Goods-to-person picking

How goods-to-person picking systems work

Goods-to-person (GTP) picking systems are automated warehouse fulfillment systems that bring inventory directly to a stationary warehouse worker instead of requiring the worker to walk through aisles searching for products.

The central idea is simple: the inventory moves to the picker, rather than the picker moving to the inventory.

This reduces unnecessary walking, improves picking speed, and can increase warehouse storage density and order fulfillment accuracy.

1. How the process works

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A typical goods-to-person operation follows six steps:

1. Order received: The warehouse management system (WMS) receives customer orders and determines which products need to be picked.
2. Inventory located: The system identifies the storage location of each required product.
3. Inventory retrieved: Robots, shuttles, conveyors, or automated storage equipment retrieve the required tote, bin, tray, or shelf.
4. Inventory transported: The equipment delivers the inventory to a designated picking workstation.
5. Picker selects products: The worker picks the required quantity, often guided by lights, screens, barcode scanners, or voice instructions.
6. Inventory returned: The system moves the storage container back into its assigned storage location, while the completed order moves to packing or shipping.

2. Technologies that bring inventory to the picker

There are several ways to accomplish goods-to-person picking. The main difference is how the inventory is retrieved and transported.

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A. Shuttle-based AS/RS

Automated shuttles travel along storage rack levels, retrieve totes, and deliver them through lifts and conveyors to the picking station.

Best for: High-volume operations and large SKU inventories.

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B. Cube-based storage systems

Robots travel across a dense grid of stacked inventory bins. They retrieve the requested bins and deliver them to operator ports.

Best for: Maximizing storage capacity in limited floor space.

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C. Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)

Robots travel underneath storage shelving, lift entire shelving units, and transport them to stationary picking stations.

Best for: Flexible warehouse layouts and operations requiring scalable automation.

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D. Vertical lift modules (VLMs) and carousels

Automated lifts retrieve storage trays vertically, or rotating shelves bring the required inventory to an access opening.

Best for: Small parts, components, tools, and relatively compact inventories.

These technologies are different mechanical approaches to achieving the same result: delivering the correct inventory to the correct workstation.attabotics.com+3

3. How the software coordinates everything

The automation equipment is only one part of the system. Software coordinates inventory, orders, robots, and picking activities.

Three major software components are commonly involved:

For example, when an order requires three units of a particular product:

1. The WMS identifies the inventory location.
2. The WES prioritizes the retrieval task.
3. The WCS sends commands to the appropriate automation equipment.
4. A robot or shuttle retrieves the inventory container.
5. The container arrives at the picking station.
6. The picker receives instructions to select three units.
7. The picker confirms the quantity, updating the inventory and order records.

attabotics.comstonge.comwww.kardex.comwww.inventoryops.comautomation.honeywell.comescholarship.org

4. What a goods-to-person picking station looks like

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A typical workstation includes:

• Inventory presentation area: Where the automated system delivers storage bins or totes.
• Operator interface: A screen displaying the product, SKU, and required quantity.
• Order containers: Totes, cartons, or bins where picked products are placed.
• Pick confirmation technology: Barcode scanners, sensors, buttons, or pick-to-light systems.
• Conveyor system: Transports completed orders to packing, consolidation, or shipping.

Some workstations also use put-to-light technology, which indicates exactly which customer order container should receive each picked item.

5. Benefits and limitations

An important consideration is that automation does not eliminate all warehouse labor. Employees are still needed for replenishment, picking, exception handling, maintenance, and packing.

attabotics.comstonge.comescholarship.org

6. Simple illustration of the complete process

The following diagram shows how the different components work together.

Customer order received

WMS identifies required products

Warehouse software

Determines inventory location and retrieval sequence

Automated retrieval equipment

Robots, shuttles, lifts, or conveyors retrieve inventory

Inventory arrives at picking station

Correct bin or shelf is presented to the worker

Stationary picker selects products

Worker picks, scans, and confirms quantities

Order moves to packing and shipping

Storage bin returns to inventory storage

7. The key takeaway

Goods-to-person picking transforms a traditional warehouse into a more automated fulfillment environment.

