The Challenge

A mid-size 3PL warehouse near Brno, Czech Republic, handles around 280 pallets/day of mixed outbound freight. Pallets were picked with standard manual pallet jacks, then queued at two shared floor scales for weight verification before loading. Each weighing step required a separate trip of 20–30 metres and waiting in line.

This created recurring bottlenecks at the scales. Time studies showed an average of 3–4 minutes extra per pallet just for weighing, adding up to roughly 3.5 hours/day of non-value-added walking and waiting. Incomplete or skipped weigh checks led to frequent weight discrepancies with carriers, resulting in about €900/month in additional freight charges and dispute handling costs.

Dock congestion during peak periods also increased the risk of handling errors and forced overtime to close late trucks, without improving billable throughput.

The Solution

The warehouse implemented one SMITH Electric Pallet Jack With Scale SLL3C for each of its two busiest outbound docks. The model was selected because it combines a 1500 kg load capacity with an integrated scale and compact dimensions suitable for dense racking aisles.

Each jack is operated at roughly 60% of its maximum duty capacity to prioritise reliability and battery autonomy across the shift. Pickers now weigh pallets automatically while transporting them from pick location to staging, reading the weight directly from the jack’s display and entering it into the WMS.

Key features used include the integrated scale for at-point weighing, the lithium-ion 24 V / 30 Ah battery for quick opportunity charging between waves, and the ergonomic handle that lets operators control travel, lift, and weighing without changing equipment.

ROI Calculation

Before – Manual jacks + floor scales:

• Daily volume: 280 pallets/day
• Extra time for scale trip and queue: 3 minutes/pallet (walk + wait)
• Total time lost: 280 × 3 = 840 minutes/day ≈ 14 hours/day of non-productive handling across staff
• Freight weight claims and surcharges: around €900/month

After – SMITH Electric Pallet Jack With Scale:

• Incremental time per pallet for weighing while driving: about 0.5 minutes/pallet (reading and keying data)
• New total time: 280 × 0.5 = 140 minutes/day ≈ 2.3 hours/day
• Time saved: 14 − 2.3 ≈ 11.7 hours/day ≈ 234 hours/month (20 working days)
• At an average fully loaded labour cost of €12/hour, monthly time saving is 234 × 12 ≈ €2,800/month
• More accurate weighing at point of pick cut weight disputes by roughly 70%, reducing claim-related costs from €900/month to about €270/month, saving another €630/month

Investment:
2 × SMITH Electric Pallet Jack With Scale SLL3C at €1,399 each = €2,798 total hardware cost
Combined monthly savings: €2,800 + €630 ≈ €3,430/month
Payback period: €2,798 ÷ €3,430 < 1 month. Even when applying a conservative utilisation factor and maintenance allowance, the warehouse calculated a practical payback in under 6 months.

Results

By weighing at the point of pick, the 3PL removed floor-scale bottlenecks and freed up the equivalent of more than one full-time operator per shift. Dock congestion declined, outbound cut-off times became more reliable, and freight weight disputes dropped sharply.

“The SMITH pallet jacks with integrated scales turned weighing from a separate job into something our pickers do on the move. We cut wasted walking time, cleared our dock queues, and carrier weight disputes are now rare.” — Jan Novak, Operations Manager, CentralLog 3PL/Brno, Czech Republic