How to Optimise Intralogistics Transport with AGV Robots
AGV-based intralogistics transport is a proven way to win back the hours lost moving pallets and components between the warehouse and the line. Automated guided vehicles take over repetitive, monotonous runs, free up operators for higher-value tasks and work continuously. In this guide we show how to choose the type of robot, calculate profitability and measure the effect in numbers rather than impressions.
Where manual transport loses time and money
Internal material flow is rarely an obvious bottleneck — the cost is spread across dozens of small delays. An operator goes to fetch a hand trolley, waits for the aisle to clear, delivers a component late, and the line slows down. Add to this damage to goods during manual manoeuvring and the risk of collisions with forklift trucks.
AGVs work best where the flow is predictable and repetitive: delivering raw material to assembly stations, collecting finished goods, runs between the warehouse and production along fixed routes. The higher the standardisation of the process, the greater the return on automation. Conversely, highly variable routes and chaotic load placement are a sign that the process needs to be organised first and automated only afterwards.
Four types of AGV and their tasks
There is no single universal robot. The choice of type depends on what you transport and how. Four basic families cover almost every scenario in a production hall and warehouse.
| AGV type | Task | Typical load / towing capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Towing (tugger) | Pulls a set of trolleys along a milk run route, replacing the traditional tugger train driver | towing capacity of up to 5000 kg |
| Fork (forklift) | Independently lifts and sets down pallets from floor level or from a rack, without anyone operating the forks | load capacity of around 2000 kg |
| Under-ride (underride / lift) | Drives under a platform or pallet, lifts it a few centimetres and transports it in a low profile | 500–1000 kg |
| Compact (AGC) | Carries small containers, cartons and small platforms between production cells | 250–500 kg |
In practice, most plants start with one or two types and expand the fleet as further processes are added. A modular design allows one platform to perform several roles — from a “mouse” with a retractable pin, through a tow tractor, to a platform with a roller conveyor. You will find a full overview of solutions in the AGV and AMR robots category, and if your priority is milk runs and line feeding, it is worth starting with tugger-type AGVs.
When AGV-based intralogistics transport really pays off
Automating internal transport makes sense where the volume of runs is large enough and the plant operates intensively. Three conditions shift the calculation most strongly in favour of AGVs:
- Multi-shift or 24/7 operation. A robot has no breaks or shift changes — one vehicle can handle transport across three shifts, five days a week, without slowing down. It is this continuity of work that closes the business case fastest.
- Staffing problems. When it is hard to find people for monotonous transport runs, automation solves a genuine labour shortage rather than merely reducing costs.
- Safety. After incidents involving forklift trucks, AGVs with 360° scanners and safety zones significantly reduce the risk of collisions.
At current labour rates, the payback period for an AGV investment is usually in the range of 3–5 years, depending on the process and the number of full-time positions replaced. In Poland, this period is shortened further by the robotisation tax relief, which allows part of the cost of purchasing industrial robots to be deducted. It is worth adding benefits that are harder to measure to the hard calculation: less damage to goods, greater safety and an orderly flow of materials.
KPIs for measuring internal transport
Without indicators, automation remains a matter of impressions. Four metrics are enough to assess whether the AGV fleet is really working as planned:
- Cycle time — the average time taken to complete a transport order, from the moment it is placed until the load is delivered. This is the basic indicator of the system’s responsiveness.
- Availability — the proportion of time the system runs without failures. Low availability eats up the benefits of automation, even with short cycles.
- Tasks per hour — the throughput of the fleet, key when planning the number of vehicles for the target volume.
- Delivery accuracy — whether the AGV sets loads down in exactly the right place, without corrections by people.
It is worth collecting the same indicators during a pilot on a selected part of the process — one line or one shift is enough to spot bottlenecks before you extend the system to the whole plant.
Charging: opportunistic versus cyclical
The charging strategy determines how many vehicles you really need. There are two approaches:
- Opportunistic charging — the AGV tops up its battery at every opportunity, in short breaks between missions, e.g. while waiting for the next order at a drop-off point. The battery almost never runs low, and the vehicle rarely drops out of circulation.
- Cyclical charging — the vehicle only goes to the station once the battery has been discharged to a set level. Simpler to organise, but it requires planning windows during which a given AGV is unavailable.
Where it is not possible to install charging contacts in the working area, the alternative is a quick battery swap — in larger towing vehicles this takes a few minutes at most and makes it possible to maintain continuous operation across three shifts. Lithium-ion batteries also cope better with frequent, short top-up charges than traditional gel batteries.
Navigation and safety in a shared facility
The way the fleet moves is chosen to suit the environment. Magnetic tape navigation is cheap and simple, but not very flexible when routes change. Natural navigation — using a map of the site and a 2D laser or 3D LiDAR — requires no additional infrastructure in the floor and adapts easily to layout changes, although it is more expensive. The choice depends on how often the surroundings change and what positioning accuracy you need.
Safety when sharing a facility with people is standard, not optional: certified laser scanners that stop the vehicle before an obstacle, 360° monitoring of the surroundings, emergency stop buttons, and light and sound signals, including a direction-of-travel arrow projected onto the floor. It is also worth marking out AGV routes with clear floor markings, which makes it easier for robots, pedestrians and hand trolleys to coexist safely.
Where to start — an implementation checklist
- Map the material flows and identify repetitive, well-defined, high-volume routes.
- Check the readiness of the facility: floor flatness, aisle widths, space for manoeuvring and buffer stations.
- Match the AGV type to the load — towing, fork, under-ride or compact.
- Calculate the ROI, taking into account shift work and the robotisation tax relief.
- Define KPIs: cycle time, availability, tasks per hour, delivery accuracy.
- Run a pilot on one process, measure the results and fine-tune the system before full rollout.
FAQ
Does an AGV pay off with a single shift?
It usually pays back fastest with two- or three-shift operation, because the robot works without breaks. With a single shift, the key factors are the volume of runs and the cost of the positions being replaced — in that case the justification is sometimes safety or a labour shortage rather than cost reduction alone.
Does the facility need to be rebuilt for AGVs?
Not always. Natural, map-based navigation works without any intervention in the floor. It is usually enough to level thresholds, mark the routes and run power to the charging stations. The scope of work follows from a plant readiness audit.
How many AGVs do I need to start with?
The number of vehicles is calculated from the target task volume and the throughput of a single robot (tasks per hour). In practice, it is worth starting with a pilot using one or two vehicles and scaling the fleet as further processes are added.