Instead of employees spending significant time traveling between storage locations, the warehouse uses robotics, automated storage equipment, and intelligent software to deliver inventory to strategically located workstations.

The biggest operational advantage is that the picker spends more time performing productive picking activities and less time walking, searching, and transporting inventory.

Further reading

• Attabotics – What Is Goods-to-Person Picking?
• Honeywell – Automated Order Picking and Inventory Replenishment
• St. Onge – Selecting the Right Goods-to-Person Solution
• InventoryOps – Goods-to-Person Order Picking

Goods-to-person (GTP) picking flips traditional warehouse logic on its head: instead of human pickers walking miles through aisles to hunt down items, automated machinery retrieves the inventory and brings it directly to an ergonomic, stationary workstation.attabotics.com

An overview of how the workflow operates, the core technologies involved, and why it changes fulfillment follows below.

The Step-by-Step Workflow

1. Order Release: The warehouse management system (WMS) or warehouse execution system (WES) releases a batch of customer orders.attabotics.com
2. Software Routing: The system calculates the most efficient sequence to pull the required SKUs, mapping out the exact location of each bin, tote, or shelf.attabotics.com
3. Automated Retrieval: A robot, shuttle, crane, or automated mobile robot (AMR) is dispatched to fetch the item from storage.attabotics.com
4. Delivery to Workstation: The mechanism delivers the inventory container to a fixed pick-and-pack station where the human operator is waiting.attabotics.com
5. Guided Picking (Put-to-Light / HMI): A screen, projector, or pick-to-light system illuminates the exact compartment and displays the quantity the operator needs to grab.attabotics.com
6. Confirmation & Return: The operator picks the item, drops it into an order tote, taps a confirmation button (or uses a scan/weight check), and the automated system returns the storage unit back into the grid.attabotics.com

Primary Types of GTP Systems

Different hardware architectures achieve this handoff depending on your building size, throughput needs, and SKU mix:attabotics.com

• Cube and Grid Storage (e.g., AutoStore): Bins are stacked densely in a massive 3D grid with no aisles. Top-riding robots race across a grid track, dig down to lift the required bin, and shuffle boxes around if the target is buried underneath.
• Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs / Shelf-to-Person): Robots like those used by Kiva/Amazon Robotics drive underneath portable shelving units or pods, lift the entire shelf from the floor, and ferry it across the warehouse floor to a station.
• Shuttle ASRS (Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems): High-speed mechanical shuttles run along tracks inside deep racking aisles on each vertical level, transferring totes to high-speed vertical lifts that feed the workstation.
• Carousels & Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs): Enclosed vertical towers or rotating carousels spin shelves of inventory up or down like a massive vertical Ferris wheel, presenting the tray directly to an opening at ergonomic waist-height.attabotics.com

Key Advantages Over Traditional Picking

• Elimination of Walk Time: In conventional person-to-goods models, walking can account for 50% to 70% of a picker's time. GTP lets operators stand in one place and process significantly more order lines per hour.
• Drastic Error Reduction: Paired with visual lights, touchscreens, and weight-verification scales at the station, pickers are restricted to the right SKU and count before the bin cycles away.
• High-Density Space Utilization: Many GTP systems (like cube grids or VLMs) utilize vertical cube space all the way to the ceiling, shrinking the physical footprint required for the same volume of inventory.
• Ergonomics & Safety: Heavy lifting, bending down to bottom shelves, and stretching for top racks are largely handled by machines, reducing worker fatigue and injury risks.attabotics.com

If you're exploring this for a specific operation, tell me:

• What is your average daily order volume or SKU count?
• Are you looking at retrofitting an existing building or designing a new facility?

I can help you break down which GTP architecture fits best.

