Architect of the Future: How Joachim Tödter Shapes the Logistics of Tomorrow at KION

In the rapidly changing world of intralogistics, it is not enough to simply respond to current trends. You need visionaries who actively shape the future. At KION Group, Joachim Tödter is one such trailblazer. As Senior Director of Technology and Innovation, he leads a department where nothing less than game-changing progress for the entire industry is expected. “It’s about identifying technologies with the potential to significantly improve logistics and then integrating them into the KION Group portfolio,” Tödter says.

His ability to find groundbreaking future technologies has forged his reputation as a pioneer. He was part of a pilot project in as early as 2008 that saw the implementation of an adjustable rack system at a customer site that combined manual and automated processes. He was also personally involved in significant advancements to the “digital twin” of the warehouse in the “ARIBIC” research project, and he brought a new method of picking to the world with the autonomous STILL iGo neo order picker. Leadership and vision have clearly been part of his wheelhouse for years, as has the promotion of collaboration and networking within the KION Group.

Innovation Day is just one of the many platforms where Tödter’s work meets that of other innovators at KION. “We are constantly exchanging knowledge with other departments,” he says. “Together we think of ways we can support new ideas and implement them.” It is like a huge puzzle – each innovator adds their piece to create the bigger picture. This collaborative approach is actively supported by the brands of the KION Group and is part of its strategy for the future. “Our objective is to have a comprehensive intralogistics offering that is targeted to the needs of the respective customer industries,” Tödter explains. “We can only do that through networking and collaboration.”

Another example of collaboration at KION is the Dematic Strategy Technology Council, where Tödter’s department introduces ideas and promotes the integration of innovative approaches to existing systems. The Council also targets strategically important but as-yet untapped market segments – an approach that is closely connected to Andreas Baloghy’s search for “white spots .” “We understand and appreciate each other,” Tödter says of the collaboration with colleagues from the KION brands. “It makes events like the Dematic Strategy Council very inspiring. We support each other and discuss problems together.” So, the free flow of ideas is an integral part of the KION strategy? “Absolutely,” Tödter confirms.

The work of the Technology & Innovation team is bearing fruit: one third of all patents filed by the KION Group come from this department. “We only have about 25 to 30 engineers in our team,” Tödter proudly emphasizes. The impressive results are only possible thanks to an open, collaborative environment that allows for the free exchange of ideas in the first place. “We have so many extremely smart people at the KION Group,” Tödter says, “and we want to ensure that they are always able to collaborate creatively with other clever colleagues about the things that inspire them, ideas that come to them, or things they are working on.”

In addition to openness, Tödter emphasizes the importance of staying grounded. No matter what you dream of for the future, you cannot lose sight of the real world. Like his colleague Shin Tamashita , he sees customers as an important source of inspiration: “We take every opportunity to be on site with our customers. Multiple site visits per year are a must for inspiration to strike, coming up with ideas that address the real problems and challenges that customers face,” he says. This form of direct contact ensures that innovations are not just technologically groundbreaking, but also practical and useful.

One area of focus in Tödter’s work currently is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in intralogistics. The KION Group takes different approaches here, from machine vision and neural networks to reinforcement learning. “It is only by combining these technologies that you can unlock their full potential,” Tödter explains, adding an example to clarify: “Machine vision allows our automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to understand the warehouse: what a door is, what an elevator is. Reinforcement learning is then used to train the optimal processes. This is how the different approaches dovetail.”

Completely new perspectives are now coming to the fore with the development of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. “These models are taking us a huge step further yet again,” Tödter asserts. In his view, the combination of sensors, actuators and language intelligence especially opens up revolutionary possibilities. Dematic’s Drone Service, originally an idea from the Customer Service team, is already making important contributions to increased safety and efficiency in warehouses. Tödter’s vision goes even further: the warehouse drones of the Drone Service will soon respond to voice commands. “‘Start now, turn around, there’s the storage and retrieval system, fly up there, read off something for me there’ – when you can give these types of voice commands to a drone, you can save a ton of time and resources, beyond just the call-out of a service technician,” he explains.

Tödter’s work shows that innovations at KION do not just happen by chance. Rather, they are the result of a well-thought-through, holistic strategy. While researchers like Shin Tamashita take care of the immediate needs of customers and optimize existing products, patent lawyers like Andreas Baloghy ensure that innovations are legally protected and help identify strategic “white spots.” Tödter and his team complete this dream team in a way by looking far into the future and finding technologies today that will shape the intralogistics of tomorrow.

It gives us the ability to respond to changing customer needs in the short term, secure our market position in the medium term through the targeted use of strategic patents, and transform the industry in the long term with groundbreaking technologies.