Hi all,

we're running a mid-sized warehouse and order volume has been picking up lately. Up to now we've mainly used manual pallet trucks and a few counterbalance forklifts, but we're starting to hit some limits. Travel distances are getting longer and slowing things down, loading and unloading isn't as efficient as it could be, and the amount of manual handling is starting to wear people out over a full shift.

We're looking at switching to electric pallet trucks or possibly low-level order pickers, and also reviewing layout and material flow. Automation might come later, but not there yet.

I came across some options on Hubwagen.de, mainly compact electric pallet trucks with lithium batteries in the 1.5-2.0t range (like here i.e. https://www.hubwagen.de/Elektrohubwagen), plus some entry-level low-lift units that seem aimed at replacing manual trucks for longer runs. Looks like it could fit our situation, but I'd be interested if anyone here has real experience with them.

I also came across this short video comparing manual vs electric pallet trucks. It's a bit basic and more on the promotional side, but it still shows quite well the kind of differences we're currently thinking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQJQTKFWKo4

For those who've gone through similar changes:
-What had the biggest impact?
-Did electric pallet trucks noticeably improve throughput?
-When did automation start to make sense?

Appreciate any practical input. Thanks.