Fulfillment model

Goods-to-Person

Maximize labor productivity by bringing goods to people, not people to goods.

In person-to-goods operations, workers spend a significant part of the shift traveling between storage locations. As SKU counts grow and demand shifts across the assortment, that travel makes productivity harder to sustain.

Goods-to-Person uses automated storage or mobile robotic systems to deliver inventory directly to pick stations.

Operators or robotic pick points stay in place while work is continuously sequenced to keep stations fed, balanced, and productive. The model is especially effective for high-SKU operations where labor efficiency and picks per hour are primary design objectives.

Process flow

How Goods-to-Person keeps pick stations productive

Inventory is stored in dense automated systems and delivered to pick stations on demand. At each station, operators—or robotic picking systems where used—complete the required picks while work is sequenced to maintain a balanced workload. Picked units move onward in totes, while replenishment and order picking are coordinated so stations remain productive without creating downstream queues.

Orchestrated by COFE®

COFE® sequences bot tasks, balances workload across pick stations, coordinates replenishment with order picking, and manages tote flow—keeping stations fed and maximizing picks per labor hour.

Expected operational outcomes

2–3×

Picks per labor hour vs. person-to-goods, By reducing travel between storage locations.

90%+

Pick station utilization.

Scalable output

Without proportional labor growth.

Solution fit

How Goods-to-Person compares

Goods-to-Person is designed for high-SKU operations where labor availability is constrained and increasing productivity is critical to scaling output

Dimension	High-Volume eCommerce	Right-Sized Fulfillment	Goods-to-Person	Omnichannel Fulfillment
Typical daily volume	50K–300K+ orders/day	5K–50K orders/day	10K–150K orders/day	25K–200K combined orders/day
Order & inventory profile	25K+ SKUs; single- and multi-unit parcel orders	5K–30K SKUs; multi-item consolidation	25K+ SKUs; broad assortment	High-SKU; shared inventory; mixed order types
Channels	eCommerce	eCommerce + some retail or B2B	eCommerce + retail replenishment	eCommerce + retail + wholesale + DC-to-DC
Fulfillment approach	Conveyor + unit sortation	Manual flow + targeted automation	ASRS or AMRs feeding pick stations	Mixed automation + shared resources
Primary objective	Increase throughput and lower cost per unit	Efficiency through selective automation	Increase output with available labor	Balance channels from one inventory pool

Scroll to compare →

Not sure which model fits your operation?

VARGO® helps determine the right model—or combination of models—based on how your operation actually runs.