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Warehouse Automation for Existing Facilities - No Investment Required

Goods-to-person picking in your shelf warehouse: Autonomous mobile robots automate picking inside your existing infrastructure - scalable, efficient, and investment-free with pay-per-pick.

Warehouse Retrofit Go-Live in 6-8 Weeks Pay-per-Pick
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NEO is the warehouse automation solution from NEOintralogistics for existing shelf-based warehouses. Autonomous mobile robots (AMR) transport bins to a picking station - the picker stays at the workstation. No construction, no upfront investment: you pay per pick. Go-live in 6-8 weeks.

Challenges in Intralogistics

Shelf-based warehouses are largely operated manually. A large share of each shift goes into walking from bin to bin. Throughput stays structurally low and labor costs keep rising - while the labor shortage gets worse.

Up to 70% less picking labor

Walking is the biggest cost driver in manual shelf warehouses. Eliminating it cuts picking labor by up to 70% at the same throughput - and decouples your labor costs from order volume.

Labor shortage meets physically demanding work

Open roles remain unfilled and turnover rises. Manual person-to-goods processes make hiring and retention harder.

Costs rise faster than output

In manual setups, more volume usually means more labor, more onboarding effort, and higher error pressure.

See how NEO solves this in existing warehouses →

Why NEO?

Three reasons leading warehouse operators choose NEO - no construction, no risk.

Automation During Live Warehouse Operations

NEO automates your existing shelf racking - no construction, no downtime. The robots work directly in your current infrastructure. Your shelves stay in place.

Go-Live in 6-8 Weeks

From decision to first automated pick in just 6-8 weeks. No year-long project timeline - measurable results within a single quarter. Traditional automation takes 12-36 months.

Pay-per-Pick

No CapEx, no leasing, no risk. You only pay per completed pick - transparent, scalable, and directly tied to your performance. Robots, software, and maintenance are included.

What is NEO?

NEO automates order picking in your existing shelf warehouse - no new building, no capital investment, no disruption to ongoing operations.

The solution combines three components into one integrated system:

Robotic arm at picking station - overhead view

NEO:pickstation - Goods-to-Person Workstation

An ergonomic picking workstation with handling robotics. Bins are presented automatically - the picker retrieves the item, the robot returns the bin. No searching, no walking.

NEO:runner fleet operating in warehouse aisles

AMR Fleet - Autonomous Mobile Robots in the Aisle

The NEO:runner robots navigate autonomously through your existing shelf aisles. They locate the bin, extract it from the shelf, and transport it to the station. Your shelving infrastructure stays exactly as it is.

NEO:os software interface displayed on screen

NEO:os - Warehouse Automation Software

The orchestration software connects directly to your existing WMS. NEO:os receives pick orders, plans the optimal sequence, and coordinates the entire robot fleet in real time.

How NEO Works

From order to shipment in three steps.

1

Order Intake

Your WMS hands the pick order to NEO:os. The orchestration software plans the optimal workflow - with zero changes to your existing WMS logic.

2

Robot Retrieves the Bin

The NEO:runner navigates autonomously to the shelf, locates the target bin, and transports it to the NEO:pickstation. The robots operate in existing aisles as narrow as 85 cm.

3

Pick & Ship

At the NEO:pickstation, the bin is presented automatically. The picker retrieves the item and prepares it for shipment - fast, accurate, ergonomic. The NEO:runner then returns the bin to the shelf.

Three components, one workflow: NEO:os manages the orders, the NEO:runner fleet transports the bins, and at the NEO:pickstation the picker retrieves the item. No walking, no searching, no idle time.

How to Get Started with NEO

From first conversation to live operations - in 4 steps and 6-8 weeks.

1

Fit-Check

In a short call, we assess whether NEO fits your warehouse: shelf type, aisle width, product range, daily volume. You receive a clear assessment - free and non-binding.

Request a Fit-Check
2

WMS Integration

NEO:os connects to your existing WMS via a standardized interface. No changes to your WMS logic, no major IT project.

3

Physical Setup

We set up the NEO:pickstation on roughly 30 sqm of free floor space, map the warehouse area for the NEO:runner robots, and integrate the system into your existing infrastructure (power, network).

4

Go-Live

The NEO:runner fleet, the NEO:pickstation, and NEO:os go live - during ongoing warehouse operations, with zero downtime. Automated picks from day one. Scale at any time by adding stations and robots.

Pickstation from above showing operator at workstation and pushback compartments as bin buffer

The Challenge: Modernizing Existing Warehouse Operations

Shelf-based warehouses run on manual person-to-goods picking. Workers walk up to 16 km a day through the aisles to fulfill orders. With rising labor costs, persistent workforce shortages, and growing throughput pressure, these manual processes are hitting their limits.

