Evaluate an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) as a complete operating system—not as a rack, crane, or robot in isolation. Start with your loads, SKU profile, required throughput, picking method, building constraints, software interfaces, service model, and site-specific economics. Then give every supplier the same assumptions and compare lifecycle results, implementation risk, and recovery capability.
What an AS/RS is—and what you are actually buying
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 configurations, not one product category with a universal specification.
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A complete installation normally includes storage structures, cranes or shuttles, conveyors or vehicles, scanners and sensors, control software, inventory logic, operator workstations, safety systems, utilities, and service support. Depending on the design, the system may receive pallets, cases, totes, trays, or individual items; store reserve inventory; replenish pick faces; sequence orders; and deliver goods to a person or dispatch lane.
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Start with an operating baseline
Before asking for concepts or prices, document how the warehouse works today. Separate measured facts from estimates so bidders can see which assumptions need validation.
Inventory and load data
- Record the number of active SKUs and the quantity held per SKU.
- Capture the length, width, height, weight, center of gravity, packaging, and load stability for each handling unit.
- Classify inventory as full pallet, case, tote, tray, or each-pick stock. Note mixed-SKU pallets and any load that cannot be clamped, stacked, or conveyed normally.
- Identify velocity bands, seasonality, expiration or lot rules, serial-number requirements, and temperature or humidity conditions.
Flow and service data
- Measure receipts, put-away tasks, replenishment moves, order lines, picks, dispatches, and returns by hour and by shift.
- Define normal, promotional, and worst-case peaks. Include simultaneous inbound and outbound activity rather than using a daily average alone.
- Document current travel distance, touches, staging queues, congestion points, dock dwell time, shortages, damage, and inventory corrections.
- State service commitments: order cut-off times, dispatch windows, production-feeding deadlines, and any requirement for continuous operation.
Facility and labor baseline
- Survey clear height, column grids, floor flatness and load capacity, fire protection, doors, docks, egress routes, and available staging.
- List labor by task and shift, including vacancies, overtime, agency dependence, training time, and ergonomic constraints.
- Document existing WMS, ERP, WCS, WES, transportation, production-control, and reporting systems, including ownership of inventory transactions.
This baseline lets you distinguish a capacity problem from a velocity problem, a labor problem, a layout problem, or a software problem. An AS/RS may address several at once, but the business case should identify the primary constraint and the measurable target.
Match the technology family to the work
Use technology families as a screening tool, not as a final design. MHI’s selection guidance describes different relative use cases and performance profiles; actual results depend on dimensions, controls, buffering, staffing, and operating assumptions.
| Technology family | Typical handling unit and work | Useful screening signal | Questions to validate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed-aisle unit-load storage/retrieval machines | Full pallets in high-bay aisles; reserve storage and full-load dispatch | Good fit when vertical capacity and repeatable pallet movements matter | What pallet envelope, load variation, aisle redundancy, and peak dual-command rate are required? |
| Pallet shuttle systems | High-density pallet lanes, often with fewer SKUs and multiple pallets per SKU | MHI describes shuttles as high-throughput and high-density options for a lower SKU count | How will FIFO, lane access, replenishment, and partial-lane retrieval work? |
| Mini-load shuttle systems | Cases, totes, or trays for case and split-case picking | Can support goods-to-person work where many small handling units must be presented | What are the tote dimensions, workstation rate, sequencing needs, and replenishment rules? |
| Horizontal carousels | Small parts or totes presented to operators at ergonomic stations | Useful where floor-level goods-to-person presentation can reduce walking | How many stations, carriers, and simultaneous orders are needed at peak? |
| Vertical carousels and vertical lift modules | Small parts, trays, tools, or controlled-access inventory | Can use building height while presenting items to a person | What tray load, item height, access frequency, fire requirements, and operator interface apply? |
| Cube-based storage systems | Lightweight totes or bins for each-picking | MHI positions cube systems for lightweight, high-density each-picking applications | Are item dimensions, tote weights, induction rates, and order profiles within the system’s envelope? |
Keep more than one family in the feasibility study when two or more could meet the baseline. A pallet shuttle, a crane-based unit-load system, and a hybrid reserve-plus-pick design may all be defensible; narrowing to a favorite technology before quantifying the work weakens the comparison.
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Define requirements before requesting proposals
Write a requirements document that every bidder receives unchanged. The document should describe the work and acceptance tests, not prescribe a vendor’s architecture.
Load and inventory requirements
- List every allowable load dimension and weight range, including tolerances and damaged or overhanging packaging.
- State SKU count, units per SKU, velocity distribution, lot and serial controls, expiration rules, and expected growth.
- Specify whether the system must handle mixed pallets, cases with variable heights, empty containers, returns, quarantine stock, or hazardous materials.
Performance requirements
- Define inbound and outbound rates in pallets, cases, totes, trays, or order lines per hour.
- Describe the order profile behind the rate: lines per order, units per line, proportion of split cases, full-load dispatches, and required sequencing.
