Kaufbeuren, Germany — Swiss e-commerce fulfilment provider MS Direct has brought an AutoStore system into operation at its site in Kaufbeuren, in Bavaria, the company and intralogistics partner Kardex said. Built by Kardex, the cube-storage installation went live on 8 October 2026 and supports online operations run for the mountain-sports retailer Bergzeit. According to Kardex, it is MS Direct’s first automated facility in Germany, following earlier AutoStore projects at the provider’s Swiss sites in Arbon and Oftringen.
A compact grid built in 17 weeks
The system covers around 600 m² and holds 25,000 storage bins served by 10 robots, with a throughput of up to 400 bins per hour, according to Kardex. It was commissioned in 17 weeks and installed while fulfilment operations continued. Kardex says the compact grid uses roughly 70 percent less floor space than a conventional warehouse, and that its modular design allows capacity to be expanded while the system keeps running.
A fast start-up credited to the Swiss template
MS Direct, which provides fulfilment and cross-border shipping for online retailers, said its processes, system interfaces and teams were ready at go-live and that the approach had already been tested at its Swiss locations — factors it credited for the quick start-up. Daniel Hauser, Head of Business Unit AS Solutions at Kardex, said an AutoStore project of this scale typically takes at least six months from contract signing to go-live. Bergzeit, a mountain-sports retailer that has worked with MS Direct since 2023, said the deployment is aimed at faster deliveries for its customers, particularly during peak season.