How Goods-to-Person (GTP) Picking Works

Goods-to-person (GTP) picking is an automated warehouse fulfillment method in which products are transported directly from their storage locations to a stationary picking workstation.

Instead of workers walking through warehouse aisles searching for products, automated equipment brings the required inventory to them.

The fundamental principle is:

The person stays stationary; the goods move.

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1. The mechanism behind goods-to-person picking

A typical GTP system consists of five main components:

1. Storage system: Holds products in bins, totes, trays, or shelves.
2. Retrieval equipment: Robots, shuttles, cranes, or automated lifts retrieve the required inventory.
3. Transportation system: Conveyors or mobile robots transport inventory to the workstation.
4. Picking workstation: A fixed location where an operator picks products.
5. Control software: Coordinates inventory retrieval, transportation, order sequencing, and workstation operations.

The Warehouse Management System (WMS) and Warehouse Control System (WCS) coordinate these activities.

2. Step-by-step: How goods reach the fixed station

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Step 1: Inventory is stored

Products are placed inside identified storage bins or totes. Each storage location is recorded in the warehouse inventory system.

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Step 2: An order triggers retrieval

When a customer order is received, the WMS identifies the required SKU and its storage location. The WCS sends retrieval instructions to the automated equipment.

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Step 3: The equipment retrieves the tote

A shuttle, robot, or automated storage crane retrieves the required tote from its storage position. If necessary, a lift transfers it between storage levels.

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Step 4: The tote travels to the fixed station

The retrieved tote is transferred onto a conveyor or transported by an autonomous mobile robot (AMR). The system directs it to the designated picking workstation.

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Step 5: The operator picks the product

The workstation displays the required product and quantity. The operator removes the specified items from the inventory tote and places them into the appropriate order container.

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Step 6: The tote returns to storage

After picking, the inventory tote is transported back to its storage location. Meanwhile, the next required tote can be delivered to the workstation.

This process repeats until the order is complete.attabotics.com+2

3. How exactly does the system deliver items to a fixed station?

There are several mechanical approaches. The actual method depends on the warehouse design.

A. Shuttle-based goods-to-person system

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• Shuttles travel along storage rack levels.
• They retrieve the required tote.
• Vertical lifts transfer totes between levels.
• Conveyors transport totes to the fixed workstation.

This is commonly used in high-throughput warehouses.

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B. Autonomous mobile robot (AMR) system

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• A robot travels underneath or alongside a mobile storage shelf.
• It lifts or transports the shelf.
• The robot navigates to the assigned picking station.
• The operator picks products directly from the presented shelf.

This approach can offer flexibility when warehouse layouts or storage requirements change.

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C. Conveyor-based goods-to-person system

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• Automated storage equipment retrieves a tote.
• The tote is placed onto a conveyor.
• Conveyor sections transport it through the warehouse.
• Automated diverters route it to the correct workstation.

This approach is useful when multiple stations need to receive inventory.

www.roboticstomorrow.comwww.fortna.comwww.dematic.com

4. How does the system know where to send each tote?

The software coordinates the entire operation.

Here is a simplified example:

Imagine a customer orders:

• 2 mobile phone chargers
• 1 wireless mouse
• 3 USB cables

The system performs the following operations:

The software can also sequence tote deliveries so the operator receives the required inventory in an efficient order.

stonge.comautomation.honeywell.com

5. Overall system architecture

The following diagram illustrates the material flow and control flow.

Customer Order

Order requirements

WMS / WCS

Order processing and equipment coordination

Automated Storage System

AS/RS, shuttle or robotic retrieval

Material Transportation

Conveyor, lift or AMR

Fixed Picking Workstation

Operator receives inventory and picks products

Order Consolidation / Packing

Completed customer order

Simplified end-to-end goods-to-person workflow

6. Why use goods-to-person picking?

However, actual performance depends on storage design, equipment capacity, order profiles, station utilization, and system reliability.attabotics.com+2

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7. The most important concept to understand

The key distinction is between retrieving inventory and delivering inventory.

