As its use permeates both industrial workplaces and personal routines, artificial intelligence continues to attract headlines. Material handling is no exception. Some in the industry are exploring how AI and automation can help fill existing labor gaps and address production inefficiencies.

Agentic AI and twinning solutions

TGW Logistics is a global company that develops and manufactures “every essential component in-house,” from software to robotics to mechatronic modules, according to its website.

The company is home to over 4,500 employees across Europe, Asia, and North America. It helps design, implement, and maintain “highly automated, future-proof fulfillment centers” for industries including fashion and apparel, grocery, industrial, and consumer goods, the site said.

“Our comprehensive approach ensures we deliver solutions that enhance performance and solve complex supply chain challenges,” the website said.

Dex Weber, business development manager at TGW Systems, Inc., focuses on the industrial and consumer goods category in North America. He sees AI being employed in a variety of cases to support research, with one trend being the use of agentic AI, which can operate a system for a specific task with limited supervision. Weber described how the tools can help businesses quickly identify items in areas of an operation where an employee may not be an expert.

AI systems can also support collaboration with employees by consolidating data and making work processes more strategic, according to Weber.

The offerings of AI agents are “really unique,” according to Keith Moore, CEO of AutoScheduler.AI, who said the technology can bundle up a set of capabilities and be given agency to accompany it. AutoScheduler is a cloud-based warehouse orchestration platform designed to empower companies to take full control of operations, according to the business.

“Whether it’s managing fluctuating labor demands, juggling tight dock schedules, coordinating complex tasks, or optimizing your automation systems, AutoScheduler ties everything together to make real-time, data-driven decisions that boost your bottom line,” the website said.

In January, AutoScheduler.AI announced it would showcase its Warehouse Decision Agent at Manifest 2026.

Recently, the company has received several recognitions, including Moore being named as one of the top 25 CEOs in 2025 by the Austin Business Journal.

Moore said he appreciates the recognition of the company’s work and noted that AutoScheduler has recently expanded in the retail and 3PL spaces.

Moore has been tracking decision-making as a key component for technological solutions. “How many decisions per hour does a person make?” he said, noting that the bottlenecks that can occur as flows become more complex and that if a technological tool can help sort through those decisions, it can ease the operational flow.

Twinning and robotic piece picking

On the warehouse side, Weber said digital twinning via AI is becoming increasingly popular. “It’s a virtual replication of your warehouse. You can look back through some of the warehouse or certain areas and events and see how things were handled and mimic a way to do it differently,” he said. Weber added that retailers appreciate the use of digital twinning to plan how product movement could look and to adjust flow.

When it comes to material handling and automation, Weber said TCW encourages a holistic approach to adopting new technologies. “Every business is a little bit different,” he said, although there are some patterns of need industry-wide, like the search for labor and workforce retention, reducing costs, faster throughput, and right-sized packaging.

“Piece picking robots are growing really quickly for us,” said Weber, who said the robots learn with each pick and can continually improve performance.

The technology is helpful for operations looking to fill third-shift labor needs. Automation or semi-automation can help sequence goods in the correct order and help workers avoid lifting heavy items, according to Weber.

TCW continues to see growth in automation implementation across its customer base of all sizes, according to Weber.

“It used to be only super high-performance companies investing in automation,” he said, adding that now companies of diverse makeup can bridge the gap of needs by making smaller and gradual improvements with newer tech.

Weber noted that some of TCW’s customers are finding that implementing AI and automation is helping with workforce retention, as many workers are nearing retirement and younger generations appreciate and are comfortable with advanced technology.

“We’ve had feedback from customers who have implemented automation and have said it really helps them with reducing turnover and attracting better talent,” Weber said.

Modern WMS

The current need for modern WMS is being driven by “unprecedented labor shortages, volatile consumer demand, rapid automation advances, and expanding digital ecosystems,” according to a recent article by Pauline Poissonnier, head of solutions at Hardis Supply Chain.

“Warehouses can no longer function as isolated entities; they’re becoming fully integrated participants in broader networks of systems, partners, and devices,” Poissonnier said.

She wrote that a connected WMS can ingest and share real-time data across transportation management systems, automated solutions, and more.

“It coordinates activity based on both what’s happening inside of the facility and what’s happening through the supply chain, like shipment delays, forecast changes, carrier availability, or retail order cutoffs,” Poissonnier said.

She advises using WMS platforms with open design principles that enable integration with automation and software partners and provide a foundation for future growth.

“This shift to an agnostic mindset helps warehouses avoid rigid vendor lock-in and gives them flexibility to choose the best-fit solutions for their operational needs both today and in the future,” Poissonnier said.

Automating with purpose

Weber noted that it is important to integrate new technologies such as automation and AI the right way. “Automating some bad process is just going to make the bad process faster,” he said.

Companies need to develop AI and automation policies and carefully plan across the entire operation.

Moore agreed, saying change management is the number one challenge organizations face when implementing AI and automation. Even as businesses vary widely, their needs are uniform.

“Everybody’s got the same problems,” he said. “If you are making better decisions with a better process, you can impact every single pain point.”

About the Columnist:

Eileen Mozinski Schmidt is a writer and journalist based in the Greater Milwaukee area.  If your company would like to be featured, email [email protected]