AMR, AGV & Intralogistics Automation worked example

Manual Travel Reduction Calculator at 58% travel captured by automation: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop travel captured by automation to 58%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate labor savings from avoided walking or forklift travel distance, cost per distance unit, capture share, and fixed implementation cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Avoided manual travel distance: 62,000 ft or m (held at the documented default)
  • Labor cost per distance unit: 0.18 $ / distance unit (held at the documented default)
  • Travel captured by automation: 58 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 80)
  • Fixed route improvement value: 1,800 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Captured travel reduction value = avoided manual travel distance × labor cost per distance unit × travel captured by automation.
  • Net manual travel reduction value works out to 8,273 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Labor cost per distance unit works out to 0.13 $ / distance unit at these inputs.
  • Captured travel reduction value works out to 6,473 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed route improvement value works out to 1,800 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where travel captured by automation sits at 80% and the headline result is 10,728 $, this scenario comes in 22.89% below the baseline at 8,273 $.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to travel captured by automation, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It values travel time at a labor rate and assumes captured travel truly disappears; if operators backfill the freed time with other low-value tasks, the savings won't show in headcount.

Results at a glance

  • Net manual travel reduction value: 8,273 $ (headline result)
  • Labor cost per distance unit: 0.13 $ / distance unit
  • Captured travel reduction value: 6,473 $
  • Fixed route improvement value: 1,800 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Manual Travel Reduction Calculator calculator, set travel captured by automation to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.