When most people picture a warehouse, they envision vast buildings filled with towering racks and long aisles, stocked with products from floor to ceiling. And that image isn’t far from the truth. At its core, a warehouse is about one essential function: storing and retrieving inventory at scale. But as demand grows for faster, more accurate fulfillment, the traditional warehouse model is rapidly evolving. At the center of this transformation is one of the most strategic investments logistics leaders can make in 2025: goods-to-person automation.
The Cost Drivers of Warehouse Operations
Warehouse operations are shaped by several major cost centers—labor, real estate, and insurance. Labor continues to be the most significant, both in terms of cost and risk. Warehouses face ongoing challenges such as labor shortages, rising wages, and high turnover. Real estate costs are equally pressing, particularly in urban or high-demand areas. Every square foot counts, and the ability to store and retrieve more items in less space has become a competitive advantage. Additionally, insurance premiums and liability exposures—from workplace injuries to equipment damage—compound the pressure to find safer, more efficient systems.
These are precisely the areas where Goods-To-Person automation delivers exceptional returns.
How Goods-to-Person Systems Solve Core Warehouse Challenges
Goods-to-person systems automate one of the most fundamental and labor-intensive warehouse tasks: walking. In traditional operations, pickers can spend more than 50% of their time simply walking between storage locations. Goods-To-Person solutions flip this model on its head—bringing items directly to the worker at a pick station—reducing travel time, improving throughput, and minimizing physical strain.
More importantly, Goods-To-Person systems optimize the very heart of warehouse activity: putaway, storage, and retrieval. By increasing storage density and reducing reliance on forklifts or manual navigation, Goods-To-Person automation enhances operational efficiency while reducing the risk of injury and product damage. The overall capacity and throughput of a warehouse are ultimately defined by the performance of its goods-to-person (G2P) system. All other supporting systems and processes are constrained by, or cannot exceed, the efficiency and speed of this core operational function.
Types of Goods-to-Person Solutions
The Goods-To-Person landscape includes a wide variety of systems designed for different inventory types, facility layouts, and throughput requirements:
- Shelf-to-Person Systems: Popularized by Amazon, these systems use Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) to transport entire shelving units to pick stations.
- Tote-to-Person Systems: Bins or totes containing goods are automatically brought to pickers using shuttles, AMRs, or conveyor systems.
- Unit Load or Pallet-to-Person Systems: Ideal for heavy or bulk items, these systems automate the delivery of full pallets to workstations.
- Pick-Assist AMRs: Robots accompany human pickers, guiding them to optimal pick paths and carrying items to packing stations—reducing walking while increasing pick rate efficiency.
Thanks to advances in robotics and software, these systems are more accessible than ever. AMR-based Goods-To-Person solutions in particular offer rapid deployment, often integrating with existing infrastructure without the need for major facility redesigns.
Proven Benefits Driving ROI
Goods-to-person systems are not only more attainable—they’re also more impactful. Companies investing in Goods-To-Person automation are seeing measurable improvements across every major KPI:
- Higher Throughput: Automated item delivery reduces dwell time between picks, enabling faster fulfillment of high-volume orders.
- Greater Accuracy: By directing items to fixed pick stations, Goods-To-Person systems reduce human error and improve order accuracy—minimizing returns and costly shipping chargebacks.
- Improved Scalability: Need to scale up for peak season? AMR-based systems can be easily expanded by adding more robots or stations, without reconfiguring your entire operation.
- Space Optimization: Goods-To-Person solutions maximize vertical and horizontal space utilization, allowing you to store more in less space—a crucial advantage in high-rent regions.
- Fewer Injuries and Errors: Reducing manual walking and lifting lowers the risk of warehouse incidents, contributing to safer work environments and lower insurance costs.
Flexible, Future-Proof Systems
One of the biggest advantages of modern Goods-To-Person automation is flexibility and reconfigurability. Reconfiguring AMR routes takes hours or days—not weeks—making your operation more agile and responsive to change.
Vertical Lift Modules, Horizontal Carousels and ASRS Stacker Cranes are fully self-contained systems that can work famously in stand-alone function or scale as they are partnered with systems like AI vision guided cobot picking robots, conveyors and sorters, AMRs and the like.
More Financing Options Than Ever
Cost used to be a major barrier to automation. Today, Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) and other flexible financing models are making Goods-To-Person solutions accessible to businesses of all sizes. These subscription-based services offer the ability to implement cutting-edge technology without the heavy upfront investment. With options for leasing, bundling service and maintenance, and scaling capacity based on usage, automation is no longer reserved for Fortune 500 operations.
Partnering with the Right Provider
Choosing the right technology partner is critical to successful automation. That’s where Streamline-IT stands apart. With a deep bench of experienced engineers, end-to-end solution design, and access to the most trusted brands in warehouse automation, Streamline-IT delivers a seamless path from strategy to implementation.
Whether you’re considering tote-to-person robotics, high-density shuttle systems, or pallet-handling AMRs, Streamline-IT offers turnkey solutions—including software integration, equipment sourcing, and ongoing service and support.
Final Thoughts
In 2025, the question isn’t if warehouse automation will be necessary—it’s how it will be implemented most effectively. Goods-to-person systems are not just a technological upgrade; they are a strategic investment in operational excellence, workforce sustainability, and business agility.
For organizations looking to boost performance while reducing costs, Goods-To-Person automation offers one of the smartest and most future-ready investments available.
