AMR, AGV & Intralogistics Automation worked example

Autonomous Forklift Payback Calculator with autonomous forklift project investment of 280,000 $: a worked example

This worked example runs the autonomous forklift payback calculator numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: autonomous forklift project investment of 280,000 $ instead of the typical 560,000 $. Estimate autonomous forklift payback from project investment, annual labor savings, and annual support cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Autonomous forklift project investment: 280,000 $ (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 560,000)
  • Annual pallet-handling savings: 210,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)
  • Annual fleet support and software cost: 52,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Net annual pallet-handling savings = annual pallet-handling savings - annual fleet support and software cost.
  • Autonomous forklift payback period works out to 1.77 yr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Net annual pallet-handling savings works out to 158,000 $ / yr at these inputs.
  • Autonomous forklift project investment works out to 280,000 $ at these inputs.
  • Five-year autonomous forklift net value works out to 510,000 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where autonomous forklift project investment sits at 560,000 $ and the headline result is 3.54 yr, this scenario comes in 50% below the baseline at 1.77 yr.
  • Use it when scoping an AMR/AGV forklift deployment for put-away, replenishment, or trailer loading and you need a fast payback figure before a detailed business case. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Autonomous forklift payback period: 1.77 yr (headline result)
  • Net annual pallet-handling savings: 158,000 $ / yr
  • Autonomous forklift project investment: 280,000 $
  • Five-year autonomous forklift net value: 510,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Autonomous Forklift Payback Calculator calculator, set autonomous forklift project investment to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.