a third-party logistics provider in southern Indiana fulfilling B2B and startup e-commerce volume for a fast-growing customer
How a Southern Indiana 3PL Raised Picker Productivity 275% With Cart AMRs
A southern Indiana 3PL deployed cart AMRs and raised picker rates from about 30-40 UPH to 120-150, a 275% productivity gain with stronger SLA and accuracy performance.
- 275%
- Productivity
- 120-150
- UPH after
- 55%
- Peak throughput
- 30-40
- UPH before
Based on a documented real-world deployment. Figures are from public reporting; the organization is not named.
Walking, wages, and volatile startup demand
This southern Indiana third-party logistics site fulfills both steady B2B orders and fast-moving e-commerce volume for a growth-stage customer whose forecasts swing week to week. Pickers were walking long aisles, making extra touches, and fighting congestion just to keep pace.
Leadership faced labor shortages, wage pressure, and penalty risk when orders missed service-level windows. They needed higher units per hour without asking associates to push more carts through the same footprint.
- Picker rates stuck near 30-40 units per hour
- Startup customer demand shifted faster than staffing plans
- SLA penalties loomed when throughput lagged
Warehouse execution software plus cart AMRs
The operator deployed a warehouse execution platform with autonomous mobile robots and dashboards that show floor activity in real time. Robots took over travel between pick faces so associates could stay on value-creating tasks.
Supervisors used reporting to coach the team, plan labor against order waves, and share ordering patterns back to the customer when forecasts missed actual demand. The rollout targeted the zones where walking and extra movements consumed the most time.
- Cart AMRs paired with execution and analytics tools
- Real-time visibility for supervisors and the customer
- Phased focus on high-walk pick paths
Picker rates that tripled on the floor
After go-live, leadership reported picker productivity rising about 275%, with rates moving from roughly 30-40 units per hour into the 120-150 range.
Peak throughput climbed about 55% while on-time performance improved enough to avoid SLA penalties. Accuracy gains reduced rework and gave the customer more confidence in outbound quality.
The customer cited higher output, labor savings, and better visibility when demand spiked or dipped, letting the 3PL scale associates up and down without losing control of the floor.
What other 3PLs can expect from an integrator
Cart AMRs pay off when walking and cart pushing are the bottleneck, not your WMS rules. Service Robot Co. stays vendor neutral, so you compare AMR platforms and execution software before you buy or lease through financing.
We design pick paths with your operations lead, integrate to your WMS, and support the fleet through RoboCare when SKUs or customers change. A free site assessment is the right start if picker rates are stuck under 40 UPH while SLAs keep tightening.
