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The right automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) is the one that fits your loads, SKU profile, required throughput, picking method, building and software—not the one with the most impressive brochure number. Evaluate it by documenting your operation, screening several technology families, proving facility and integration fit, and comparing lifecycle economics under identical assumptions.
What an AS/RS is—and what you are actually evaluating
MHI defines an Automated Storage and Retrieval System as “a combination of equipment and controls that handle, store and retrieve materials as needed with precision, accuracy and speed under a defined degree of automation.” That definition matters because AS/RS is a family of systems, not one machine. Equipment can include fixed-aisle storage and retrieval machines, unit-load and mini-load systems, pallet or tote shuttles, horizontal and vertical carousels, vertical lift modules (VLMs), and cube-based storage.
Your decision therefore has two layers. First, choose a physical handling concept that suits the inventory. Second, choose the controls, software, interfaces, service model and implementation plan that can operate it reliably in your building. A high-density rack with inadequate replenishment logic or poor exception handling is not a successful automation project.
There is no universal “best” AS/RS type, standard throughput target or typical payback period. A design that works for a pallet reserve operation may be unsuitable for split-case e-commerce picking. Treat published customer results as examples of what one project achieved under its own conditions, not as a forecast for your site.
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Step 1: Establish a measured baseline before discussing technology
Start with the warehouse you have. Separate measured values from estimates, and record the time period and operating conditions for every number. A short observation during an average week will miss seasonal peaks, replenishment congestion and recovery work after interruptions.
Inventory and load-unit data
- List SKU count, units per SKU, velocity bands, seasonality and the proportion of reserve, forward-pick and obsolete stock.
- Describe every handling unit under consideration: full pallet, case, tote, tray, carton or individual item.
- Capture length, width, height, weight, center of gravity, load stability, packaging variation and allowable overhang. Include the largest and smallest credible loads, not just the average.
- Identify products needing temperature control, dust protection, fire separation, hazardous-material treatment or special handling.
Flow and performance data
- Measure receipts, put-away, replenishment moves, order lines, units and full-load dispatches by hour and by shift.
- Record peak-day and peak-hour demand, simultaneous transactions, order cut-off times and the recovery volume required after a system outage.
- Map travel, touches, staging, consolidation, dock queues, congestion and manual exception work. Note where operators wait for inventory, equipment or information.
- Document current accuracy, damage, short shipments, mis-picks, inventory adjustments, truck turnaround and service-level penalties.
Constraints and objectives
State the primary problem in operational terms. It may be a lack of cubic capacity, labor availability, pick rate, accuracy, dock flow, ergonomic performance, cold-environment exposure or a combination. Quantify the target: for example, additional pallet positions in the existing footprint, a required lines-per-hour rate at the afternoon peak, or a maximum recovery time after a control-system failure. Do not begin with a preferred vendor or technology and then retrofit the problem to it.
Step 2: Screen AS/RS technology families against the operation
Use the baseline to keep more than one plausible concept alive. The following are screening signals from MHI’s technology overview and selection guidance; actual capacity and rate depend on detailed design, load dimensions, software and operating assumptions.
