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How can warehouse leaders move from theory to execution as they strive to embed artificial intelligence into their operations? Ehrhardt Partner Group (EPG) CEO Peter Bollinger and Americas President Jett Chitanand emphasize that the industry must now shift away from "passive" systems toward agentic artificial intelligence—autonomous AI agents that execute actions "without somebody looking at it." According to Bollinger, the kinds of technology investments warehouses made in the past are no longer sufficient; today's facilities require systems capable of acting independently.
As of May 2026, EPG has reinforced its industry leadership with the EPG Aura platform. Built on NVIDIA Metropolis and DeepStream technologies, Aura provides an AI environment that analyzes warehouse video streams in real time, detecting damaged cartons, dwell time, overcrowding, missing safety vests, and pallet activity. The platform also enables operators to interact with the system using natural language—similar to ChatGPT—scan damaged delivery paperwork, and automatically process it into the system. Gartner projects that by 2030, half of all cross-functional supply chain management solutions will have agentic AI capabilities—meaning systems that not only decide but autonomously execute those decisions across the entire ecosystem.
Multiple industry sources confirm that AI is delivering measurable throughput gains in warehouses. A system developed by MIT and Symbotic uses machine learning to manage warehouse robot traffic, achieving 25 percent greater throughput in simulations inspired by real e-commerce warehouse layouts. A Mecalux–MIT study of over 2,000 warehouse leaders found that more than 90 percent of warehouses globally now use AI or advanced automation, with roughly 60 percent reporting advanced maturity. AI improvements span order picking, routing, inventory accuracy, predictive maintenance, labor planning, safety monitoring, and real-time decision-making. EPG's own customer data reports reductions in inventory and handling costs of 10–35 percent, fulfilled orders processed up to 35 percent faster, and fulfillment cost savings of 10–50 percent.
Bollinger and Chitanand also emphasize the employee experience. EPG's LYDIA Voice system introduces gamification into warehouse picking workflows, providing real-time audio feedback when workers earn coins, increase productivity, or move to higher-ranking tiers. Research shows user satisfaction in warehouses using voice reaches 84 percent compared to around 56 percent for non-voice solutions. Chitanand notes that this strategy resonates especially with younger generations of the workforce, already accustomed to digital rewards and gaming environments. EPG won a best product award at LogiMAT for Aura and received an MHI Innovation Award nomination for LYDIA's gamification features.
Bollinger states that EPG is evolving from a software provider into a "technology architect," setting the pace for the logistics of the future. The company's 35-plus years of warehouse automation experience serves over 1,600 organizations worldwide through the EPG ONE Suite—a unified platform integrating WMS, WCS, TMS, workforce management, LYDIA Voice, and dock management. Gartner classifies EPG as the global market leader in material handling integration and supportive automation technologies. Across the industry, AI adoption is accelerating, but barriers remain: data quality, legacy system integration, scarce technical talent, and scaling pilots across multiple sites are the most cited challenges. Still, 82 percent of warehouse operations implementing AI expect to see ROI within 12 months.
Note: This summary draws on SupplyChainBrain's publicly visible headline + subhead + opening paragraph and on sector background on warehouse artificial intelligence.
Key Takeaways:
1. EPG CEO Peter Bollinger emphasizes that warehouses must now shift from "passive" systems to agentic AI—autonomous agents that execute actions without human oversight.
2. The EPG Aura platform, built on NVIDIA technology, analyzes warehouse video in real time, detects safety violations, and allows operators to interact using natural language.
3. A Mecalux–MIT study found over 90% of warehouses globally use AI or advanced automation; an MIT–Symbotic system optimized robot traffic to achieve 25% throughput gains.
4. EPG customer data reports reductions in inventory costs of 10–35%, fulfilled orders processed up to 35% faster, and fulfillment cost savings of 10–50%.
5. User satisfaction in warehouses using voice reaches 84% vs. 56% for non-voice; EPG's LYDIA Voice gamification features received an MHI Innovation Award nomination.
