Industry 05 · Pallet DC · Cross-dock · Production · Heavy duty

Heavy pallets.
Long distances.
Big volumes.

Pallet warehousing is the classic logistics operation: heavy goods, long distances between in and out, and flows that run for full days at the same throughput. We build the spine — physical and digital.

Typical operation profile
Pallets / day500 – 5,000
Weight / pallet300 – 1,500 kg
Pallet locations5,000 – 80,000
Operating shifts2 – 3 shifts / day
Reduced forklift trafficprimary goal

Typical pallet warehousing pain points

What hurts pallet DCs.

Recurring complaints we hear from operations directors in production warehouses and pallet 3PL.

Forklift distances

Operators do kilometers per shift between dock and rack. Labor costs + accident risk + forklift wear.

Crossing traffic

Loaded forklifts + people at picking + trucks at the dock — permanent collision zones.

Receiving / dispatch bottleneck

All flows converge at the docks. Without conveyors, docks queue at peak hours.

Inflexible pallet AS/RS

Classic crane-stocker is expensive and hard to extend. Integrating with MPP I/O gives flexibility without high cost.

SSCC traceability

Without automatic scan at every point, pallets get lost in the warehouse. WMS sees total stock, not real location.

Supplier delivery windows

Suppliers have fixed windows. If receiving can't keep up, trucks wait — demurrage costs and tense relationships.

Typical flow in a pallet DC

Five stations. Forklift cut to the bare minimum.

This is what a pallet DC automated by ZEDlog looks like. Forklift remains for special cases — the spine is MPP + AS/RS.

01
Automated receiving

Pallets directly onto MPP from the dock. SSCC scan, zone allocation.

MPP · WCS
02
Receiving buffer

Zero-pressure accumulation on MPP before storage.

MPP
03
AS/RS storage

Crane-stocker on pallets, max density, automatic FIFO.

AS/RS · MPP I/O
04
Order picking

Full pallet or case-pick. MPP delivers to ergonomic station.

MPP · WCS
05
Dispatch

Final pallets to dock by route. Manifest + ASN + TMS integration.

MPP · WCS + integration

Typical post-implementation results

Numbers that matter in pallet logistics.

Figures from projects we've completed — variation depends on starting state and profile.

−65%
forklift traffic in warehouse
2.2×
receiving throughput per dock
+50%
storage density (AS/RS vs. classic rack)
24–34
months payback typical ROI

Portfolio reference

FMCG manufacturer · Romania · 2023.

Supply Chain Director

"Before we had 18 forklifts in permanent traffic. Now there are 6 — the rest of the roles are done by MPP. Workplace accident costs dropped to zero in 14 months."

Anonymized at client request · Confirmation available for 1:1 meetings
−67%
active forklifts
+48%
pallets shipped per day
20
months from start to go-live
29
months realized payback

Fewer forklifts. More pallets.

Send us the layout + pallets / day + number of locations — we propose an MPP + AS/RS spine and estimate the forklift traffic reduction in 10 days.