Shuttle Systems

1. Step 01

   Define the production requirement — product, volume, quality specification and growth horizon.

2. Step 02

   Translate it into a technical scope: throughput, tolerances, hygiene or containment class, automation level.

3. Step 03

   Map utilities, footprint and civil constraints against the candidate technology.

4. Step 04

   Issue a standardised RFQ so every supplier answers the same questions.

5. Step 05

   Evaluate technical compliance, references, lifecycle cost and delivery risk side by side.

6. Step 06

   Structure financing in parallel — not after supplier selection.

7. Step 07

   Negotiate contract, performance guarantees, spares and training as one package.

8. Step 08

   Manage manufacturing, factory acceptance testing, shipping and installation.

9. Step 09

   Commission, verify performance against the guarantee, and hand over with documentation.

• Start from output, not from machines. A specification that begins with "we need shuttle systems" invites incomparable offers; one that begins with product, volume and quality targets produces engineering answers.
• Define throughput at real conditions — actual raw material variation, real changeover frequency, planned maintenance windows — not at ideal laboratory conditions.
• Decide scope boundaries early: who owns integration, utilities, civil works, installation, commissioning and training.
• Evaluate total cost of ownership across at least ten years: energy, consumables, spares, labour, downtime and expected residual value.
• Confirm which standards apply in your destination market before you shortlist: CE machinery safety, fire and sprinkler design for racking, seismic design where relevant, IEC 62443 for control networks.
• Plan financing at specification stage. Financing structure often changes the optimal supplier and delivery terms.

• Verify comparable installed references — same product, similar capacity, similar climate and utility conditions — and speak to at least two of them.
• Test after-sales reality: response times, local service presence, spare parts stocking and remote support in your time zone.
• Require the documentation package in the offer: manuals, electrical drawings, P&IDs, spare parts lists and conformity declarations.
• Insist on measurable performance guarantees with a defined test protocol, test duration and remedy if the test fails.
• Assess financial stability and order-book load; a technically excellent supplier at capacity is a delivery risk.
• Where financing is involved, confirm the supplier can meet lender documentation and country-of-origin requirements.

• Sizing to average order profile
• Underestimating WMS/WCS integration effort
• Ignoring maintenance access in dense layouts
• Selecting on headline price rather than lifecycle cost.
• Leaving spare parts, training and commissioning outside the compared scope.
• Signing before performance test conditions are agreed in writing.

• Capacity definition: agree whether quoted throughput for shuttle systems is nominal, at rated conditions, or guaranteed OEE-adjusted output.
• Utility envelope: power, water, steam, compressed air, refrigeration and effluent load must be confirmed against site capability.
• Footprint and access: installation clearances, maintenance access and future expansion lanes.
• Controls architecture: PLC platform, network protocol, MES/ERP interfaces and cybersecurity posture.
• Materials of construction and compliance with CE machinery safety.
• Environmental conditions: ambient temperature, humidity, altitude, dust and voltage stability at the destination site.

OEE

Overall Equipment Effectiveness — availability × performance × quality; the honest measure of a line's real output.

FAT / SAT

Factory and Site Acceptance Testing — contractual verification before shipment and after installation.

TCO

Total Cost of Ownership — capex plus energy, spares, labour, downtime and disposal across the asset's life.

Turnkey

A single-responsibility scope covering engineering, supply, installation and commissioning to a performance guarantee.

Scope of supply

The precise boundary of what a supplier delivers — the most common source of budget overrun when left vague.

Performance guarantee

A contractual commitment to a measurable output, quality or consumption figure, with an agreed test protocol.

Lead time

Time from effective order to ex-works readiness; excludes shipping, installation and commissioning unless stated.

Spare parts package

Commissioning, wear and critical spares — priced with the machine, not after delivery.

Model the business case before you commit to a specification. The calculators start from assumptions relevant to this page — override capex, throughput, energy prices and financing terms to match your own project. Every figure is indicative and undiscounted unless stated; our procurement team validates the assumptions against real supplier quotations during the RFQ.

Financing is scoped alongside the RFQ, not after supplier selection — the funding route changes the optimal supplier, currency, incoterms and delivery schedule. Global B2B Group never lends, never takes a success fee from buyers and is not tied to any institution. Below are 7 routes buyers commonly compare; amounts, tenors and eligibility are set by each institution.

These destinations are ranked for this specific scope — adjacent equipment, comparable delivered projects and the financing routes that typically fund capex of this size. Free for buyers, human-led from first scope to commissioning.

• ISO — International Organization for Standardization
• UNIDO — Industrial development resources
• IFC — Environmental, health & safety guidelines