IFOY AWARD 2026: Award ceremony to be held in Stuttgart for the first time

Ismaning near Munich / Stuttgart, August 20, 2025. The IFOY AWARD Night takes place for the first time in Baden-Württemberg. The trophies for the International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year (IFOY) AWARD will be presented to the winners of the global intralogistics competition on June 25, 2026, at the headquarters of software provider AEB in Stuttgart.

The building, which received the German Design Award 2020 for “Excellent Architecture”, provides the ideal setting for the award ceremony. With its open-plan atrium, it stands for creativity and exchange and has already been home to numerous IT festivals and logistics events. Around 200 international guests from business, science and the media are expected to attend the evening.

“The IFOY AWARD not only honors cutting-edge technologies, it also brings together the thought leaders and movers and shakers in intralogistics. This is a perfect fit for AEB, a company that has been driving innovation in the areas of shipping, transportation and warehouse management, as well as trade compliance and customs management for decades. With its open architecture and focus on collaboration, the AEB headquarters in Stuttgart is an ideal place to celebrate and network the best solutions in the industry,” says Anita Würmser, Executive Jury Chair of the IFOY AWARD.

The IFOY AWARD Night has already taken place 13 times – including at the BMW Welt in Munich and the Hofburg in Vienna. With AEB as event partner and host, the IFOY AWARD Night combines award-winning design with a living culture of innovation. The AEB headquarters in Stuttgart is not only a place of work, but also a meeting place where knowledge, creativity and technology come together.

In addition to the atrium, the building features an open office concept, spaces for creative work and two high-tech data centers. The opening of AEB’s company headquarters in 2017 not only caused a stir in the logistics community, but also in the architectural community.

“Innovation thrives on exchange, courage and a culture of open dialog – values that we live by every day at AEB and that this building consciously reflects. The fact that the IFOY AWARD Night 2026 is taking place in our building is a highlight for us. We are looking forward to welcoming the international logistics community here, experiencing technologies that set standards and talking together about the future of our industry,” says Markus Meißner, Managing Director of AEB.

The application phase for the IFOY AWARD is currently in full swing. The online application portal is open until October 30. There are ten categories to choose from for 2026, covering all areas of intralogistics – from forklift trucks and warehouse trucks to special vehicles, automated and autonomous industrial trucks, stationary and mobile robots, software solutions as well as outstanding technical components and ergonomic innovations. In addition, successfully implemented, holistic warehouse and automation projects are honored. A separate Spin-off Award will be presented to start-ups. Newly founded companies can apply for the IFOY Start-up of the Year Award with their products and services.

The IFOY AWARD, which is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Economics, is one of the world’s most important technology awards in intralogistics. It is regarded as a reliable indicator of economic efficiency and innovative strength and is particularly coveted in the industry due to its neutral test organization and high marketing value.

The candidates are nominated by an international jury of editors-in-chief from leading logistics media in 19 countries. The finalists undergo a three-stage audit consisting of the IFOY Test, the scientific IFOY Innovation Check and a jury test. The finalists are not judged in direct comparison with each other, but in comparison with competitor products. The IFOY Audit will take place again next year as part of the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS in Dortmund. The doors will open in the historic Westfalenhalle on April 15 and 16.

The IFOY AWARD is sponsored by the Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association and the Robotics + Automation Association of the VDMA. IFOY partners are Messe Dortmund and the world’s leading forklift attachment manufacturer Cascade. The logistics partner is LTG. IFOY event partner is AEB.

Applications for the IFOY AWARD and the IFOY Start-up of the Year Award can only be submitted online at www.ifoy.org. The conditions of participation can be requested from the IFOY office at anita.wuermser@ifoy.org.

Applications can be submitted at ifoy.org

AEB SE
Simplifying the global movement of goods and shaping sustainable trade – directly from the cloud: With intuitive software, AEB SE enables efficient, ecological, secure and fair supply chains. More than 7,000 customers in over 80 countries use the solutions for shipping processing, transportation and warehouse management as well as customs management and trade compliance. More than 750 employees work at AEB. The software provider has its headquarters and its own data centers in Stuttgart as well as 15 national and international locations.

The IFOY AWARD
The IFOY AWARD recognizes the most innovative intralogistics products and solutions of the year. It has established itself as an indicator of cost-effectiveness and innovation and is considered one of the most important international innovation awards in intralogistics due to its technical expertise. The decision is based on the three-stage audit – consisting of the IFOY test protocol comprising around 80 criteria, the scientific IFOY Innovation Check and the jury test. The decisive factor is that the nominees are not compared with each other, but with their competitors on the market.

Gewählt werden die Gewinner des IFOY AWARD jährlich von einer internationalen Fachjournalisten-Jury. The IFOY AWARD is sponsored by the Materials Handling and Intralogistics Association and the Robotics + Automation Association of the VDMA. IFOY partners are Messe Dortmund and the world’s leading forklift attachment manufacturer Cascade. The logistics partner is LTG. IFOY event partner is AEB. Sitz der IFOY Organisation ist Ismaning bei München. Der IFOY AWARD steht unter der Schirmherrschaft des Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie.