Is Half of Your Warehouse Travel Time Wasted?

Warehouse travel time represents one of the most overlooked drains on warehouse productivity. Conveyor belts, robotics and warehouse management systems may speed up processes, but poor slotting strategies and inefficient layouts still lead to wasted movement.
Oct. 21, 2025
3 min read

Key Highlights

  • Velocity-based and static slotting strategies keep high-demand items accessible, improving picking efficiency.
  • Cross-docking, zone picking and goods-to-person automation reduce unnecessary travel and increase throughput.
  • Data analytics tools like heat maps and WMS identify bottlenecks, enabling targeted improvements.
  • Real-time location systems and AI optimize routes, cutting down travel time and enhancing productivity.
  • Continuous measurement using KPIs and simulation modeling ensures scalable, long-term warehouse performance improvements.

Every extra step or second spent in transit adds to thousands of daily orders, quietly eroding profit margins and fulfillment speed. For modern operations, optimization is beyond efficiency. It involves reclaiming capacity, cutting costs and fully realizing the return on investment in automation.

The Role of Layout and Slotting Optimization

Velocity-based slotting continuously analyzes order data to keep the most frequently picked items close at hand. Meanwhile, static slotting works best for operations with stable product demand and consistent stock-keeping units (SKUs). Beyond slotting, cross-docking and zone picking ensure products flow directly to their next stage instead of backtracking through storage aisles.

Goods-to-person automation further enhances this efficiency. For example, automated mobile robots deliver items directly to pickers, boosting throughput and storage density by dedicating defined zones to robotic operations. However, efficiency should never come at the cost of safety. Balancing throughput goals with ergonomic design and safe workflows prevents fatigue and other hidden labor losses that undermine long-term productivity.

Diagnosing Travel Time and Inefficiency

Every unnecessary trip across aisles compounds into hours of lost productivity, which makes travel reduction one of the most effective levers for performance improvement. Professionals track pick density, distance per order line and touches per SKU to diagnose these inefficiencies. Modern analytics tools like warehouse management systems (WMS) and heat mapping software bring these insights to life, helping teams visualize high-traffic bottlenecks and inefficient pick paths.

Some warehouses have achieved up to 80% increases in product volume and 70% gains in inventory accuracy after adopting WMS, which underscores how data-driven optimization translates into measurable results. Yet as SKU proliferation grows and dynamic slotting algorithms occasionally misplace fast movers, travel inefficiency can reemerge and offset these gains. Addressing data accuracy and intelligent slotting ensures every step in the warehouse adds value.

Leveraging Technology to Reduce Wasted Motion

Real-time location systems, automated guided vehicles and AI-driven route optimization shorten warehouse travel paths by automating movement and optimizing routes in real time. When combined with Internet of Things sensors and predictive analytics, warehouses gain continuous performance insights. Meanwhile, machine learning anticipates SKU demand shifts and triggers proactive re-slotting. These innovations deliver productivity gains, which help operations move faster and smarter.

Measuring Return on Investment and Continuous Improvement

Key performance indicators such as orders per hour, cost per pick and energy use per movement help assess the success of warehouse travel-time reduction initiatives. These metrics help teams quantify improvements in cost control and sustainability. Before implementing major layout changes, simulation modeling can test different designs and traffic patterns, predicting how each adjustment affects throughput and labor.

Researchers often use these models to simulate multiple scheduling and inventory management scenarios, which provide a deeper understanding of how various strategies influence operational efficiency. Establishing a continuous improvement cycle ensures every optimization effort is scalable and aligned with long-term productivity goals.

Turning Travel Time into Throughput

Warehouse travel time is often underestimated, yet it represents one of the most recoverable sources of lost productivity. By analyzing and redesigning these patterns, teams can unlock significant time and cost savings without major infrastructure changes. Professionals should view travel analysis as a strategic performance lever that strengthens overall efficiency and profitability.

About the Author

Ellie Gabel

Ellie Gabel

Associate Editor | Revolutionized | Grid Media Services, LLC

Ellie Gabel is a writer and associate editor at Revolutionized, covering the latest innovations in tech and science for an audience of industry professionals. Throughout her 4 years of experience, she's written for sites such as Global Trade Magazine, The Cool Down and POWER Magazine. When Gabel isn't busy writing, she enjoys playing video games and spending time with her husband and their cats.

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