A fleet manager (or fleet management system) is the supervision software that orchestrates several material-handling robots (AGVs, AMRs) on the same site: it allocates missions, manages priority and traffic at intersections, tracks battery levels and centralizes the real-time status of each machine.
Fleet manager: functions and concrete examples
Without a fleet manager, each robot would operate in isolation, with a risk of collisions at crossings and suboptimal task allocation. The fleet manager receives mission requests (often sent by the WMS or an operator), allocates them based on the availability and position of each robot, manages right-of-way priorities, and triggers battery charging before levels become critical.
The autonomous pallet truck illustrates this function with its supervision platform: task dispatch, API-based control, voice commands and call buttons, optional IoT integration with elevators and automatic doors, and multi-robot coordination that keeps working even without an external network connection (edge intelligence). Toyota Material Handling offers equivalent supervision with its T-ONE platform; Balyo relies on a digital twin of the site to orchestrate its fleet; STILL builds its offer around "iGo Systems".
The fleet manager does not replace the WMS: it controls the robots, not the inventory. The two systems usually communicate via a software interface or a WCS, which translates a picking order into a concrete robotic mission. Interoperability between fleet managers from different brands relies on standards such as VDA 5050 — see the dedicated entry.
The robot is controlled via its supervision platform, the manufacturer's multi-robot dispatch and supervision platform, with fleet coordination that keeps working even without an external network. Discover the robot or contact our team to connect your fleet to your WMS.
FAQ
Does a fleet manager replace the WMS?
No. The WMS manages inventory, storage locations and warehouse orders; the fleet manager only controls the robots (missions, traffic, batteries). The two systems usually communicate via an interface or a WCS to turn a WMS order into a robotic mission.
Can a single fleet manager control robots from different brands?
It depends on how interoperable the machines are. A standard such as VDA 5050 makes multi-brand supervision from a single piece of software easier; otherwise, each manufacturer often imposes its own proprietary fleet manager, which can limit the fleet's ability to evolve over time.
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