Warehouse Optimization 10 min read

Are Your Workers Walking Too Much? Here’s How AI and Warehouse Automation Can Fix It

Table of contents:

  • The Hidden Cost of Excessive Walking in Warehouses
    How unnecessary movement slows fulfillment, increases fatigue, and raises labor costs.

  • Why Workers Walk Too Much: Key Inefficiencies
    The common warehouse issues that force workers to take extra steps.

  • The Smarter Solution: AI-Powered Warehouse Automation
    How AI reduces walking through intelligent batching, optimized pick paths, and workflow synchronization.

  • Beyond Walking: Improving Ergonomics and Efficiency
    How AI-driven slotting, pick sequencing, and simulations create a safer, more productive workspace.

  • Is Your Warehouse Ready to Reduce Worker Fatigue?
    Next steps for optimizing fulfillment and improving warehouse efficiency with AI.

Warehouse workers walk an average of 5 to 10 miles per shift, with some distribution centers reporting 12 miles—the equivalent of a half marathon every day. Add to that lifting heavy boxes, constant bending, and repetitive movements, and fatigue quickly becomes a major drain on productivity. 

AI-powered warehouse automation is changing that. inVia Logic WES software reduces walking, minimizes worker fatigue, and boosts productivity—all without adding labor. This article explains how.

The Problem: Miles of Unproductive Walking 

In many distribution centers, workers spend a significant portion of their shifts walking from one location to another—retrieving items, moving between pick zones, or transporting orders to packing stations. Warehouses already know the impact of excessive walking: slower order fulfillment times, increased errors, and higher labor costs due to inefficient workflows. Let’s take a look at common causes of excessive walking:
  • Serpentine-like pick paths force workers to take long, inefficient routes.
  • Inefficient order batching requires multiple trips to the same location.
  • Poor SKU slotting impacts both ergonomics and efficiency.
  • Warehouse traffic congestion creates bottlenecks and slows productivity.
  • Inefficient workflows cause unnecessary delays and more walking.
These inefficiencies not only slow operations but also take a toll on workers, leading to higher fatigue, increased injuries, burnout, and lower retention rates.

The Smarter Solution: inVia’s AI-Powered Automation

Solving excessive walking in warehouses requires complex coordination of tasks, optimized routes, and real-time adjustments. inVia Logic address inefficiencies at their root by optimizing how orders are assigned, how workers move, and how inventory is placed.

– inVia SmartPath – Intelligent Batching and Path Planning

inVia Logic’s algorithm, inVia SmartPath, eliminates these inefficiencies through intelligent batching and path planning. The algorithm calculates the shortest and most efficient path for workers and robots. Orders are organized based on product proximity, so workers don’t have to revisit the same aisles multiple times. inVia’s Traffic Quality Index (TQI) algorithm also optimizes warehouse traffic to prevent bottlenecks. When the paths of individual pickers are predicted to overlap, AI dynamically recalculates those paths to avoid aisle congestion and slowdowns.

inVia Logic algorithms reduce warehouse walking by batching orders and sending your people on the most efficient pick paths.

The image above shows the difference between a traditional path and an AI-optimized path using inVia SmartPath:

  • On the left, workers follow serpentine picking paths, covering 12 miles per shift while picking only 70 units per hour.
  • On the right, inVia SmartPath cuts walking distance in half (to 6 miles) and more than doubles productivity to 150 units per hour. Instead of following inefficient routes, the algorithm optimizes paths based on shortest distance and intelligent order grouping (red dots represent SKUs assigned to the worker based on proximity to eliminate repetitive trips to the same aisle).

Another powerful way to reduce worker walking is through inVia PickerWall Goods-to-Person automation. inVia PickerWall eliminates unnecessary travel by bringing items directly to workers, so they can stay in one location rather than walking across the warehouse. When combined with inVia SmartPath, this system reduces walking by up to 90%, significantly lowering fatigue while maximizing productivity.

– Ergonomics and Smarter Pick Sequencing

Optimizing pick paths is only part of the equation. To further enhance efficiency, a warehouse must also consider how items are picked. Yet, traditional picking methods often neglect ergonomics and pick sequencing.

inVia Logic optimizes inventory slotting and pick sequencing to make handling inventory easier on workers.  For example, it ensures high-demand SKUs are placed in the “golden zone”—the space between knee and shoulder height, where items are easiest to reach. By analyzing order data and SKU velocity, AI dynamically determines the best slotting locations, reducing excessive bending and stretching.

For heavy SKUs, inVia Logic optimizes cart configurations and pick sequences so heavier items are placed on the bottom of the cart and guides workers to lift in a way that reduces strain and fatigue.

inVia Logic Ergonomic Cart Configuration

By integrating AI-driven slotting, sequencing, and workload distribution, warehouse automation reduces fatigue, prevents injuries, and speeds up fulfillment—all without increasing labor.

– Using Simulations to Optimize SKU Placement

AI-powered simulation tools, like Twin IQ intelligent simulation, help warehouses test and refine slotting strategies before making physical changes. By analyzing real warehouse data in a virtual model, AI determines the most efficient SKU placements to reduce worker travel and fatigue.

For instance, the simulation below tests whether positioning high-demand SKUs at the edges of pick aisles improves productivity and reduces walking. This small adjustment, which allows workers to grab high-demand items quickly without maneuvering deep into narrow aisles, led to a 3% efficiency gain without requiring infrastructure changes—an easy win for productivity.

– Optimizing Workflows to Reduce Unnecessary Movement

Reducing excessive walking isn’t just about where workers go—it’s about when and how tasks are assigned. Without AI-driven coordination, workers often experience idle time between picks, unnecessary backtracking, and inefficient task handoffs, all of which increase fatigue and slow fulfillment.

inVia Logic doesn’t just optimize movement—it synchronizes workflows. AI assigns tasks in real time, making sure workers move efficiently from one job to the next without unnecessary downtime. By coordinating picking, replenishment, and putaway in a steady flow, inVia Logic cuts out wasted steps, reduces fatigue, and keeps operations moving faster.

 

Walking Less, Picking More: The inVia Logic Advantage

Long pick paths, disorganized workflows, and poor slotting make workers take extra steps, leading to fatigue and slowing down fulfillment.

AI-powered warehouse automation fixes that. inVia Logic streamlines movement—grouping orders efficiently, cutting down walking, improving pick sequences, and keeping workflows running smoothly in real time. By eliminating wasted steps, automation helps warehouses get more done, lower labor costs, and create a safer, more efficient workplace.

Want to see how AI can improve your warehouse? 
Request a demo to speak to our experts!