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|---|---|---|
| Unit-load AS/RS with fixed-aisle storage/retrieval machines | Automated movement of full pallets or other large, stable units in high-bay aisles; suited to reserve storage and controlled dispatch. | Can the rack, crane and floor support the heaviest and tallest loads? What is the cycle definition, aisle count and redundancy at peak? |
| Pallet shuttles | High-throughput, high-density storage, particularly where the operation has a lower SKU count and many pallets per SKU. | Will deep-lane storage fit your rotation, expiry and accessibility rules? How are mixed lots, partial pallets and urgent retrievals handled? |
| Mini-load cranes or shuttles | Cases, totes or trays; often paired with goods-to-person stations for case and split-case work. | Are the smallest and largest containers within the carrier envelope? How are replenishment, sequencing, ergonomics and workstation buffers sized? |
| Horizontal or vertical carousels | Small-part storage in rotating carriers that present locations to an operator or workstation. | Do carrier dimensions, weight limits and access times suit the SKU mix? What happens when a carrier or drive is unavailable? |
| Vertical lift modules (VLMs) | Enclosed vertical storage for small parts, tools or components, with a presentation opening at an ergonomic height. | Does the building have the required clear height and slab capacity? How will long, heavy or irregular items be segregated? |
| Cube-based systems | Lightweight totes or bins arranged in a dense cube, generally for high-volume each-picking and goods-to-person presentation. | Are item dimensions and weights within the bin and robot envelope? Can the system sustain peak retrievals and replenishment without starving stations? |
Keep alternatives that can satisfy the same requirement. For example, a pallet crane, pallet shuttle and dense manual rack may all solve reserve capacity, but they differ in selectivity, labor, resilience and expansion cost. A mini-load system and a cube system may both support each-picking, yet their container rules, replenishment behavior and failure modes are different.
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Step 3: Compare every proposal on the same technical axes
Load and handling-unit compatibility
Require a written operating envelope for dimensions, weight, tolerances, load stability, packaging and label quality. Ask bidders to show how out-of-tolerance loads are detected, quarantined and reintroduced. Confirm whether the quoted capacity assumes one standard pallet or a distribution of real loads. A design that accepts only idealized units can create a manual bypass that defeats the business case.
Inventory profile and slotting
Compare how each option handles SKU count, units per SKU, velocity, seasonality and lot or expiry rules. Ask for the slotting method, replenishment triggers, treatment of slow movers and the number of accessible locations during a peak. A dense design may increase nominal positions while reducing practical selectivity if popular SKUs compete for too few presentation points.
Performance definitions
Never accept a rate without its definition. Request inbound and outbound moves per hour, order lines or units per hour where relevant, the assumed order profile, peak duration, simultaneous transactions, buffer size, operator count and equipment availability. Clarify whether a “cycle” means a single storage or retrieval, a combined cycle, a pallet delivered to a conveyor, or a complete order ready for dispatch. Ask how quickly the system returns to target rate after a jam, restart or network interruption.
Storage density and usable capacity
Compare usable cubic capacity, not the gross volume inside a rack envelope. Deduct columns, fire clearances, aisles, conveyors, staging, maintenance access, control cabinets, charging areas and unusable locations. State whether the calculation includes empty, blocked or quarantine positions. Require a growth scenario showing when additional modules, aisles or workstations can be added and what space must be reserved now.
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Picking and workflow
Map the physical path from receiving through put-away, replenishment, picking, consolidation, packing and shipping. Test full-load dispatch separately from case and split-case work. For goods-to-person designs, size presentation stations, ergonomic equipment, buffer lanes, tote accumulation and replenishment labor for the peak rather than the average. Confirm how orders are sequenced, merged, shorted, cancelled and re-picked, and where conveyor, vehicle or manual handoffs occur.
Controls, software and data ownership
Define the responsibilities of the warehouse management system (WMS), warehouse control system (WCS), warehouse execution system (WES), enterprise resource planning (ERP) or production-control system. For every transaction, identify the system of record, message, acknowledgement, retry behavior and reconciliation method.
- Inbound receipt, license-plate creation, quality hold and put-away confirmation.
- Allocation, replenishment, wave or waveless release, task dispatch and priority changes.
- Inventory adjustments, cycle counts, damaged stock, blocked locations and manual moves.
- Equipment status, alarms, jam clearing, safe restart, network loss and degraded manual operation.
- Reporting for inventory accuracy, throughput, queue time, utilization, faults and service levels.
Ask which interfaces are standard, which require custom development and which depend on a particular middleware release. A case study from the MHI AS/RS Industry Group describes a Westfalia installation using WES and inventory-control software with existing warehouse and factory systems; that illustrates the importance of end-to-end transaction design, not a guarantee that another integration will be simple.
