VACUUM GRIPPERS PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE APPLICATION OF MECHANIZED ORDER PICKING. DESIGNING AN APPROPRIATE GRIPPER TO BE APPLIED TO HIGHLY FLEXIBLE PARCEL HANDLING, THEREFORE, IS A CRUCIAL TASK. THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED DURING THE DESIGN PROCESS OF A VACUUM GRIPPER. A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEMS IN DEVELOPING A DESIGN APPROACH AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GRIPPER IS GIVEN. THE CONCEPT OF DYNAMIC MODELING AND ANALYSIS FOR ONE CASE HAS BEEN DERIVED IN DETAIL. ALSO, THE MAXIMUM HOLDING FORCE FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT SUCTION CUPS ARRAYS ARE PRESENTED. THE IMPLEMENTATION INDICATES THAT THE GRIPPER BASED ON THIS DESIGN HAS SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE. FINALLY, FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS FOR A SECOND GENERATION GRIPPER ARE RECOMMENDED.