Describes a concept for end-effector operation for handling product items that are flexible or variable in physical properties such as size, shape or firmness. The emphasis is placed on the sensing and control issues of such systems. Our approach to variable product handling adopts a modular, sensor-oriented methodology that can be applied to a diversity of situations. We describe related research work and the architecture we have developed for control, actuation and sensing. We also discuss aspects of the sensory and mechanical configuration of our gripping testbed, its implementation and test results.