In recent years, automation has dramatically transformed the warehouse management industry, enhancing efficiency, accuracy and safety in warehouse operations.

Leading warehouse automation in the APAC region is Modula, a company at the forefront of Industry 4.0.

The company offers automated vertical and horizontal solutions. Its vertical lifts maximize the use of vertical space, saving at least 90 percent of ground space while improving picking efficiency by two to three times. The Modula horizontal carousel, designed for low-ceiling environments, organizes stock efficiently. Both solutions can integrate with company host systems, such as SAP and ERP, to achieve real-time inventory control.

“The solution can be integrated with robots, AGV, AMR for complete automated solutions, and lifting equipment to improve ergonomic standards in the working environment,” says Miguel Fabra, APAC managing director at Modula.

Modula’s culture of innovation stems from its dedication to research and development (R&D). It invests five percent of its annual revenue into R&D to remain at the forefront of technological advancement. In 2024, Modula inaugurated a new R&D building in Fiorano Modenese. This 31,820 sqm building is dedicated to innovation and serves as an experience centre where new projects and prototypes come to life. Customers and guests can experience live warehouses in operation.

By closely monitoring new technology trends and engaging with customers, Modula gains access to cutting-edge insights and expertise. Its diverse teams of engineers and designers explore and experiment with new concepts, materials and technologies to enhance storage solutions and better serve all industries.

In 2023, Modula has launched a new product, Modula NEXT, which incorporates all the advantages of its best-selling product, Modula Lift. It helps warehouses achieve the highest level of safety control in operation. With its specially designed bay, Modula NEXT eliminates the chance of operators making picking errors and losing items to zero and can also serve as a vending machine.

By placing a Modula NEXT at the customer’s production site, they will no longer need to place inventory orders for spare parts. This results in less working capital involved and worry about obsolete parts in inventory. The host company will be able to sell both proprietary and commercial spare parts, achieving higher margins in sales. Monitoring the use of spare parts at the customer’s site could help develop a more effective strategy.

For the traditional warehouse, where an operator has to manually check each shelf by pushing a trolley and looking for the item, Modula has developed automated warehouse solutions. This allows operators to wait at the picking bays of Modula’s automated lift machines. Items to be picked are delivered to the bay at an ergonomic height, with a laser pointer and LED bar indicating how many pieces to pick and where they are. This makes the process easy and efficient, eliminating the need for climbing, walking or searching. Even new operators can handle the process with less than two hours of training. The system is super convenient.

Modula has over 30,000 clients globally. One of its clients, Neway CNC Equipment, a Chinese customer, recently installed 12 Modula Vertical Lift. This freed up over 1,000 sqm of ground space for production and eliminated safety risks associated with climbing up and down, improving picking efficiency.

Modula’s success is attributed to its global reach and innovative abilities. The company has a strong market presence and a deep understanding of customers’ needs. Its manufacturing centres, located in Reggio Emilia (Italy), Maine and Ohio (U.S.) and Suzhou (China), all have the same production facilities and technologies to ensure the production of high-quality machines.