The expert jury of the Innovation Award, published by the German Design Council, was particularly impressed by the efficiency and versatility of the automation system for omni-channel sales. It is specially tailored to the requirements of retailers with high throughput rates and automatically prepares online orders for collection or delivery within an hour. Thanks to its compact design, it requires just over 900 square meters and can therefore be installed directly at the back of a retail store or as a separate urban fulfillment center. In this way, the Dematic solution enables fast and safe shopping, especially in times of Covid-19. Due to the pandemic, the award ceremony will take place online this year.

"Corona has once again boosted online retail. Our innovative micro-fulfillment solution for urban areas ensures that products reach the customer quickly and safely by processing orders in close proximity to the end consumer," says Rainer Buchmann, SVP & Managing Director Dematic Central Europe. "We are delighted that we have now been recognized for this and it reflects the success of our approach."

Both the food and retail sectors as well as large department stores and the consumer electronics, toy, office, sports and clothing industries benefit from the Dematic system. This is because it automatically compiles even large orders within a maximum of one hour and simplifies omni-channel sales. This makes e-commerce order processing more profitable for companies.

The system consists of proven Dematic technologies such as the Dematic Multishuttle and goods-to-person picking solutions and is scalable. The micro-fulfillment solution can be adapted to different temperature zones, especially for the food trade. The order is either made available to the customer for collection or delivered. In addition to the proven automation systems, the Dematic iQ software is also part of the solution. The system is ready for use within just twelve weeks.

In addition to the "outstanding innovative performance", the expert jury particularly emphasized the efficiency and versatility. The assessment was based on the criteria of level of innovation, user benefit and cost-effectiveness. The award was launched three years ago by the German Design Council, which has been operating as the world's leading competence center for communication and knowledge transfer in the fields of design, brand and innovation since 1953. Its members currently include more than 340 companies.