- Separate sustained rate, short-term peak rate, and recovery rate after an interruption. Ask how many simultaneous transactions and how much buffer capacity each figure assumes.
- Require a written definition of availability, including planned maintenance, blocked locations, equipment faults, software outages, and restart time.
Picking and workflow requirements
- Specify reserve storage, replenishment, goods-to-person stations, case or split-case picking, consolidation, packing, and dispatch handoffs.
- Describe required ergonomics, scanning, weighing, labeling, quality checks, and operator authentication.
- Define exception paths for short picks, damaged loads, wrong scans, inventory discrepancies, and urgent orders.
Growth and flexibility requirements
- Give a five- to ten-year demand range only if your planning process supports it; otherwise provide explicit low, base, and high scenarios.
- Ask which modules, aisles, stations, software licenses, utilities, and structural provisions can be added later.
- Require the supplier to state capacity consumed by growth, not merely a headline maximum.
Check building and process fit
A technically capable machine can still be infeasible in the building. Have qualified engineering and safety professionals confirm local structural, fire, electrical, accessibility, and occupational requirements; the applicable rules vary by jurisdiction and facility use.
Physical checks
- Verify clear height, floor load and flatness, rack anchoring, seismic or wind considerations, column interference, and tolerances at interfaces.
- Map inbound docks, outbound docks, staging, inspection, returns, waste, maintenance access, and emergency egress.
- Check fire detection and suppression coverage, smoke or heat effects in high-bay areas, aisle access, and any required separation.
- Confirm power quality, network coverage, charging space, compressed air, HVAC, lighting, and environmental limits.
Live-operation constraints
Installation in an operating warehouse introduces risk that a greenfield layout does not. Define temporary storage, construction segregation, delivery routes, planned shutdowns, inventory migration, and contingency picking. Ask for a phase plan showing which aisles, docks, and software functions remain available during each cutover stage.
Plan maintenance access from the beginning. A design that uses every square metre for storage but leaves no safe path to motors, sensors, scanners, or fire equipment can create avoidable downtime and compliance problems.
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Evaluate controls and software as part of the system
The rack and material-handling equipment cannot decide where inventory belongs, release a wave, or reconcile an exception without controls. Case studies published by MHI and equipment suppliers describe integrations involving warehouse execution or inventory-control software and existing warehouse or factory systems. Evaluate the complete transaction flow.
Assign system responsibilities
- ERP or production control: business orders, production demand, purchasing, and financial records.
- WMS: inventory ownership, locations, allocation, replenishment policy, lot or serial rules, and order status.
- WES: orchestration, prioritization, workload balancing, sequencing, and coordination across automation.
- WCS: equipment commands, routing, sensors, interlocks, and machine-level status.
Not every site needs all four layers, but the proposal must state which platform performs each function. Require interface maps, message ownership, timing expectations, retry behavior, duplicate-message handling, and reconciliation procedures.
Test exceptions and recovery
- What happens when a scan fails, a tote is missing, a location is blocked, or a pallet does not meet the dimensional profile?
- Can operators quarantine inventory without corrupting the host system?
- How are transactions recovered after a network outage, controller restart, emergency stop, or partial equipment failure?
- Which reports expose inventory mismatches, aging tasks, blocked equipment, and manual overrides?
Ask for a demonstration using your own representative orders and exceptions, not only a nominal movement. Confirm whether custom interfaces, adapters, licenses, cybersecurity controls, or data historians are included in the price and schedule.
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Make supplier proposals comparable
Issue the same baseline, drawings, peak scenarios, growth assumptions, uptime definition, implementation window, and acceptance criteria to every bidder. Require a response format that makes hidden assumptions visible.
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| Proposal area | Information to require |
|---|---|
| Capacity | Usable locations, reserve versus pick locations, blocked or inaccessible positions, and growth capacity at each scenario |
| Throughput | Inbound, outbound, replenishment, and picking rates; peak duration; buffer size; and calculation assumptions |
| Equipment | Number and type of cranes, shuttles, lifts, conveyors, stations, scanners, controls, and safety devices |
| Software | Included WMS/WES/WCS functions, interfaces, licenses, custom work, data migration, reporting, and cybersecurity scope |
| Implementation | Design, permits, fabrication, installation, testing, training, cutover, temporary operations, and schedule dependencies |
| Support | Coverage hours, response and restore targets, remote support, local technicians, spare parts, preventive maintenance, and escalation |
| Commercials | Capital cost, installation, building modifications, utilities, software, recurring fees, maintenance, exclusions, and change-order rates |
Ask bidders to identify what is standard, configurable, custom, or supplied by others. A lower initial quote can lose its advantage when structural work, integration, temporary storage, or service parts are added later.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Build a site-specific business case
Compare total lifecycle cost and operational value using your own measured baseline. Do not use a vendor case-study percentage as a forecast for your warehouse.
