Schaefer Systems International
Warehouse systems, AS/RS, and logistics software
SSI Schaefer is one of the world's largest intralogistics companies, providing racking, shelving, conveyor, AS/RS shuttle systems, and warehouse software. Their Cuby shuttle and WEASEL small load carrier systems are widely deployed in e-commerce.
Large-scale retail and food DC automation requiring integrated conveyor, AS/RS, and order fulfillment systems
Mid-market or brownfield operations with budget constraints or short implementation timelines
Strengths
- Full systems capability — conveyor, AS/RS, robotics, WMS, all from one vendor
- Extremely strong in European grocery and retail DC environments
- Long operational track record — reference sites with 20+ year deployments
- Deep engineering capability for complex multi-tier fulfillment architectures
Weaknesses
- High cost and long implementation timeline — not suitable for quick wins
- Large-project focus means less agility for scope changes during implementation
- North American footprint smaller than European — fewer local support resources
Practitioner analysis
SSI Schaefer is one of Europe's largest material handling companies — comprehensive product line from shelving to AS/RS to conveyor. North American presence is significant but smaller than Dematic or Vanderlande. Strong in food & beverage, retail, and pharma. Implementation timelines are industry-standard.
Schaefer's product breadth means you can buy a full system from one vendor but the AS/RS and conveyor product lines are mature while goods-to-person (Cuby) is newer. Verify which products are production-validated at your scale. European HQ creates some time zone challenges for US support.
Food & beverage, retail, and pharma DC projects requiring full-stack material handling integration with strong shelving and storage component options.
Verify product maturity for goods-to-person specifically. Confirm US project team capacity.
Questions to ask in your RFP / demo
- For goods-to-person specifically (Cuby), how many production deployments at our scale?
- What is your US support team size and SLA?
- Show me three full-stack projects (storage + conveyor + AS/RS) at our scale.
Products
Multi-level shuttle AS/RS for totes and cartons