PART 2 – Deploying Large-Scale Goods-to-Person (GTP) Automation: How Modern Fulfillment Centers Make the Leap

By: Chris Mehl, Senior Director and Account Executive, Designed Conveyor Systems 

Part 1 of this two-part post focused on the decisions that inform the design of a large-scale goods-to-person automated system. Part 2 explores bringing a GTP system from design to reality. 

Deploying a GTP design requires as much planning and coordination as the engineering behind it. This is where the concepts on paper meet the operational pressures of a live fulfillment environment, and every decision—from software integration to installation sequencing—directly affects business continuity. 

DCS treats deployment as a coordinated transformation rather than a handoff. Every deployment aligns people, processes, and technology so the system comes online smoothly, safely, and without compromising daily throughput.

Software Integration

Large-scale goods-to-person warehouse automation systems only perform as well as the software that drives it. While the hardware may be the most visible part of the project, the real complexity—and the real performance potential—comes from aligning the new automation with the customer’s existing fulfillment ecosystem. 

Every GTP system operates with unique algorithms for tote delivery, pod sequencing, slotting logic, and decision-making. That requires a warehouse execution system (WES) capable of translating all those parameters into clean, reliable communication across platforms. The WES must also be able to parse inventory rules, task orchestration, and the nonstop flow of system messages that keep orders moving.

Because DCS is equipment-agnostic, every automated warehouse design incorporates the optimal technology for the operation—regardless of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or brand. Our proprietary WES, DATUM™, serves as the intelligence layer that synchronizes robots, shuttles, controls, and software ecosystems. This ensures the entire solution functions as a single, orchestrated system.

Phased Implementation

No large-scale GTP installation succeeds with a “flip the switch” approach. Whether it’s a greenfield build or a brownfield retrofit, DCS’ mission is the same: transform the operation without disrupting it. 

DCS brings delivery teams and project managers into the process early to map physical constraints, safety requirements, workflow realities, and the responsibilities on both sides of the project. Developing a step-plan that contemplates the various work streams is critical to identifying interdependencies, sequencing, integration risks, and decision gates.

These details are especially vital in brownfield environments, where facilities must continue shipping orders while equipment is being removed, shifted, or installed.

Applying a phased strategy mitigates risk while enabling the operation to maintain daily throughput targets during inventory transitioning and employee training, without sacrificing customer service. This discipline, combined with proactive communication with customer stakeholders, underscores every DCS deployment.

Realistic Timelines

While most large-scale GTP solutions fall within the nine- to 18-month deployment window, timelines depend on how early the project uncovers critical constraints. Delays almost always stem from surprises rather than complexity. 

Local permitting and code compliance—including fire protection requirements, egress adjustments, and seismic considerations—can extend schedules if they surface too late. Additional risks include supplier lead times, late-stage scope changes, or new business requirements introduced midstream.

DCS minimizes these risks by involving compliance experts from the start, ensuring the team understands local codes, building requirements, and inspection timelines before drawings are finalized and equipment is ordered. Eliminating blind spots at the outset is the single most effective way to keep large-scale deployments on schedule.

Commissioning & Tuning

To ensure peak functionality, deployment testing must mirror real operational conditions—not ideal scenarios. Effective test planning includes exception handling, historical problem cases, congestion events, workstation balancing, recovery logic, and peak-hour stress testing. The small percentage of exception workflows often represents the largest potential productivity loss, which is why validating and tuning them before go-live is essential.

DCS encourages customers to assign a dedicated test lead and a cross-functional testing group that understands day-to-day operational realities. Thorough training and iterative tuning during commissioning ultimately determine whether the system reaches its promised throughput on day one and scales reliably during peak.

Measuring Success and Return on Investment (ROI)

For large-scale goods-to-person warehouse automation systems, success isn’t defined only by performance on day one—it’s defined by whether the system meets the objectives established at the very beginning of the project. For that reason, DCS encourages customers to define their long-term success metrics early and revisit them throughout design, implementation, and commissioning. Those targets become the lens through which ROI is ultimately measured.

Productivity, accuracy, and scalability remain the core quantifiable metrics. A properly designed GTP system routinely enables operators to achieve 400–1,000+ lines per hour—productivity levels manual processes cannot approach. Accuracy climbs to 99.9% or higher, significantly reducing returns and elevating the customer experience. And because capacity can grow through incremental additions—robots, shuttles, storage modules, or workstations—the system scales without wholesale redesign.

Ultimately, however, real ROI only becomes clear once the system stabilizes. No operation is 100% effective on day one. The true measure comes three to six months after go-live, once workflows settle, teams gain proficiency, and tuning refinements are complete. At that point, leaders can compare actual throughput, accuracy, and labor efficiency against the operational models created at the start of the project.

Success is achieved when the system consistently meets peak-day requirements, aligns with long-range volume projections, and demonstrates the performance levels the modeling predicted. When those conditions are met, the investment delivers exactly what large-scale GTP automation is designed to provide: predictable, repeatable, scalable fulfillment performance that positions the operation for the future.

Partner with DCS to Deploy Goods-to-Person Warehouse Automation at Scale—Without Disrupting Operations

As SKU counts grow and service-level expectations continue to rise, high-volume fulfillment operations are under constant pressure to move faster, handle more variability, and absorb peak demand without sacrificing accuracy or uptime. Large-scale goods-to-person warehouse automation has become the execution layer that makes that possible—but only when it’s deployed with discipline.

DCS helps operations move from design intent to operational reality. Through phased deployment strategies, software-first integration, and rigorous commissioning, we ensure GTP systems deliver the throughput, reliability, and scalability they were designed for—without disrupting the business in the process. Partner with DCS to deploy with confidence and build an automation platform that performs not just at go-live, but for every peak season ahead.