Fraunhofer IML Celebrates 25 Years of ‘Warehouse Logistics’

Under the motto ‘Logistics Connects – 25 Years of Warehouse Logistics’, the ‘warehouse logistics’ community celebrated its 25th anniversary on October 29, 2025, at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML in Dortmund during the annual participant meeting with around 80 attendees.

(Dortmund) This year’s event was entirely focused on the anniversary and offered participants a program of reflections, practical examples, and discussions on future topics in logistics IT. Additionally, Manufacturing Execution Systems made their debut in the database.

The event began with a keynote on ‘Intralogistics for a Post-Human Era’ by the former director of Fraunhofer IML, Prof. Michael ten Hompel. Following this, a panel discussion highlighted the founding history and key milestones of ‘warehouse logistics’. Alongside current developments surrounding the database for Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), established in 2000, the program provided an interactive exchange on current topics and market developments, as well as contributions from joint projects in practice and a tour of the research halls of Fraunhofer IML.

As part of the anniversary, the Fraunhofer IML team also announced a significant expansion of the logistics IT platform: Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) can now be included in the database and validated by the ‘warehouse logistics’ team. This responds to the growing demand for integrated IT solutions along the entire value chain. By expanding the portfolio to include MES, the holistic view of logistics IT is further sharpened, strengthening the connection between production and logistics.

Similar to the existing areas of WMS, Transport Management Systems (TMS), and Resource Planning Systems (RPS), MES will also undergo structured validation according to the established procedure of Fraunhofer IML. This gives providers the opportunity to have their systems evaluated neutrally and listed in the ‘warehouse logistics’ logistics IT database, one of the world’s leading platforms for comparing logistics IT systems. Currently, the database features 106 listed systems.

The History of ‘Warehouse Logistics’ at a Glance:

• 2000: Founding of ‘warehouse logistics’ and development of the first WMS questionnaire
• 2002: Initiation of the first participant meeting of the ‘warehouse logistics’ community
• 2007: Publication of the first WMS market report with analyses of developments and trends
• 2009: Establishment of the ‘warehouse logistics’ advisory board
• 2010: Start of annual certification according to DIN EN ISO 9001
• 2015: Leading development of the VDI guideline 3601 ‘Warehouse Management Systems’
• 2021: Inclusion of additional logistics IT systems (TMS/RPS) in the database
• 2022: Introduction of a browser-based validation questionnaire
• 2024: ‘warehouse logistics’ surpasses the mark of 100 listed systems
• 2025: Inclusion of MES systems

Photo: © Fraunhofer IML