Material Flow How® empowers intelligent warehouse automation

At Pesmel, we have spent decades solving a familiar challenge in heavy industry: How to move, store, and ship products that are bulky, heavy, and often difficult to handle. What has changed over the years is not the nature of the products, but the scope of the solution. Our strategic focus – and a warehouse management system WMS with built-in digital twin – are helping turn heavy-industry warehousing into a predictable, data-driven part of production.

A business that once started with conveyors and handling equipment has evolved into something broader and more integrated. Today, we see warehousing not as a separate function, but as an essential part of any mill’s end-to-end material flow. That shift has been enabled by software that does more than control operations. It simulates, forecasts, and helps customers make better decisions – before and after systems going live.

Our customers operate across industries, yet many of the challenges they face – throughput, predictability, safety, integration – are shared, regardless of whether the product is paper, metal, tires, or something else entirely. I wanted to open this issue with a story that explains how we think about logistics today, what has shaped that thinking, and what we believe will matter most going forward: predictability, integration, usability, and long-term support.

Evolving to ensure we provide full coverage

Our roots are in heavy-duty material handling. From the beginning, our customers have operated in demanding industrial environments where reliability, safety, and throughput are non-negotiable. Those fundamentals remain unchanged.

“Reliability, safety, and throughput are non-negotiable.”

Tony Leikas, CEO

What has changed is how tightly warehousing is now connected to production planning, shipping schedules, and customer service. Material handling alone is no longer enough. As transparency requirements increase and response times shorten, software has moved from a supporting role to the heart of logistics operations.

Today, when we talk about warehouse automation, we mean a complete system: high-bay storage and handling technology, seamless integration with surrounding equipment and IT systems, and a centralized control layer – Material Flow WMS – that optimizes internal logistics and provides a real-time view of inventory and material flow across the site. The entire delivery is built and validated utilizing our digtal twin technology.

Strategic focus for customer driven development

This transformation did not happen by accident. Years ago, we recognized that warehouse automation, supported by strong software capabilities, would be the area where we could create the most value for our customers in the long term. Over time, that understanding turned into a clear strategic focus.

This desire to deliver tangible value has ultimately influenced how we invest in development, how we organize our expertise, and how we communicate what we stand for. Most importantly, it sharpens our customer promise – Material Flow How®. Warehouse automation is not an isolated system tucked away at the edge of the plant. Done properly, it has a positive impact on production continuity, shipping accuracy, turnaround times, and service levels across the entire operation.

A foundation built on information and insight

Everything starts with concept work and simulation. Before steel is ever cut or equipment is installed, we validate our solutions in a virtual environment. What matters here is not simulation for its own sake, but simulation based on the same logic and data foundations that will later run the real system. By modelling the system accurately from the outset, we can identify issues earlier, train operators sooner, and significantly reduce uncertainty during commissioning.

“Our payback times are measured in years,
while positive cash flow lasts for decades.”

Tony Leikas, CEO

Of course, automation in heavy industry is never just about the automated storage itself. The reality is found somewhere in the middle: conveyors, transfer cars, special handling devices, and integrations between systems from multiple suppliers. Making these elements behave as one reliable flow is often where projects succeed or fail. This is also why industry-specific solutions matter. A warehouse that works beautifully in one environment may struggle in another if product characteristics, packaging, or process logic differ. Our approach is to design applications that are fit for purpose – grounded in a deep understanding of each industry’s realities.

The core of a solution that delivers value over the lifecycle

At the center of it all sits Pesmel’s Material Flow WMS. It is the system that controls and optimizes material flow inside the mill environment, integrating with ERP, MES, and surrounding automation. Beyond control, it provides operational transparency: a reliable, real-time view of inventory that reduces human error and supports traceability, accuracy, and fast retrieval. Just as importantly, it turns operational data into decision support, helping customers understand performance, utilization, and future constraints.

“When material flow becomes predictable, production becomes more stable, deliveries more reliable, and decisions easier to make.”

Tony Leikas, CEO

Finally, there is the lifecycle perspective. Warehouse automation systems are long-lived investments, often more comparable to buildings rather than machines or pieces of equipment. That makes service, modernization, and support an integral part of the solution. Reliable systems rarely demand attention, but when something does require support, speed and competence matter. Long-term value is created by keeping systems productive, maintainable, and adaptable over decades, not just years.

Building trust on every level – company, technology and people

Across projects and industries, customer expectations tend to be aligned. Even when investments are significant, they must make sense both financially and operationally. Our payback times are measured in years, while positive cash flow last for decades. Logistics processes become faster, more accurate, and easier to manage. Safety is improved as manual handling is reduced, and improvements in efficiency support sustainability goals as well. Proven performance is the basis for trust in our solutions.

Equally important is how trust is built between companies and people. We have always preferred open and honest communications. We tend to shy away from bragging – even if there would have been a reason for it. Letting performance speak for itself can be considered both a strength and perhaps also a weakness. In our experience, credibility grows when words align with actual results.

Working for intelligence and predictable industry logistics

Where we are today is not a destination reached, but a direction chosen. Going forward, we continue developing Material Flow WMS as a centralized material flow layer, deepen forecasting and decision-support capabilities, and expand industry-specific applications and integrations. At the same time, we remain committed to the human side of technology: being accessible, responsive, and straightforward to work with.

To summarize the lasting idea of this article: Intelligent warehouse automation is about making industrial logistics predictable. When material flow becomes predictable, production becomes more stable, deliveries more reliable, and decisions easier to make.