ProMat 2025: Where Forklifts and Fancy AI Battle for the Future of Logistics

PROMAT IS A CONFERENCE. A CONFERENCE FOR WAREHOUSE MANAGERS.

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Every year, the brightest minds in material handling descend upon Chicago for ProMat, the event where warehouse managers pretend they understand AI, salespeople wear out their insincere smiles, and executives try to figure out how many free tote bags they can fit in their carry-ons.

This year’s ProMat promised to be bigger, better, and more unnecessarily complicated than ever. The moment you step into McCormick Place, you are bombarded by two things: autonomous robots zipping around like caffeinated Roombas and sales reps with the aggressive enthusiasm of a used car dealership convention.

The Big Trends: If It Doesn’t Have AI, You’re Doing It Wrong

ProMat 2025’s hot topic? Artificial Intelligence. Because nothing screams “cutting-edge technology” like forklifts that claim they can think. Every booth had a robot, an AI-powered picking system, or at least a sales guy saying, “It’s like ChatGPT, but for logistics.”

The AI-Enabled Pallet Jack: A company unveiled a pallet jack that makes “smart” decisions, like refusing to move if it thinks you’ve had too much coffee or judging your load distribution skills in passive-aggressive beeps.

The Automated Warehouse of the Future: A fully robotic warehouse was showcased, featuring zero human employees, complete with an AI-driven supervisor who delivers automated pink slips. Somewhere, OSHA agents were taking notes on how to fine a machine for violating workplace safety laws.

ProMat The Forklift Wars: The Bigger, The Better, The More Unnecessarily Complicated

No ProMat is complete without an all-out war between forklift manufacturers trying to prove whose machine is the "most ergonomic, most efficient, and most likely to cause a spontaneous mid-life crisis in warehouse managers." This year, a certain manufacturer (rhymes with "Misterlift") unveiled a 12-ton electric forklift with so many onboard screens it could double as an air traffic control center.

Competitors quickly followed suit. One booth introduced a forklift that runs on “green hydrogen” (which, as far as anyone could tell, meant it was just more expensive than regular hydrogen). Another company bragged about a self-driving forklift—until it rolled out of the booth and into a very expensive AI-powered inventory scanner.

Swag Wars: Tote Bags, Stress Balls, and That One Weird Booth Giving Out Socks

Seasoned ProMat attendees know the real reason to come: the swag. Some booths handed out wireless chargers, while others went full nostalgia with branded fidget spinners (for the supply chain professionals who miss 2017). The battle for the best freebie was fierce, with one company inexplicably handing out logo-branded socks. Nothing screams “logistics innovation” like a pair of high-performance moisture-wicking ankle socks.

Conclusion: The Future Is… Confusing

As ProMat 2025 came to a close, attendees left with their arms full of promotional stress balls, their heads full of buzzwords, and their hearts full of hope that their CFO will approve a budget for at least one of the fancy AI-powered gizmos.

The future of material handling is here, and it’s loud, robotic, and slightly judgmental. See you at ProMat 2027—assuming we haven’t all been replaced by AI-enabled forklifts by then.