The Future of Warehouse Robotics Beyond Palletizers and Cobots
Packaging plays a vital role in today’s fast-paced business landscape, ensuring product protection, preservation, and presentation. As the packaging industry continues to grow and adapt to changing market demands, it’s crucial for companies to stay ahead and offer exceptional packaging solutions. To provide insights into this dynamic landscape, we have developed Packaging Talks – a series of conversational panels with Crawford’s packaging experts. Whether you’re a business owner, a packaging professional, or simply curious, our panels aim to offer valuable information and inspiration.
In this installment of our Packaging Talks, we chat with Jason Varga, Crawford’s Equipment, Parts & Service Manager, about autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) and how they will revolutionize the materials handling industry.
What trends are you currently seeing in the material handling industry?
Over the past five years, automation has really taken off. What used to be a slow, steady shift has turned into something much faster—and a big reason for that is labour shortages, especially when it comes to forklift operators.
Companies aren’t just investing in automation for ROI or labour savings anymore. In a lot of cases, they’re doing it because they need a reliable way to keep things moving when staffing or equipment availability is unpredictable.
Another trend we’re seeing is a big push toward integration. New automation isn’t being added in isolation—it’s being designed to work seamlessly with existing systems like warehouse management platforms and other equipment. That kind of connectivity gives teams real-time visibility into what’s happening on the floor and makes it much easier to adjust on the fly and keep everything running efficiently.
What are your thoughts on autonomous forklifts?
Honestly, the future is already here. I remember visiting one of the first autonomous warehouses in the U.S. about eight years ago and watching driverless forklifts unload trailers—it felt like something we wouldn’t see for decades.
Now, that same technology is widely available and much easier to implement.
Autonomous forklifts and AGVs can be up and running pretty quickly, and they integrate well into day-to-day operations. They’re incredibly precise—down to about a centimetre—and they can move through busy environments with confidence, picking up and placing loads consistently.
What’s really interesting is how they’re starting to influence warehouse design. New facilities are being built with automation in mind from day one, which changes how space is used and how workflows are structured.
Can you expand on how AGVs are changing operations?
AGVs are a huge driver of productivity. They can run almost around the clock, they recharge themselves, and they take over a lot of the repetitive travel that would normally tie up your team. That frees people up to focus on more valuable work.
When you look at the full picture—labour, training, maintenance, even damage caused by operators—most companies are seeing a return in under two and a half years.
Safety is another big piece. People make mistakes—it happens. Whether it’s bumping into racking or mishandling a load, those incidents add up. AGVs are equipped with sensors and collision-avoidance systems that react almost instantly, which helps reduce both accidents and product damage.
They’re also built to last. Some units have logged over 25,000 hours on the same set of wheels. Compare that to traditional forklifts, where you’re often dealing with maintenance issues, rising costs, and long wait times for parts. From a total cost of ownership perspective, AGVs are becoming a much more predictable option.
What environments are best suited for AGVs?
Warehouses and distribution centres are a natural fit, especially larger facilities where there’s a lot of travel involved. In many cases, operators spend a big portion of their time just moving from point A to point B without carrying anything. Even in well-run operations, that inefficiency is hard to eliminate.
AGVs solve that by taking over those repetitive movements, so your team can focus on tasks that actually require skill and decision-making.
They’re also really effective in manufacturing environments. They can keep production lines supplied with raw materials, move finished goods to the next stage, and help reduce congestion on the floor.
At the end of the day, they’re very adaptable. With the right setup, AGVs can fit into almost any operation where there’s consistent material movement.