ProMat sets new attendance record

ProMat 2025 set a new attendance record with 52,223 registrants and 1,160 exhibitors, according to event producer MHI. The supply chain and manufacturing trade show, held at McCormick Place, spanned 659,000 net square feet and featured 215 educational sessions.

“ProMat brings this industry together to connect and share the best equipment and technology, the leading trends, and the latest innovations,” said MHI CEO John Paxton. “The success of ProMat 2025 is proof of the central role the supply chain plays across industries.”

The event saw a three per cent increase in registered attendees over the last ProMat, with participants from 143 countries.

“The energy on the show floor was very high! Attendees not only viewed the latest innovation this industry has to offer, but they also learned about them in educational sessions and connected with each other,” said Daniel McKinnon, chief exhibitions officer at MHI.

Automation, robotics and artificial intelligence were dominant themes, with new technologies showcased alongside traditional material handling solutions.

The event featured keynotes from IBM’s Paul Zikopoulos and Bloomberg’s Azeem Azhar, as well as a talk by football coach and former NFL player Deion Sanders. The 2025 MHI Annual Industry Report, presented by Paxton and Deloitte’s Wanda Johnson, outlined the growing adoption of digital supply chain solutions.

MHI’s Industry Night, headlined by comedian Jay Pharoah, raised $60,000 for the Material Handling Education Foundation, while an additional $5,000 was donated to Fight2Feed. MHI also announced winners of the 2025 MHI Innovation Awards, including Anyware Robotics for Best New Innovation and Freespace Robotics, which won the MHI StartUp Award.

Other events included Student Day, which introduced 400 students to supply chain careers, and the Women in Supply Chain Conference, which focused on workplace burnout prevention.

The next MHI-sponsored event, MODEX 2026, is scheduled for April 13-16 in Atlanta, while ProMat will return to Chicago in 2027.

AI adoption in warehousing

There’s no doubt the hype around artificial intelligence (AI) is real, but before diving in, companies should take a hard look in the mirror before making any hasty decisions.

This was the theme of a session at ProMat 2025, where Gretchen Molina, director and private practice lead at ethree solutions, stressed the importance of companies assessing their current technological maturity before jumping into AI.

“Be sincere with where you actually are,” she said, underscoring the importance of having a warehouse management system in place. “If you’re doing great, give yourself credit. If not, identify where you need to improve.”

Molina said companies must ensure their employees are ready for automation and AI within their operations, and that the process should be streamlined.

“Seventy-six per cent of the CEOs that hear about [generative] AI say, ‘I want Gen AI,’ and 70 per cent of manufacturing CEOs say AI is delivering a strong ROI for their operations, so it’s being implemented already,” she said. “Forty per cent of supply chain organizations are investing in Gen AI today, so if you’re not investing in generative AI, you’re already a little bit behind.”

Echoing this sentiment, Antonio de la Mata, technology and innovation manager and head of AI at ethree solutions, said most companies he works with are in the early stages of AI adoption. He recommends starting with a maturity assessment, data evaluation, system integration and a review of legacy infrastructure.

“A lot of clients we serve want to jump into AI, but they don’t have any data files,” said de la Mata. “They don’t have a data warehouse. They have multiple systems spread out, they don’t integrate, and they want to do a lot of things related to AI. But when we look at the data, it’s not there.”

Outlining a roadmap for integrating AI into warehouse operations, de la Mata said it begins with establishing a data strategy and a plan for moving forward.

“If we look at how Gen AI has transformed through the years, by 2030, 30 per cent of the hours currently worked are going to be automated across different industries,” said de la Mata. He added that by the same year, companies investing in automation will see 60 per cent higher operational efficiency compared to those relying on manual labour.

The next steps in integrating AI into warehouse operations include ensuring proper data governance, determining the most valuable use cases, implementing AI-powered solutions, and finally, change management and employee training.

There are also ways to jump-start AI adoption, as de la Mata highlighted, specifically with the use of the AI Maturity Model, which can identify gaps in warehouse operations and steps to alleviate them.

Companies can also use a Gen AI cost estimator, which helps determine the most cost-effective AI model, as well as a use case library that ensures AI investments align with tangible business outcomes.

It’s also important not to remove the human factor when transitioning to AI and greater automation.

“Sometimes you have to put a human in the loop to be able to automate some of the things, so our suggestion is to not just go directly to automation,” said de la Mata. “Try to do it internally. Try to put people in your workflows in the automation landscape, and then start scaling up.”

Taking the right steps to adopt AI and automation into warehouse operations requires patience and the right methodology. And though AI has dominated the conversation since it surged onto the scene a few years ago, the hype is certainly real.

“We want you guys to join the hype. I don’t want to scare you… the hype is real, it’s here,” said de la Mata. “Everyone talks about it every day. Believe that Gen AI is the next wave in the transformation of this industry.”

A case study: automating your cold storage warehouse

Choosing the right technology to improve operations in a cold storage warehouse can give many people the chills, but examining user case studies can help make the process clearer.

Not long ago, Agile Cold Storage wanted to expand the number of pallets its facility in Gainesville, Ga., could accommodate. Initially designed for 20,000 pallets, customer demand required the facility to more than double its capacity, said John Ripple, chief development officer for Agile.

“We needed 50,000 pallets, and the only direction to go was up,” he told ProMat 2025 attendees.

With real-time inventory visibility and accuracy a must for a third-party logistics provider like Agile, the company looked to implement an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) from Swisslog.

The system was designed with six independent crane aisles, each with separate inbound and outbound conveyors. Reliability was a top priority, ensuring that if one aisle went down, it would not impact the entire system.

“We can’t be in a position where we say, ‘The system isn’t working today, so we can’t get your orders out,’” said Ripple. “That’s not an option.”

Ben Lee, vice-president of sales for Swisslog Integrated Systems, said choosing the right technology was key to the project’s success.

“We knew the challenge. We knew what the expectations were when we started to look at all the technology,” said Lee. “What do we need to use from the Swisslog portfolio? We’ve got a variety of technology that can operate within the freezer.”

Moving forward with Swisslog’s deep-freeze-rated equipment, including PowerStore pallet shuttles, Vectura pallet cranes and ProMove conveyors, the company also used its laser positioning technology to ensure storage density and efficiency.

“With PowerStore, we achieve extreme storage density—it’s accurate down to the millimetre,” said Lee.

Energy efficiency was also a key consideration. Swisslog has been producing cranes since 1969, and its tapered mast structure reduces resistance and inertia, helping to minimize energy consumption.

“There’s real science behind our energy savings,” said Lee. “We don’t just build cranes; we engineer them for efficiency and longevity.”

Ripple noted that some older cold storage facilities can consume around $2 million per year in electricity, while Agile’s facility operates below $300,000 thanks to better insulation, fewer door openings and an efficient ASRS system.

“We’re on track to spend closer to $250,000 per year on utilities compared to $2 million for a similar capacity in older buildings,” he said.

Ripple and Lee both emphasized the importance of collaboration and transparency throughout the process. Agile involved Swisslog early in the planning phase, and strong communication helped prevent last-minute design changes that could have caused delays. Providing quality data to automation providers is another way to ensure a smooth transition.

“Bring your integrators in early, be transparent and provide good data upfront. That’s how you get a successful automation project,” said Lee.

“A smooth startup builds confidence,” added Ripple. “When you have a rough one, people start to distrust automation.”