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Resilience and support
Evaluate redundancy by component and by operating mode. One failed crane, shuttle, robot, conveyor zone, server or network switch should have a defined effect on capacity and service. Require documented recovery procedures, safe access, backup and restore tests, spare-parts locations, maintenance staffing, training and local response coverage. Put uptime, response time, restoration time and exclusions in the contract; general marketing language is not a service-level definition.
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Step 4: Prove that the building and live operation can accommodate it
Structural and utility checks
- Verify clear height, roof and rack interfaces, slab flatness and load capacity, seismic conditions where applicable, column grids and obstructions.
- Check fire protection, sprinkler arrangement, smoke control, egress, emergency access and local permitting with qualified professionals for the facility’s jurisdiction.
- Plan power distribution, controls networks, grounding, lighting, HVAC, battery charging or other energy requirements, and backup power where service continuity demands it.
- Confirm inbound and outbound doors, trailer interfaces, staging, pedestrian and vehicle segregation, maintenance access and safe evacuation routes.
Installation beside ongoing work
Define how the warehouse will operate while construction, demolition, commissioning and cutover occur. A credible plan identifies temporary storage, protected travel paths, inventory freezes, test windows, manual fallback processes and the order in which aisles or work zones are released. Include the labor and service impact of moving stock twice. Ask for a phased option if a single cutover would threaten customer service.
Expansion and change
Require a drawing and capacity model for the next growth stage, not only the initial installation. Identify reserved floor area, structural allowances, control-system capacity, spare interface points and the software changes needed for new aisles, robots, stations or product classes. Test what happens if SKU count rises faster than volume, if seasonality becomes more extreme, or if a new package size is introduced.
Step 5: Issue an RFP that makes supplier answers comparable
Give every bidder the same data set and assumptions. Otherwise, apparent differences in rate or payback may be differences in definitions.
- Provide a common baseline. Include SKU and load distributions, measured receipts and orders, peak profiles, current accuracy, operating hours, growth assumptions, building drawings and environmental constraints.
- Define scenarios. Specify normal, peak, promotion or seasonal, recovery-after-outage and degraded-manual cases. State required service levels and cut-off times.
- Request a transparent design. Require equipment counts, location counts, buffers, workstations, aisle arrangements, cycle definitions, staffing assumptions and expected bottlenecks.
- Separate standard from custom work. List WMS/WCS/WES/ERP interfaces, data mapping, reports, controls changes, validation, testing and any customer-funded software.
- List exclusions and dependencies. Ask who supplies rack protection, fire changes, conveyors, utilities, network infrastructure, building modifications, labels, totes, permits and temporary storage.
- Specify acceptance tests. Define throughput, accuracy, availability, recovery, noise, ergonomics and safety tests using representative loads and order profiles. State what happens if a test fails.
- Require lifecycle pricing. Break out equipment, installation, software, integration, training, spares, preventive maintenance, support, consumables, energy and expansion modules.
- Document assumptions. Every quoted rate, capacity, labor saving and implementation date should identify its source data, operating window and exclusions.
Use a weighted scorecard only after disqualifying concepts that cannot meet mandatory load, safety, building or service requirements. A practical scoring structure is technical fit, performance at peak, integration and data governance, resilience and support, implementation risk, lifecycle cost, expansion and supplier execution capability. Record evidence for every score so the decision can be audited later.
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Step 6: Build a site-specific lifecycle business case
Include the full cost stack
- Equipment, rack, robots, cranes, shuttles, conveyors, stations and safety systems.
- Engineering, project management, installation, commissioning, validation and permitting.
- WCS, WES, software licenses, interfaces, cybersecurity controls, testing and data migration.
- Building, floor, fire-protection, electrical, network, HVAC, charging and dock modifications.
- Ongoing labor, maintenance contracts, spare parts, inspections, energy, consumables and equipment replacement.
- Temporary storage, double handling, lost capacity, overtime and service exposure during implementation.
