a 350,000-square-foot retail case-pick and consolidation distribution center in Texas
How a 350,000-Sq.-Ft. Retail DC Raised Put-Away Productivity 30% With AMRs
A retail case-pick distribution center used pallet jack AMRs to move inbound pallets from dock doors to put-away points, lifting put-away productivity about 30%.
- 30%
- Put-away gain
- 350K sf
- DC footprint
- 2
- AMR units
- Dock
- To P&D moves
Based on a documented real-world deployment. Figures are from public reporting; the organization is not named.
Horizontal travel ate put-away time
A 350,000-square-foot retail case-pick and consolidation distribution center in Texas runs fast-changing third-party logistics workflows with heavy inbound pallet volume.
Put-away operators spent too much time driving empty miles between dock doors and pick-and-drop spots instead of positioning inventory. Lift drivers still handled vertical moves, but every extra trip back to the dock stretched dock-to-stock time.
- High inbound pallet volume
- Long horizontal travel loops
- Dynamic 3PL workflows
- Dock-to-stock pressure
Pallet jack AMRs on staging lanes
Leadership piloted two pallet jack autonomous mobile robots after reviewing options that could flex with mixed retail programs inside one building.
The robots clear designated dock doors and haul pallets to pick-and-drop locations across the floor while lift drivers continue vertical work. Fleet software assigns tasks by priority, location, and availability so robots meet inbound waves without fixed conveyor paths.
- Two pallet jack AMRs in pilot
- Dock door to P&D routes
- Works beside lift drivers
- Task orchestration by priority
- October 2019 pilot start
Put-away productivity rose about thirty percent
The documented deployment reports put-away operator productivity improved approximately thirty percent once AMRs removed repeat horizontal travel and cut trips back to the dock.
Inbound throughput and dock-to-stock time improved because pallets left staging lanes faster while teammates kept safer, more predictable jobs alongside the robots.
What retail and 3PL operators can take from this
When dock-to-stock time is the bottleneck, autonomous mobile robot rental or warehouse AMR leases let you prove one inbound lane before you scale a fleet. Service Robot Co. is vendor neutral: we match pallet jack AMRs, orchestration software, and safety zones to your dock layout, then finance, deploy, integrate, train, and service through regional engineers in all fifty states.
A free site assessment on staging lanes shows whether two units can cover your worst dock doors, and month-to-month robot leasing can align payments with seasonal retail programs.
