Reflecting on 2024: Key Takeaways and Strategic Direction for Daifuku Intralogistics America in 2025

As we step into 2025, it’s vital to reflect on the successes, challenges, and lessons from 2024 that have shaped our strategy for delivering innovative, customer-focused solutions.

At Daifuku Intralogistics America, we demonstrate our unwavering commitment to our customers through the development of innovative solutions and technologies, expansion of our North American manufacturing capacity, and overall continuous improvement for design and manufacturing.

Here’s a look at the top takeaways from 2024 and how they will impact our path forward.

Top 3 Takeaways from 2024 That Shaped Our Strategy

1. Addressing Labor Shortages and Rising Costs

Customers faced persistent challenges in 2024, including labor shortages and increased facility and operations costs. We continued to respond by developing solutions that enhance operational productivity and maximize storage while delivering justifiable returns on investment. This emphasis will remain at the heart of our strategy as we refine our offerings and align them with customer needs.

2. Manufacturing Capacity and Scheduling

One of the most significant challenges was meeting aggressive project schedules, especially for key clients. Significant product demand, limited resources, lengthy manufacturing lead times, and customer requests for faster engineering, installation, and commissioning created bottlenecks. To address these, we are focused on increasing manufacturing capacity, reducing lead times, and implementing tools that improve forecasting and efficiency.

3. Strategic Development and Partnerships

Our development of the next-generation high-speed AS-35 sorter was a major milestone. Additionally, we began exploring strategic partnerships with Unit Sorter, specialty conveyor technology, and Automated Mobile Robot (AMR) systems to complement our solutions and compete more effectively against other major players in the material handling automation market. This collaborative approach will be key as we aim to provide adaptable, customer-focused solutions.

Our Most Significant Achievements in 2024

One of the standout accomplishments of the year was the development, testing, and qualification of the AS-35 sorter, a next-generation high-speed solution designed to meet the demands of modern supply chain operations.

Additionally, significant wins with various off-price retailers highlighted our ability to deliver tailored solutions that address unique customer needs. This success exemplifies our commitment to innovation and the continuous improvement of our offerings.

Our strong safety record in 2024 also deserves recognition. The emphasis we place on safety ensures that we not only deliver reliable solutions but also maintain the well-being of our team and partners.

Lessons from 2024 That Will Shape Our Focus for 2025

1. Accelerating Proposal Turn Times

Reducing proposal preparation times is a key initiative for 2025. Utilizing agile techniques, we aim to streamline the proposal process and improve efficiency across applications teams.

2. Expanding Partnerships and Strategic Solutions

As competition from AMR companies and large integrators grow, we are committed to identifying key partners and enhancing our solution offerings to remain competitive. By integrating complementary technologies and leveraging strategic alliances, we can provide flexible, comprehensive solutions that meet diverse and changing customer needs.

3. Advancing Digital Twin Technology

The increased use of simulation and emulation marks a significant step toward digital twin technology. These advancements will allow us to enhance design accuracy, reduce project risks, and deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Looking Ahead to 2025

As we prepare for another year of growth and innovation, our focus remains on supporting customers to enhance their Supply Chains with solutions that tackle labor shortages, improved visibility, increase storage density, and improve operational efficiency. Key areas of emphasis include:

• Leveraging both our existing and new ASRS technologies for customer storage, buffering, and sequencing needs.

• Expanding our AGV/AMR capabilities  to meet growing customer demands for flexible and scalable solutions for transporting materials.

• Launching our new Sorting Transfer Robot systems. We have a SOTR-L for automated pallet sorting and a SOTR-S for small items and packages.  Both systems will result in significant benefits to include higher throughput, improved space utilization, higher productivity, improved flexibility and scalability to name a few.  

• Continue to serve our customers with reliable conveyor technology like our next generation AS-35 sliding shoe sorter.

With these priorities in mind, Daifuku Intralogistics America is well-positioned to deliver impactful solutions that inspire and transform supply chain operations.

We look forward to sharing our progress and achievements with you throughout 2025. Thank you to our team, customers, and partners for making 2024 a remarkable year. Let’s continue to innovate together!

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