AS/RS
automated storage and retrieval system
A machine travels on rails between rows of racking, puts goods into a free place and later fetches them on instruction, with nobody on board. The goods are delivered to the end of the aisle, where a person or a conveyor takes over. It packs a lot of stock into a small footprint and cuts walking; this kind of system is called an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS).
AS/RS is a family, not one machine. It ranges from a crane in each aisle that carries pallets, through mini-loads for bins, to shuttles on every rack level and robots on top of a grid. Each has its own entry in this glossary.
The common thread is that goods move between storage and the work station by machine, and that the machine has to be told exactly where each item is. That is why the stock record has to be right before the machine is switched on.
When it pays off
It pays off when labour is costly or hard to find, floor space or building height is limited, and the range is stable enough to set up once, with high volumes through the same flow. It pays off less in small or fast-changing operations, with very varied item sizes, or where good layout and standard racking already do the job. Ask first whether slotting and layout would solve the problem, because automation automates whatever flow it is given. It is a long-lived fixed asset: it suits a business that will look much the same in ten years.
What the warehouse system does with it
An AS/RS is one of the machines that a warehouse management system, or a control layer beneath it, sends tasks to. The WMS sends store this unit, or retrieve that unit to that station. The machine confirms: unit at location, unit delivered, or a fault. The WMS keeps the stock and order view while the machine keeps track of where each pallet or bin physically is, and the two have to agree on every location. Between them there is often a control layer that turns WMS tasks into machine moves.
Who makes it
Daifuku, Dematic, Mecalux, Savoye, SSI Schäfer, Stöcklin
In alphabetical order. Not a ranking or a recommendation.
In practice
A food distributor ships pallets to supermarkets from a cold store where every cubic metre is costly. Cranes in narrow aisles stack the pallets up to the roof. When a truck is to be loaded, the WMS tells the system which pallets to retrieve and in which order, and they arrive at the dock in loading sequence.
Further reading
Related terms
Ready to see BizBloqs on your own process?
Book a demo and we will walk your warehouse and order flow end to end — inbound, storage, picking, shipping, returns — and tell you honestly what BizBloqs would change.
Two questions about your own operation
How many of your articles sit in a pick location they empty less than once a month?
Part one: Laying out a warehouse does not start with the racking
After your last integration, how many systems hold a stock quantity for the same item? Name them.