Haldensleben/Hamburg, 5 December 2025 - It was precision work: the first of a total of 61 new storage and retrieval machines was installed in Hermes Fulfilment's high-bay warehouse in Haldensleben today with the help of a 60-metre-high heavy-duty crane. The steel colossus, which weighs around twelve tons and is 27 meters high, was lifted into the warehouse in two parts through an opening in the roof measuring around ten square meters. Hermes Fulfilment is investing a mid double-digit million euro sum in the new technology. The gradual replacement of the storage and retrieval machines (SRMs) is due to be completed by the end of 2028.
The site has been the logistics hub for Otto Group retail companies since 1994. The Haldensleben dispatch center specializes in handling the small-volume product range. This primarily includes clothing and shoes. Using state-of-the-art technology, robotics and AI, Hermes Fulfilment takes over the storage of goods, packs parcels and bags with items ordered online, takes care of shipping to more than 20 European countries and stores items that are returned if they are not suitable.
The heart of the facility on Hamburger Strasse is the high-bay warehouse. There is space for 1.2 million boxes of new goods in the 27-meter-high racks to the left and right of the 61 narrow aisles. They are stored and retrieved fully automatically with the help of storage and retrieval machines. Much of this high-performance technology, which weighs several tons, is now 31 years old and has made millions of trips. The result: material fatigue. "The risk of failure is increasing. Electronic spare parts are no longer available for long. To ensure that we can continue to use the high-bay warehouse in the future, we decided to completely replace the SRMs in a total of nine construction phases. The TÜV had also advised us to invest in replacements following on-site inspections," explains Barbara Schröder. She works in logistics planning at Hermes Fulfilment and is in charge of the "Goliath 61" project, named after the size and number of the new storage and retrieval machines.
So far, 39 stacker cranes have been used, which can change aisles with the help of eight transfer units. In future, each of the 61 aisles will be served by one machine. There is no need to change lanes. "That saves time," says Barbara Schröder. In addition, the new storage and retrieval machines from Swiss manufacturer Stöcklin will be significantly more agile and efficient. They are four tons lighter than their predecessors and, with a speed of four meters per second, they also move faster through the rows of racks. The new stacker cranes can only transport three instead of 15 cartons at a time. However, due to the higher number of devices and the speed and weight advantages, the capacity of the high-bay warehouse will increase from 3,500 to as many as 3,900 storage and retrieval operations per hour. "This will keep the site fit for the online retail of tomorrow," emphasizes Barbara Schröder.
The material flow computer was already replaced in the first quarter of this year as part of the Goliath 61 project. The manufacturer TUP programmed the software so that it can control both the old and the new storage and retrieval machines by the time the last storage and retrieval machines are installed at the end of 2028. In order for the new devices to be able to take over and transfer the cartons fully automatically, conveyor technology must be expanded in each aisle and connected to the existing technology. All modernization steps are carried out while the existing system is in operation: "This requires maximum coordination and precision from everyone involved and makes the whole project a real challenge," emphasizes Barbara Schröder. After the pilot RBG, the next replacement is scheduled for the second quarter of 2026. Another four storage and retrieval machines will then be installed and removed. The old steel giants will be scrapped except for components that are still usable.
For Stefan Nießen, Head of the dispatch center on Hamburger Straße, the Goliath 61 project is in line with the modernization measures of recent years: "By replacing the storage and retrieval machines, we are continuing to invest in the future of the site and sending out a powerful signal: Haldensleben will continue to be a beacon of logistics within the Otto Group in the future."
Around 4,000 people are employed at Hermes Fulfilment in Haldensleben. This makes the company the town's largest employer and one of the ten largest employers in the state.
About Hermes Fulfilment:
Hermes Fulfilment GmbH, headquartered in Hamburg and with locations in Haldensleben, Löhne, Ohrdruf, Ansbach and Langenselbold as well as in Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Italy, handles the entire shipping process chain for Otto Group retail companies and their platform partners. The company organizes warehousing (storage and packaging) and returns processing for a product range of around one million items. Hermes Fulfilment employs around 8,000 people and moves around 500 million items per year. Further information: www.hermes-fulfilment.de
