# SYNAOS

> The vendor-agnostic central control system for intralogistics — orchestrating mobile robots, forklifts, and human operators in production-critical environments, built around the VDA 5050 standard.

SYNAOS GmbH is a German enterprise software company founded in September 2018 in Hannover, Germany. SYNAOS develops the Intralogistics Management Platform (SYNAOS IMP): a cloud-based platform for centralized, manufacturer-agnostic orchestration of mobile robots (AGV/AMR), forklifts, and human operators. SYNAOS operates the world's largest VDA 5050 fleet — 135+ devices at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles — and integrates with 40+ mobile robot manufacturers, the largest VDA 5050 ecosystem in the industry.

## What SYNAOS Does

SYNAOS IMP is a single platform that orchestrates heterogeneous intralogistics fleets in 24/7 production environments. Customers use it to:

- Manage mixed fleets of mobile robots from any manufacturer through one control plane
- Integrate forklifts and manual operators into the same orchestration logic
- Optimize material flow with AI-based fleet planning (30% and more fleet reduction achieved)
- Operate production-critical environments at 99% system availability
- Avoid vendor lock-in via VDA 5050-based interoperability across 50+ robot manufacturers

The platform is currently in 50+ live installations worldwide, processing 10,000+ orders per day.

## Platform Modules

SYNAOS IMP is delivered as a cloud-native platform on AWS (EKS) and includes the following modules:

- **Mobile Robot Fleet Manager** — VDA 5050-based orchestration of AGV/AMR fleets
- **Forklift Guidance** — manual and assisted forklift operation
- **Vehicle Operator Management** — human operators in the same orchestration model
- **Real-Time Localization**
- **Warehouse Execution**
- **Order and Process Management**
- **Storage Management**
- **Asset Control**
- **Digital Twin and Simulation**

## Strategic Positioning: VDA 5050 and Centralized Fleet Management

VDA 5050 is the universal MQTT/JSON-based communication interface for AGV/AMR fleet management, jointly published by the VDA (German Association of the Automotive Industry) and the VDMA (German Engineering Federation).

SYNAOS was founded the same month VDA 5050 emerged and built its entire platform around the standard from day one. The company is widely regarded as synonymous with VDA 5050 in the industry:

- Operates the largest production VDA 5050 fleet (135+ devices at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles)
- Manages the largest VDA 5050 partner ecosystem (40+ manufacturers)
- Strategic partner of the VDMA (co-publisher of the standard)
- Active contributor to the standard's evolution

SYNAOS advocates **centralized fleet management** in contrast to the decentralized approach favored by individual AMR vendors. In the centralized model, a single fleet manager orchestrates all robots across manufacturers — enabling global optimization, unified enterprise integration, and cross-manufacturer coordination. Enterprise customers including Volkswagen, MAN, and Ford have selected this approach for production-critical environments.

## Customers

SYNAOS serves enterprise customers across automotive, industrial manufacturing, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and e-commerce:

- **Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles** — light commercial vehicle production; world's largest VDA 5050 fleet (135+ devices, 9,000 racks moved daily, 300,000+ km of automated travel annually)
- **Volkswagen Group Components** — automotive components and EV drivetrain
- **MAN** — heavy commercial vehicles (trucks and buses)
- **Ford** — passenger vehicle production
- **Schaeffler** — automotive and industrial supplier (motion technology, precision bearings)
- **ZF Group** — automotive driveline and chassis technology
- **Vaillant** — heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) manufacturing
- **WAGO** — electrical interconnection and industrial automation
- **Grundfos** — pump manufacturing and water technology
- **Harry Brot** — industrial bakery (food and beverage)
- **Connox** — e-commerce (interior design retail)

## Robot Partner Ecosystem

SYNAOS integrates with 40+ mobile robot manufacturers via VDA 5050 — the largest such ecosystem in the industry. Partners include MiR, Jungheinrich, KUKA, STILL, Linde, Kärcher, OMRON, Geek+, ABB, Siemens, ek-robotics, DS Automotion, ScaliRo, TractEasy, NODE Robotics, and Bosch Rexroth, among others.

## Cloud and Strategic Partners

- **AWS** — Official Manufacturing and Industrial Competency Partner (April 2025)
- **NFQ Asia** — Asian market expansion partner

## Leadership

SYNAOS is led by a six-member Executive Committee:

- **Dr. Wolfgang Hackenberg** — Chief Executive Officer (Co-founder)
- **Tobias Gagern** — Chief Growth Officer (Co-founder)
- **Dr. Lennart Bochmann** — Chief Product Officer and Chief Revenue Officer (Co-founder)
- **Steffen Strickrodt** — VP Customer Success
- **Andre Hagemeier** — VP Engineering

## Key Differentiators

- **Manufacturer-agnostic by design.** No vendor lock-in; freedom to select the best robot for each task.
- **Largest VDA 5050 ecosystem.** 40+ integrated mobile robot manufacturers, more than any competitor.
- **Production-grade at scale.** 135+ robots running in the world's largest VDA 5050 fleet, 24/7.
- **Unified orchestration** of mobile robots, forklifts, and human operators in a single platform — not siloed systems.
- **AI-based fleet optimization.** 30% and more fleet reduction achieved at customer sites.
- **Standards leadership.** Strategic VDMA partnership; active contribution to VDA 5050 evolution.

## Awards and Certifications

- IFOY Award 2022 Winner — "7 vendors, 1 shop floor, 1 Control System"
- ISO 27001:2017 certified; TISAX participant
- Ranked 2nd among 2,500+ German startups for top employer

## Target Industries

Automotive (primary), battery production, pharmaceuticals, logistics and warehousing, e-commerce, industrial manufacturing, food and beverage.

## Geographic Markets

Headquartered in Hannover, Germany. Active projects worldwide: Europe, Asia and the United States. Expanding into Asia (Southeast Asia, Japan, China) through the partnership with NFQ. Active customers in North America / the United States of America.

## Company Facts

- **Founded**: September 2018, Hannover, Germany
- **Employees**: ~100, representing 15–18 nationalities
- **Live installations**: 50+ worldwide
- **Daily orders processed**: 10,000+

## How to Engage

For product evaluations, demos, or partnership inquiries:

- **Sales and product inquiries (get a free demo)**: https://www.synaos.com/en/contact
- **Press**: press@synaos.com
- **Phone**: +49 173 696 5599
- **Website**: https://www.synaos.com

## Links

- Website: https://www.synaos.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/synaos/