Finished goods in/out
Finished pallets in and out of storage
A typical tire plant or warehouse uses autonomous forklifts, driven by tasks from the WMS, to move finished pallets from the end of the line into storage and out to shipping. Half the manual forklift fleet is freed up while the operation runs three shifts non-stop.
Typical results
- Forklifts
- −50%
- Non-stop
- 3 shifts
- Payback
- 14 mo
Figures are typical values from comparable projects. Your site assessment gives the exact numbers.
The challenge
- Finished goods come off the line around the clock, but forklift drivers for three shifts are hard to hire and keep.
- Manual forklifts cause damage to pallets, racks and building, and mix with pedestrians in busy aisles.
- Stock records in the WMS drift from reality when moves are not scanned or are scanned to the wrong location.
- Put-away falls behind at shift changes and breaks, so pallets queue at the end of the line.
The solution
- The WMS sends put-away and retrieval tasks to the dispatch system, which assigns them to autonomous forklifts.
- Forklifts pick pallets at fixed end-of-line pick-up points, store them in their assigned locations and bring them to shipping staging when orders are released.
- Every completed move is confirmed back to the WMS, so stock locations stay accurate.
- Forklifts navigate by laser SLAM on existing walls, columns and racks, open automatic doors through the dispatch system, and slow down and stop for people and obstacles.
- Remaining manual forklifts handle truck loading, damaged or non-standard pallets and other exceptions.
Why half the fleet, not all of it
Automating every pallet move is rarely the best economics. In this scenario, the repetitive, high-volume flows of put-away and retrieval went to autonomous forklifts, while drivers kept the tasks that vary from load to load. That split kept the project simple and gave a payback of about 14 months. Actual payback depends on local labor cost, shift pattern and volumes.
The rollout followed the same logic. Put-away from the end of the line went first, because it is the most repetitive flow and the easiest to measure. Retrieval to shipping staging followed once WMS tasks, door control and handovers with drivers ran reliably across all three shifts. Drivers were trained on the new crossings and on passing exceptions to a manual lane.
What made it work
In comparable projects, three things mattered most:
- Clean WMS integration, so robots only receive tasks for pallets and locations that really exist.
- Consistent pallet quality at the end of the line, with damaged pallets routed to a manual lane.
- Separate speed zones and clearly marked crossings where autonomous and manual forklifts share aisles.
Related cases
- Process transferAutomated flow between processesA typical PCB or electronics plant replaces manual cart pushing between processes with lifting AMRs that take their tasks straight from the MES. The result is steadier WIP flow, fewer people tied up in handling and round-the-clock operation.View case
- Roll handlingStraight from storage to line-sideA typical plant handling battery electrode rolls, film or tire materials uses AMRs with a roller top module to carry rolls from storage and dock directly with line-side conveyors. Rolls transfer between robot and conveyor with no manual loading.View case
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