Value the operating effects
Use your baseline to value additional usable capacity, reduced travel and touches, labor redeployment, accuracy, damage, inventory visibility, dock turnaround and throughput. Keep benefits separate from accounting assumptions: a labor reduction is not the same as avoided hiring, and released floor space has value only if the business can use or avoid paying for it.
Run sensitivity cases
At minimum, vary demand volume, labor rates and availability, SKU mix, space cost, implementation delay, peak duration, equipment availability and the value of service failures. Show the result as a range or scenario set rather than a single payback number. The reviewed industry material does not establish a universal payback period, and no cross-industry benchmark should substitute for your own data.
Step 7: Treat case-study numbers as context, not promises
Supplier and industry case studies can reveal design choices and questions to ask, but their results are project-specific. The MHI-published Heaven Hill/Westfalia case study describes 27,000 pallet positions, four tandem storage and retrieval machines and a reported 40% increase in storage capacity. It also reports 400% faster product shipments and a 49% reduction in dock times. The accessed document does not state a publication year. Those figures belong to that facility’s configuration, product profile, baseline and implementation; they are not a forecast for another warehouse.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe same study quotes Kevin Andrew, Inventory & Customer Service Manager at Heaven Hill: “We expect future growth for both our company and our brands and Westfalia and their Savanna.NET® really gives us the systems to be able to accommodate that growth.” This is a customer statement in a vendor-published case study, useful for understanding the project’s growth objective but not independent validation.
A Dematic case study about Anheuser-Busch describes 12,936 pallet locations and a stated throughput of 680 pallets per hour. The accessed page does not state a publication year. Attribute that rate to the vendor’s description of that project and ask what cycle definition, operating window, load mix and availability assumptions produced it. MHI’s overview also lists potential accuracy, floor-space and labor-productivity benefits, but those broad claims should be treated as possible outcomes to validate locally, not guaranteed reductions.
Step 8: Plan commissioning, acceptance and day-two operation
Commissioning sequence
- Validate building, utilities, safety circuits, network, labels, load carriers and environmental conditions before introducing saleable inventory.
- Test each equipment zone, interlock, alarm, safe-access procedure and manual recovery mode.
- Run interface tests from receipt through shipment, including duplicate messages, rejected transactions, inventory holds, cancellations and restart after communication loss.
- Execute performance tests with representative loads and peak order profiles. Measure the definitions agreed in the contract, not a supplier-selected demonstration case.
- Train operators, maintenance staff, supervisors and IT support, then document escalation paths and recovery playbooks.
- Cut over in phases where possible, retaining a controlled manual fallback until inventory and transaction reconciliation are stable.
Operational readiness questions
- Who can release a jam, override a task, unblock a location or authorize a manual move?
- How are inventory discrepancies investigated and corrected without creating a second error?
- What minimum spares, skills and response times are required on each shift?
- How will preventive maintenance be scheduled around peaks, and what capacity is lost during planned downtime?
- What metrics are reviewed daily: availability, completed moves, queue time, blocked locations, accuracy, recovery duration and manual bypass volume?
A practical go/no-go decision framework
Proceed to detailed design only when a candidate concept can demonstrate all of the following with documented assumptions:
- It handles the complete real-world load envelope, including exceptions.
- It meets required peak flow, order profiles and recovery performance without relying on unplanned labor.
- It fits the building, fire protection, utilities, access and live-operation constraints confirmed by qualified local professionals.
- Its WMS, WCS, WES, ERP and controls responsibilities are explicit, testable and supportable.
- Its resilience, maintenance, spare-parts and service commitments are contractual rather than implied.
- Its lifecycle economics remain acceptable under conservative volume, labor, availability and schedule scenarios.
- It has a credible phased implementation, acceptance test and expansion path.
If a proposal fails one of these tests, revise the design or reject it before optimizing price. The most expensive mistake is committing to equipment that cannot deliver the required flow in the actual building or cannot be supported after launch.
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