WMS, Warehouse Labor & Fulfillment worked example

Order Picking Labor Load at 12% setup, travel, and delay allowance: a worked example

Push setup, travel, and delay allowance up to 12% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it when order picking labor load in wms, warehouse labor and fulfillment is changing rate or allowance and you want to see the impact.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Order lines to pick this shift: 120 units (unchanged)
  • Picks completed per minute: 12 units / min (unchanged)
  • Setup, travel, and delay allowance: 12 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 10)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Base order picking labor load time = order picking labor load workload รท order picking labor load completion rate) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 11.2 hr for required order picking labor load time, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 10 hr for base order picking labor load time.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 12 % for order picking labor load allowance applied.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 12 pieces / min for order picking labor load completion rate.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where setup, travel, and delay allowance sits at 10% and the headline result is 11 hr, this scenario comes in 1.82% above the baseline at 11.2 hr.
  • It divides pick workload by pick rate to get base hours, then multiplies by an allowance factor to give the required labor hours you should actually staff. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Required order picking labor load time: 11.2 hr (headline result)
  • Base order picking labor load time: 10 hr
  • Order picking labor load allowance applied: 12 %
  • Order picking labor load completion rate: 12 pieces / min

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Order Picking Labor Load calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.