique feature  is the rotatable gripper arm mounted on the AirRob's climbing platform, allowing containers  to be picked up or placed on either side of the aisle. This reduces the number of required workstations – in some cases, they can even be eliminated entirely. Dual suction technology, an integrated conveyor belt, and a vision system enable high storage density.  Nomagic tackles the challenge of picking up cardboard boxes with its Shoebox Gripper. Supported by an AI-based  perception system, the gripper recognizes each item and controls the gripping process, thus  automating previously purely manual picking and sorting processes. The  potential is enormous, as industry data shows that shoeboxes account for approximately 20 percent of all  items handled in a typical fashion e-commerce warehouse.

SSI Schäfer is focusing on the new FastBots Solution. It is designed  to replace rigid conveyor technology with an autonomous shuttle fleet and  seamlessly connects different storage types, such as shuttle, high-bay, or small parts warehouses, with all types of workstations or palletizing robots.  The system achieves throughputs in the five-figure range per hour in an area of ​​just a few hundred square meters. The solution is virtually infinitely scalable.

Specials of the Year category

Mobotic offers the MoboDrive ST, a steering and drive unit  designed for highly maneuverable AMRs and AGVs. This all-in-one component combines steering, drive, motor control,  encoder, and continuous 360-degree rotation in a single, encapsulated, compact, and contamination-free module. The design enables previously unfeasible configurations and provides a  fast, hygienic solution for electronics manufacturing, hospitals, and the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Wiltsche Fördersysteme has launched Destuff-it, a mobile container unloading system designed  to assist employees with loading and unloading packages weighing up to 74 kg.  The system's innovative features include a flexible conveyor belt and excellent maneuverability. Height-adjustable, the system  largely eliminates the need to lift boxes. Battery operation allows for easy  movement from gate to gate, increasing throughput by up to 100 percent.

Category Intralogistics Software

idealworks impressed with "AnyFleet," a cloud-based automation platform  designed to surpass traditional fleet management. At its core is a manufacturer-independent, open  platform architecture that, thanks to VDA 5050 compatibility,  enables seamless integration of heterogeneous fleets from different manufacturers and with varying levels of autonomy. AMRs, AGVs, and manual vehicles are  centrally coordinated, as are peripheral devices—from sensors and roller doors to traffic lights—and WMS and  ERP systems. Real-time analytics, simulations, and digital twins ensure process transparency.

the company addresses widespread, unresolved logistics challenges:  last-mile delivery and end-to-end supply chain optimization. The AI-powered software connects warehousing,  transportation, and delivery, enabling dynamic planning that  adapts in real time to orders, traffic conditions, and resources – ideal for next-day and same-day delivery. Integrated analytics, a driver app, and seamless integration with WMS/ERP systems ensure precise delivery windows.

PureLox promises to overcome the limitations of classic monolithic warehouse management systems  with its "plx.wmx" solution. This cloud-native WMS from Germany, specifically designed for dynamic  industries such as 3PL, e-commerce, and retail, manages all logistical processes – from goods receipt and storage to order picking, shipping, and returns – and supports flexible processes like value-added services and multi-pick strategies.

Start-ups

AI2Connect, based in Dortmund, positions itself as a factory for specialized AI agents in the logistics sector.  One of several AI agents launched is the "AI2RampOptimizer." It addresses ramp optimization  with a self-learning multi-agent system combining predictive learning,  reinforcement learning, and rule-based logic. The result: 30 percent shorter waiting times,  60 percent fewer demurrage charges, and 15 percent lower carbon dioxide emissions. The plug-and- play system is ready for use in under three weeks without IT integration, and the return on investment is reportedly less than three months.

Pyck aims to replace traditional warehouse management systems with an open-source toolkit for warehousing software. Instead of rigid, standardized solutions, the Schwäbisch Hall-based startup relies  on a modular system that uses artificial intelligence to model warehouse processes  and automatically generates software from them. Unlike conventional WMS, Pyck doesn't  dictate processes: logistics experts design workflows, data models, and user interfaces themselves – flexibly,  scalably, and without vendor lock-in.

Romb Technologies from Croatia focuses on semantic visual intelligence for  intralogistics. Their technology translates raw image data and gives machines a visual  understanding of their environment – ​​comparable to human perception. Unlike  traditional vision systems, it recognizes not only solid objects, but entire object classes such as  people, pallets, loads, vehicles, or drivable surfaces. This enables new applications ranging from adaptive load handling and obstacle avoidance to plant-wide analysis.

Koiotech received the green light from the jury for its AI-based freight measurement system, DeepCargo, developed by the  Göttingen-based startup. The AI-powered plug-and-play solution from Göttingen combines 3D at stationary drive-throughautomatically measures freight items of any size and shape 17 km/h, detects missing or incorrect master data, and accurately assigns barcodes.

The IFOY finalists 2026

• Crown, WJ 50

• idealworks, AnyFleet

• Jungheinrich, Automated end-to-end solution with AI: Jungheinrich & Liebherr

• Knapp, KiSoft Delivery Solution

• Libiao Robotics, AirRob Pro • Locus Robotics, LocusONE at The Quality Group

• Mobotic, MoboDrive ST

• Nomagic, Shoebox Gripper

• PureLoX Solutions, plx.wmx® - Cloud-native warehouse management software

• SSI Schäfer, FastBots Solution

• STILL, forklifts for people of short stature

• The Mobile Robot Company, J1600 self-driving pallet jack

• Wiltsche conveyor systems, Destuff-it container unloading system

IFOY Start-ups of the Year

• AI2Connect, AI2RampOptimizer

• Koiotech, DeepCargo 

• Pyck, Open Source Toolkit for Warehousing Software 

• Romb Technologies, semantic visual intelligence for intralogistics

www.ifoy.org