Cost categories
- Equipment, storage structures, controls, safety systems, and workstations
- Building reinforcement, floor work, fire protection, electrical distribution, networking, and utilities
- Software licenses, integration, testing, data migration, and cybersecurity
- Installation, commissioning, training, temporary storage, overtime, and production disruption
- Preventive maintenance, corrective repairs, spare parts, inspections, energy, and support contracts
- Future modules, software expansion, and capacity upgrades
Value categories
- Released floor or cubic capacity and avoided building expansion
- Labor hours avoided, redeployed, or added for maintenance and controls
- Throughput, order cut-off, dock turnaround, and production-feeding improvements
- Inventory accuracy, damage reduction, ergonomics, and fewer touches
- Reduced travel, congestion, and exposure to temperature or hazardous conditions
Model low, base, and high cases for demand, labor cost and availability, SKU mix, space value, implementation delay, equipment availability, and maintenance cost. Include the financial effect of a partial outage and the cost of a manual fallback. The reviewed industry material does not establish a universal payback period, so any return calculation must remain specific to the site and its assumptions.
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Published projects are useful for identifying design questions, not for promising identical results.
Heaven Hill example
An MHI-published Heaven Hill and Westfalia case study describes a facility with 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. Those figures belong to that project’s building, process, product mix, controls, and implementation; they are not typical AS/RS benchmarks.
The same case study quotes Kevin Andrew, Heaven Hill’s Inventory & Customer Service Manager: “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.” Treat this as a customer statement in a supplier-published case study, not as independent validation.
Anheuser-Busch example
A Dematic case study about Anheuser-Busch describes 12,936 pallet locations and a stated throughput rate of 680 pallets per hour for that installation. The rate is the vendor’s description of a specific project and should not be presented as a normal AS/RS throughput target.
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Plan implementation, acceptance, and ongoing operation
Commissioning and cutover
- Approve detailed design, interface specifications, safety concept, and site-readiness responsibilities.
- Test software and controls with simulated inventory, normal orders, peak waves, and exception scenarios before live product is introduced.
- Run dry cycles and staged commissioning for equipment, scanners, stations, and emergency functions.
- Migrate inventory through a controlled count and reconciliation process; define who owns discrepancies.
- Use a phased cutover or parallel manual process where the service impact justifies it.
Acceptance tests
Write acceptance tests around your requirements: sustained and peak rates, order profiles, recovery after faults, inventory accuracy, scan quality, station ergonomics, safety interlocks, and restart time. State the test duration, sample size, allowed exceptions, measurement method, and remedy if the system fails.
People and support
- Train operators, supervisors, maintenance technicians, inventory controllers, and IT support separately.
- Document lockout procedures, manual recovery, emergency operation, software restart, and escalation contacts.
- Verify local service coverage, spare-parts lead times, remote-access controls, and preventive-maintenance tasks.
- Review staffing after stabilization; automation may reduce travel and manual handling while increasing controls, maintenance, and exception-management work.
Common evaluation mistakes
- Choosing technology first: starting with a preferred crane, shuttle, or robot can hide a mismatch with load or order requirements.
- Using averages: daily averages conceal peaks, simultaneous transactions, and recovery demand.
- Comparing headline rates: a pallets-per-hour number is meaningless without order profile, buffer, availability, and peak-duration definitions.
- Ignoring software ownership: unclear WMS, WES, and WCS responsibilities create integration delays and inventory errors.
- Underestimating the live-site plan: temporary storage, shutdowns, migration, and manual fallback can determine whether the project is viable.
- Counting only equipment cost: building work, commissioning, training, maintenance, and disruption can materially change lifecycle economics.
- Assuming expansion is easy: future modules may require reserved floor, height, power, controls capacity, and software licenses.
- Accepting vague uptime claims: require contractual definitions for availability, response, restore time, exclusions, and planned maintenance.
- Generalizing case studies: project-specific percentages are illustrations, not guarantees.
A practical go/no-go checklist
- Are all loads within a documented dimensional, weight, stability, and environmental envelope?
- Do candidate systems meet sustained, peak, and recovery requirements for the actual order profile?
- Does the building support structure, floor, fire, power, access, and maintenance requirements?
- Can the system be installed while the warehouse continues to serve customers or production?
- Are WMS, WES, WCS, ERP, and production-control responsibilities explicitly assigned?
- Are exceptions, outages, inventory reconciliation, and manual fallback documented and tested?
- Did every bidder receive identical assumptions and disclose exclusions?
- Does the business case include lifecycle cost, disruption, service, maintenance, growth, and sensitivity cases?
- Are acceptance tests, training, spares, local support, and expansion provisions contractual?
- Have qualified local professionals confirmed applicable safety and building requirements?
An AS/RS is ready for a serious investment decision when the operating baseline, candidate technologies, facility design, controls architecture, comparable proposals, lifecycle model, and implementation plan all agree. If one of those elements remains an untested assumption, the next step is a focused feasibility study—not a purchase order.
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