AGVs, AMRs, and forklifts —
sized and routed together

The problem nobody talks about: vehicles sharing space

Fleet sizing studies almost always focus on one vehicle type at a time. How many AGVs do we need? How many AMRs? How many forklifts for the manual zones? Each question gets answered in isolation — by the vendor, by a spreadsheet, or by rough calculation.

The result is a facility where each fleet was sized correctly on paper, but in practice the vehicles interfere with each other constantly. An AGV on a fixed route blocks an AMR that needs to reroute. A forklift taking a wide turn at the loading dock creates a recurring queue for three AGVs waiting to charge. None of this shows up in a single-vehicle calculation.

Three vehicle types, three different modelling challenges

How simulation handles the whole picture

A Simio simulation model places all vehicle types in the same environment simultaneously. Each AGV follows its routing logic, each AMR navigates dynamically, each forklift moves according to its task list and operator behaviour parameters. They share aisles, intersections, charging infrastructure, and loading docks — and the model captures every interaction.

This means you can test questions no spreadsheet can answer: What happens to AGV throughput when forklift shift patterns change? Does switching from 12 AGVs to 8 AMRs maintain throughput — and what does the aisle conflict profile look like? Can three more forklifts replace two broken AGVs during peak season without throughput collapse?

What you get at the end

Deliverables include: the Simio model file, a scenario comparison report with throughput and utilisation curves for each vehicle type, an aisle conflict analysis, and a written recommendation. If your plans change after delivery — new vehicle specs, revised throughput targets, a layout change — the model reruns.

AGV vs AMR vs forklift — what the model captures

Model element	AGV	AMR	Forklift
Navigation behaviour	Fixed route + traffic rules	Dynamic SLAM pathfinding	Task-driven, variable
Charging / energy model	Scheduled or opportunity charging	Opportunity charging at docks	Shift-based refuelling
Fleet coordination	Central dispatcher logic	TMS zone reservations	Manual coordination
Interference with other types	Modelled at every intersection	Dynamic avoidance simulated	Variable obstruction modelled
Failure / downtime	MTBF/MTTR distributions	MTBF/MTTR distributions	Operator absence, breaks

What data do we need?

The more you have, the more precise the result — but we can start with design targets and known vehicle specs:

• Floor plan or CAD layout — with aisle widths, turning radii constraints, shared zones marked
• Vehicle specifications — speed, payload, turning radius, charging time for each vehicle type
• Task profiles — what each vehicle type does, how many trips per shift, pick/drop locations
• Forklift shift patterns — number of operators, shift start/end, break schedules
• Throughput targets — pallets per hour, orders per shift, or transport tasks per hour
• AMR traffic management system — vendor and version if already selected; if not, we model a representative TMS

Tools & technology

All fleet simulation work is built in Simio, using our proprietary intralogistics framework — pre-validated components for AGV fixed-path routing, AMR dynamic navigation modelling, forklift task logic, shared intersection management, and multi-type charging coordination. For fleet composition optimisation problems with multiple simultaneous constraints, we layer in IBM Decision Optimization.

We model all major AGV vendors (Jungheinrich, Still, Dematic, SSI Schäfer, and others), AMR platforms (Mobile Industrial Robots, Locus, Fetch, Geek+), and standard forklift types. Vendor-specific behaviour can be parameterised directly from the technical datasheet — no vendor plugin required.