Pre-engineered Solutions

ENGINEERED WAREHOUSE AUTOMATION

Turnkey Warehouse Automation Cells — Engineered by MDCI, Powered by Automation Distribution Components

Cobot palletizing, robotic sortation, scan tunnels, and co-packing cells — designed and deployed by MDCI Automation, our sister engineering company, and backed by Automation Distribution's 700,000+ SKU component catalog for same-day spares and long-term support.

The Automation Distribution + MDCI Model: Components and Engineering Under One Roof

Two sister companies, one ZIP code, one continuous relationship — from the specification call to the spare sensor three years after go-live.

AUTOMATION DISTRIBUTION

The Components & Ongoing Supply

  • Authorized distributor for Universal Robots, SMC, Yaskawa, Zebra, WAGO, Leuze, Robotiq, OnRobot, Baumer, Turck, and more
  • 700,000+ SKUs stocked or sourced, with same-day shipping on common spares from Hatfield, PA
  • Application engineering on component selection — sensor choice, pneumatic sizing, safety rating, I/O architecture
  • Long-term supply relationship after commissioning — one phone number for every replacement part in the cell
MDCI AUTOMATION

The Engineering & Integration

  • Contract engineering and contract manufacturing for custom automation cells and end-of-arm tooling
  • In-house control panel build, PLC programming, robot programming, 3D vision configuration
  • Rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing for custom fixturing, grippers, and tooling
  • On-site installation, commissioning, FAT/SAT, operator training — and post-install support

Browse Engineered Cells

Six application-specific automation cells. Click any cell below for full specs, typical component stack, and a quote request.

Warehouse automation cells are pre-engineered, site-deployed robotic systems that handle repeatable, labor-intensive processes — palletizing mixed SKUs at end-of-line, sorting post-trailer parcels to dollies or Gaylords, scanning and dimensioning cartons on inbound conveyors, and assembling co-packed kits for retail or e-commerce. Each cell combines a collaborative or industrial robot arm, 3D vision or fixed industrial scanning, pneumatic or vacuum end-of-arm tooling, safety-rated perimeter protection, and PLC-based control logic into a single commissioned system.

Automation Distribution is the authorized distributor behind the components — Universal Robots cobots, Zebra fixed industrial scanners and machine vision, SMC pneumatics, WAGO terminal blocks and I/O, Leuze safety light curtains, Robotiq and OnRobot end-effectors, Yaskawa drives. MDCI Automation, our sister company co-located in Hatfield, PA, is the engineering and integration group that designs the cell, builds the control panels, programs the robots, and commissions the system at your facility. The combination is rare: one partner for the engineered system and the components inside it, before and after installation.

Solve by Challenge

The business case usually starts with an operational pain point, not a part number.

Labor shortage & turnover at end-of-line

Cobot palletizing and robotic sortation cells take on the physical, repetitive shifts that drive attrition — freeing headcount for higher-value work and stabilizing throughput through the labor cycle.

Throughput bottleneck at outbound

Post-trailer robotic sortation and sort-to-Gaylord systems replace the manual trailer-unload-and-sort step that caps most DCs, raising cases-per-hour and smoothing flow into wave picking.

Inbound accuracy & dimensioning

Scan tunnels with multi-sided fixed industrial scanners capture barcodes, dimensions, and images in one pass — feeding the WMS clean data and eliminating the re-scan loop.

High-mix, short-run co-pack changeovers

Modular co-packing cells with 3D vision handle mixed kits, gift boxes, and promotional bundles — with same-shift reprogramming instead of hard tooling changeover.

Built on Components You Can Source from One Place — Forever

Every MDCI cell is specified around components that Automation Distribution stocks or sources as an authorized distributor. If a light curtain fails in year three, a pneumatic valve needs replacement in year five, or you want to swap a gripper for a larger payload in year two — the replacement is a phone call to the same group that scoped the original cell.

How a Project Actually Runs

01

Discovery & Audit

On-site or virtual walkthrough. Throughput targets, SKU profile, facility constraints, integration points with your WMS/WCS.

02

Engineering & Quote

MDCI engineering produces the cell design, component BOM, control architecture, and a firm scope with timeline and price.

03

Build & FAT

Control panels, mechanical build, robot programming, and vision configuration at MDCI's Hatfield facility. Factory acceptance test with your team before ship.

04

Install, SAT & Support

On-site installation, commissioning, operator training, and site acceptance. Then Automation Distribution becomes your long-term supplier for every spare, upgrade, and expansion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the relationship between Automation Distribution and MDCI Automation?

Automation Distribution and MDCI Automation are sister companies, co-located in Hatfield, PA. Automation Distribution is the authorized distributor for components — Universal Robots, SMC, Zebra, WAGO, Leuze, Yaskawa, Robotiq, OnRobot, and many others. MDCI is the engineering and integration group that designs, builds, and installs custom automation cells using those components. Buyers work with both teams as one relationship.

How long does a typical warehouse automation cell take to deploy?

Deployment timelines depend on cell complexity, component lead times, and site readiness. Simpler cobot palletizing or scan-tunnel deployments can go from discovery to commissioning in roughly 12 to 20 weeks; larger multi-robot sortation systems with heavy conveyor integration typically run longer. Firm timelines are set during the engineering and quote phase, not discovery.

Do you integrate with our WMS, WCS, or ERP?

Yes. MDCI's control architecture is built around clean WMS/WCS integration — barcode and dimension data flow into your system of record, and the cell receives routing or pick instructions back. Common integration patterns include Ethernet/IP, OPC UA, REST APIs, and flat-file exchange depending on your stack.

What happens after the cell is installed — who supports it?

This is the distinctive part of the Automation Distribution + MDCI model. MDCI supports the engineered system itself — programming changes, recipe additions, expansion. Automation Distribution supports every component inside the cell as an authorized distributor, which means same-day shipping on in-stock spares and direct manufacturer access for anything that needs escalation. One group, one relationship, for the full life of the cell.

Can the same cell be reconfigured for a new product or SKU mix later?

Most of the cells — especially the cobot palletizing, co-packing, and sort-to-dolly systems — are built around rapid reprogramming rather than hard tooling. Recipe changes, new pack patterns, and new SKU profiles are typically software updates. Physical reconfiguration (new grippers, added conveyor sections, additional vision cameras) is scoped separately but handled by the same MDCI team.

Do you offer financing or Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS)?

HaaS structures are available for qualifying deployments. For context on the operational metrics that actually matter for HaaS ROI, see Six Metrics That Matter for HaaS Deployments.

Ready to scope your cell?

Tell us about your facility, your throughput target, and the step you're trying to automate. The Automation Distribution + MDCI team will follow up to schedule a discovery call — on-site or virtual — and work through the specification from there.