Traditional automation - AS/RS, shuttle systems, cube-based solutions - requires multi-million-euro investments, purpose-built facilities, and lead times of 12-36 months. For many companies, that is simply not an option.

NEO closes this gap: automation as a retrofit into your existing warehouse, without capital expenditure, and with results within a single quarter.

NEO vs. Cube-Based AS/RS →

Why NEO Over Traditional Warehouse Automation?

Zero Upfront Investment - You Only Pay per Pick

NEO operates on a pure pay-per-pick model. No CapEx, no leasing, no asset on your balance sheet. Robots, software, maintenance, and service are all included in the per-pick price. You pay only for picks actually performed - and costs scale with your actual demand. No additional costs apply.

Learn more about pay-per-pick →

No New Building - Your Shelving Stays

NEO installs directly into your existing warehouse infrastructure. Your shelves stay in place. No construction, no operational disruption, no relocation. The NEO:runner robots work in your existing aisles and use your existing shelf structure.

Learn more about warehouse retrofit →

Flexible Scaling

Start with one picking station and scale on demand. NEO grows with your business - without further investment or construction. No minimum commitment for a full warehouse transformation.

Collaborative Picking - Robots and People in the Same Workflow

Robots and human pickers operate in the same warehouse, in the same picking cycle. This breaks the classic automation trade-off: size the system for peak demand and pay for idle capacity eleven months a year, or size it for average and break during peak season. With NEO, you size the robot fleet for average load - and add human pickers alongside the robots when seasonal demand spikes. No separate manual operation to staff up.

NEO by the Numbers

70%
less picking labor
2-3x
storage capacity
6-8weeks
from decision to go-live
0€
upfront investment

NEO in Action - Reference Customers

NEO is deployed in live warehouse operations. Two customer voices from production:

Ralf Bühler
Currently, there is no other provider besides NEO that offers goods-to-person automation specifically for shelf-racking environments.
Ralf Bühler
CEO, Conrad Electronic SE
Frank Hammermeister
No other provider combines such a simple automation solution with higher storage density like NEO. We see great potential to significantly support our fulfillment strategy with NEO.
Frank Hammermeister
CEO, Versandmanufaktur GmbH (GLS Group)
Case Study: Conrad Electronic Case Study: GLS / Versandmanufaktur

Frequently Asked Questions

What is warehouse automation?

Warehouse automation replaces manual processes in a warehouse - from storage and retrieval to picking and shipping - with technology-driven systems. NEO automates order picking in existing shelf-based warehouses using autonomous mobile robots (AMR), a picking station, and the NEO:os orchestration software. Unlike traditional automation, NEO requires no new building and no upfront investment.

How do NEO:runner robots work in a warehouse?

Autonomous mobile robots (AMR) navigate independently through warehouse aisles. In the NEO system, the NEO:runner robots drive to the designated shelf location, extract the bin, and transport it to the picking station where the picker retrieves the item. The robot then returns the bin to the shelf. No modifications to your shelving are required.

Can you automate an existing warehouse without building a new one?

Yes. NEO is purpose-built for retrofitting existing shelf-based warehouses. Your existing shelves remain in place. Aisle width must be at least 85 cm, and usable shelf height can be up to 250 cm. Installation requires no construction and no operational downtime. Go-live is achievable in 6-8 weeks.

How much does warehouse automation cost?

NEO uses a pay-per-pick model: you pay exclusively per completed pick. There are no acquisition costs, no leasing fees, and no hardware investment. Robots, software, maintenance, and service are included in the per-pick price. Exact costs depend on your warehouse profile, product mix, and daily volume. Request a custom quote →

How long does it take to implement warehouse automation?

With NEO, WMS integration takes ~4 weeks. Full deployment - including robot fleet, G2P station, and software - is completed in 6-8 weeks. By comparison, traditional automation projects (AS/RS, shuttle systems, cube-based solutions) require 12-36 months and a construction phase.

NEO:runner in branded aisle with foreground bokeh

Warehouse Automation for 3PL Operations

Running a multi-client fulfillment warehouse? NEO is especially well-suited for 3PL providers dealing with fluctuating volumes, peak seasons, and changing product mixes.

Request a Fit-Check

See NEO in action - at our pilot site in Bochum or via remote demo. We will assess your warehouse together - shelf type, aisle width, product range, volume - and show you what a rollout would look like in your facility.

Request a Fit-Check
+49 211 936 724 23 sales@neointralogistics.com