The Autostore Challengers Continue to Emerge – Does Any Measure Up Yet?
It has been just over 10 years since Autostore really started to ramp up its sales; according to its prospectus for the 2021 IPO, the company grew from 12 to 512 customers between 2011 and 2021, and today that number has risen to over 900!
With such growth, it’s no surprise that competing and similar solutions would flood the market—but it has taken some time for both established automation manufacturers and startups to produce challengers worthy of the name.
Market alternatives and challengers
As an automation solution, Autostore essentially created, through its innovative technology, the category we now refer to as “cubic solutions” or “cubic storage.” With that in mind, and setting aside previously established alternatives such as shuttle warehouses, crane warehouses, and Vertical Storage Systems - So what are the alternative cube solutions that have entered the market and are starting to pose a challenge?
At its 2021 IPO, Autostore clearly identified its competitors in the market: the British company Ocado and the Canadian company Attabotics. At the time, there was also a patent dispute between Ocado and Autostore, a dispute in which an agreement regarding the patents was reached in the summer of 2023, and Autostore was required to pay approx. SEK 2.75 billion for future cross-licensing.
But surely two competing alternatives can’t be all there is? In the last two years alone, several competing solutions have emerged, and not least, the German automation giant Jungheinrich has launched its Jungheinrich Powercube. Put very simply, the Powercube is an Autostore turned upside down—the robots operate at floor level, with the pallets stacked in a grid above.
Technical differences and performance
One might wonder what unique features each solution offers, and of course there are variations. However, the clear customer benefits that all cube solutions offer and communicate can be summarized as follows:
- Approx. 4 times the storage capacity per square meter compared to traditional warehouses
- A significantly increased picking speed (5–10 times faster) compared to manual warehousing
- The facilities can operate 24/7
Building on the above as a baseline offering, each automation provider then highlights its own innovations and features to stand out. Many selling points are as simple as the ability to build a taller system, higher load capacity per rack, or lower demands on the building where the automation is installed. If you’re looking for a more detailed overview of the cube solutions, you can find it here.
Cost is the deciding factor
At least, that’s what we think—if any of the competitors are really going to be able to give Autostore a run for its money, the price of the solution will be the deciding factor.
“Good enough”
Established automation suppliers come from a world where large customers could spend hundreds of millions on an installation without batting an eye (well, almost), and sure, the result was—and still is—incredibly efficient and comprehensive facilities. However, many customers simply demand “good enough”—at least initially. In this market, Autostore has found its niche and completely dominated among customers with budgets ranging from 20 to 50 million. Once they’ve got a foothold, customers then expand their facilities, and Autostore not only secures easy upselling opportunities but has also shut out competing automation giants at the gate before their products were even considered by customers.
“Good enough” doesn’t seem like the motto automation giants are used to working by, but in order to truly compete (i.e., offer competitive prices), that’s probably what’s needed. Of course, these organizations recognize this, but do they have the capacity to put it into practice?
Implementation experience
Among other options, we have startups or up-and-comers such as Ocado, Attarobotics, and Intellistore. Without large organizations and cumbersome project teams, shouldn’t they have the advantage when it comes to competing on price? Probably yes, and probably no. The major challenge here is that Autostore now has over 1,000 installations—it’s a well-oiled machine. After that many projects, they know the pitfalls, what can be delivered under budget, and what will go over budget. Their quotes are precise and have a low margin of error.
As a startup or with a newly launched solution, the circumstances are different, and you certainly need some wiggle room in your calculations to avoid miscalculating—that margin can make or break a deal.
Competition is intensifying
The challengers may be competitive when it comes to technology and performance, but their low number of installations still leaves something to be desired. None of the challengers seem to have surpassed the 20+ installation mark yet.
However, competition is intensifying, and the innovative spirit of startups, combined with the large sales and distribution networks of automation giants, will undoubtedly have an impact. We will see more types of cube solutions in the real world over the next 2–3 years, and challengers will likely gain ground by offering niche alternatives, such as solutions tailored to specific industries or types of cargo.
Used Autostore and warehouse automation
Cube solutions are still so new on the market that there is no established secondary market yet—but rest assured that Relevator will be at the forefront when the time comes.
Until then, we offer a wide selection of, among other things, used Vertical Storage Systems and Conveyor Systems, with more types of automation solutions set to be launched on an ongoing basis in the coming years.