• Retrieval is performed by the AS/RS, shuttle, or robot.
• Transportation is performed by conveyors, lifts, or AMRs.
• Presentation occurs at the fixed workstation.
• Picking is performed by the operator or, in some installations, a robotic picking system.

These are separate but coordinated operations.

In simple terms: A GTP system works like an automated delivery service inside a warehouse. Software identifies the required product, machines retrieve it, transportation equipment delivers it to a fixed workstation, and the operator picks the required quantity.

For a deeper understanding, I can also explain the mechanical design of a shuttle-based GTP system, including how its lifts, conveyors, tote transfer mechanisms, and workstation interfaces operate together.

Goods-to-person (GTP) picking is an automated order fulfillment strategy that flips traditional warehousing on its head. Instead of workers walking miles through aisles to find and collect items (person-to-goods), intelligent material handling systems retrieve and transport the correct inventory directly to a stationary, ergonomic workstation (goods-to-person).kardex.com

Core Components of the GTP Mechanism

• Warehouse Management System (WMS) & Warehouse Execution System (WES): The digital brain of the operation. When an order is placed, the software calculates the most efficient sequence to pick items, determines where they are stored, and triggers the physical retrieval mechanism.kardex.com
• Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS): The physical hardware that stores inventory compactly. This can take several structural forms, such as vertical lift modules (VLMs), automated shuttles, cube-storage grids (like AutoStore), or mobile robotic drive units.kardex.com
• The Presentation/Work Station: A fixed, ergonomic location where the operator stands. It is usually equipped with auxiliary guidance tools like pick-to-light systems, touchscreens, or laser pointers to show the operator precisely which item and quantity to pick.kardex.com

Step-by-Step Delivery to a Fixed Station

1. Order Initiation: The WMS groups customer orders and releases a wave of picks, instantly determining which bins, shelves, or pods hold the required inventory.kardex.com
2. Automated Retrieval:
   • In a bot-based/pod system (e.g., mobile robots): Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) slide underneath heavy storage pods or racks, lift them entirely off the floor, and navigate across the warehouse floor using magnetic floor markers, QR codes, or LiDAR mapping.
   • In a crane/shuttle/cube system: High-speed vertical or horizontal automated cranes and robotic shuttles race down dense aisle structures, grab the exact plastic bin or tote containing the target SKU, and transport it to a conveyor or lift mechanism.
3. Transport and Sequencing: Totes or pods are routed to the designated workstation via integrated conveyor belts, vertical lifts, or direct robot driving. The system sequences the arrivals so that inventory arrives precisely in the order needed to pack the customer's box efficiently.
4. The Pick-and-Pack Process:
   • The correct bin or pod arrives right at the operator's fingertips.
   • A pick-to-light display or projector illuminates the exact compartment inside the bin and shows a digital readout of the quantity needed (e.g., "Pick 2").
   • The operator reaches into the "golden zone" (waist-to-chest level, requiring no bending or stretching), takes the item, and drops it into the awaiting shipping carton.kardex.com
5. Confirmation and Return: The operator presses a confirmation button, and the system logs the inventory decrement, routes the completed order carton away via conveyor, and automatically sends the storage bin or pod back into the dense storage matrix.

Key Advantages

• Ergonomics: Operators stay stationary, eliminating heavy walking, ladder climbing, and awkward bending.
• Accuracy & Speed: Pick-to-light guidance drastically cuts human error, and delivery times per item drop to seconds because travel time is completely eliminated.
• High Density Storage: ASRS infrastructure stacks inventory vertically and tightly, shrinking the required warehouse footprint.kardex.com

If you'd like, I can dive deeper into specific ASRS hardware types (like cube-storage vs. mobile robotic pods) or discuss how pick-to-light and pick-to-voice tech integrate at the workstation. Let me know how you want to proceed!