2025 Was a Year of Building — Even When Sales Didn’t Explode

2025 in Perspective

Sales this year were relatively flat. That’s the honest truth, and I don’t think we’re alone. At the same time, we grew our headcount — service professionals, an advanced technology team, a managed/professional services team, our automation group, our operations and leadership team, just to name a few. On the surface, that might seem contradictory. But it is what we are seeing across the material handling and systems integration industry, as well as in many other industry sectors.

A More Deliberate Buying Environment

Customers didn’t stop investing. They just became more deliberate. Projects took longer to approve. Scopes were scrutinized more closely. ROI conversations got sharper. In many cases, the question wasn’t whether to automate or upgrade systems, but how to do it in a way that made sense in an uncertain environment.

That caution slowed some decisions in 2025, but it didn’t change the fundamentals. Labor challenges didn’t disappear. Throughput expectations didn’t relax. And the need for reliable, flexible systems certainly didn’t go away.

What we saw instead was a lot of groundwork being laid down. We had customers looking to upgrade some existing systems. We saw customers evaluating automation in phases. We had customers looking to partner with companies that have the resources and the ability to offer unbiased solutions. The reason we added Advanced Technologies, Managed Services, Automation and Service Professionals is that our customers are thinking more seriously about data, telematics, technology, automation and long-term service support. We are positioning ourselves to be that “Go-To-Partner”. The conversations with our customers don’t always turn into immediate projects — but they’re often the ones that turn into the right projects.

We made a conscious decision to keep investing in our team. Systems are more complex than they were even a few years ago, and execution matters more than ever. When demand accelerates, the companies with the right people already in place will be the ones that can respond quickly and deliver well.

2026 Outlook

Looking ahead to 2026, there’s caution but a real sense of optimism. The conversations we’re having today feel different than they did a year ago. Less “let’s wait and see” and more “let’s figure out the right approach.” We expect more customers to move from planning to action — particularly around modular, scalable solutions that reduce risk and deliver measurable improvements.

If 2025 was a year of preparation, 2026 feels like a year where a lot of those plans start turning into reality. And that’s exactly why we’re comfortable with the investments we made — even in a flat year.

Here’s to a Happy and Prosperous 2026!