Case picking
checked 1 Sep 2026
Warehouse
Task maturity · five steps · every value is an analyst assessment| Task | Maturity | Dominant approach | Vendors | Deployed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automated storage and retrieval | Mature | AS/RS pallet handling | 3 | 1 |
| Each-picking assistance | Scaling | 3 | 1 | |
| Pallet movement | Scaling | Autonomous forklift | 5 | |
| Case picking | Early commercial | |||
| Truck unloading | Pilot | Autonomous forklift | 1 |
Case picking
Early commercialBuilding mixed-case pallets or moving full cases from storage to outbound, by arm or by automated system.
Robotic case picking and mixed-pallet building are sold commercially by fixed-automation vendors and a growing set of mobile-manipulation vendors, with paying customers in grocery and CPG. It is early commercial because deployments are still large capital projects with long lead times rather than repeatable installs.
What happens today
The incumbent process
Manual case picking with pallet jacks and voice-directed picking.
Case picking is heavy, injury-prone manual work, which drives demand.
Who buys it
Target customers
Grocery and retail distributors
Grocery DCs have the highest case volumes and the earliest production systems.