Do not order one handheld for every employee on the roster—or assume that one device can serve two shifts just because their scheduled hours do not overlap. For each non-interchangeable device pool, add the devices in use, unavailable in turnaround and required as ready replacements in each time interval; use the largest interval total as the initial pool requirement. A cross-shift pool can be smaller than the workforce, but only if handover, charging and application sign-in fit the interval.
This guide addresses fleet quantity and the complete kit for a shared warehouse handheld program. The spare-device guide asks whether a replacement is ready for a particular job; this one asks how many usable devices must exist simultaneously, when, and for which roles. The figures below are an editorial example, not a staffing norm or an AIDC GO deployment result.
Start with a time-and-role map, not a headcount
For each work interval, list the operators who actually need a handheld and the approved configuration for each task. A picker, a receiving operator and a freezer worker may not be able to exchange devices, even if the hardware shares a brand. Separate pools when the scan range, keypad, application, accessory, temperature condition or management build differs. Count the peak for each non-interchangeable pool; do not average a busy hour with a quiet one.
Record actual clock times for starts, breaks, shift overlap and return. An outgoing operator may still be closing a pick task when an incoming operator needs to sign in. If both need a device at once, the same physical handheld cannot satisfy both positions. Microsoft’s frontline-worker Android guidance distinguishes shared devices from user-associated devices; its enrollment details apply to Microsoft Intune, not automatically to an AIDC GO model or another management system. The planning question is still universal: who may take a device, and when is it released for the next user?
Build a transparent quantity bridge
Use the table as a worksheet for each compatible device pool and each relevant interval. All three categories must refer to the same interval; a unit must appear in only one row. A unit that returns to service before a later interval should not be counted as unavailable then.
| Quantity component | What to measure | Common double count |
|---|---|---|
| Simultaneously in use | Measure: Distinct operators who need this approved configuration during the busiest observed interval, including shift overlap | Avoid double-counting: Adding both full shift rosters when most workers have already handed back devices |
| Unavailable in turnaround | Measure: Returned units that cannot be reissued by that same peak because they are charging, cleaning, updating or awaiting a required data/session check | Avoid double-counting: Adding every charger slot or every returned unit regardless of whether it is unavailable at the peak |
| Ready replacements | Measure: Role-compatible, charged and approved devices deliberately held available for a failure during that interval | Avoid double-counting: Counting unconfigured stock or the same unit as both active and spare |
For each compatible pool, calculate in use + unavailable in turnaround + required ready replacements in every relevant interval, then take the largest of those interval totals as the initial pool requirement. Do not choose only the interval with the most active users, or add three maxima taken from different times. For the incremental purchase, subtract only verified existing devices that can still serve that role, counting each physical device once. Quote charging slots and spare batteries separately against the actual turnaround plan; neither must mechanically equal the device total. If another role cannot share this configuration, calculate its pool separately.
Work one hypothetical overlap through the quote
Illustrative arithmetic only: in one overlap interval, 38 workers across two shifts need the same approved picking handheld at once. Two returned units remain unavailable during charge and reissue, and two configured, charged replacements must stay ready. These are distinct units, so that interval requires 38 + 2 + 2 = 42. Forty-two is the scenario’s initial pool total only if no other relevant interval has a higher combined total. If the two turnaround units are ready before this interval, its total becomes 40, but another interval could still set the requirement. If six of the 38 need a different freezer-approved build, calculate the two pools separately.
This is not a recommended ratio or a performance promise. Replace the editorial numbers with a shift trace, actual return-to-ready time and a written risk decision. A worksheet with timestamps is more useful than a claim that a device lasts “a shift”: charging, sign-out, cleaning and application sync may determine the next issue time. The shared-device handover guide covers pending work and the next user; battery-swap and shift-charging guidance covers power rotation. Neither substitutes for measuring the overlap.
Quote the return-to-ready system, not only the device
A low device count fails if a supposedly returned handheld is still carrying the prior user’s task, has insufficient charge, is missing its grip, or sits in a cradle that does not fit the delivered configuration. Specify the issue/return location, charger and slot count, power budget, spare batteries if applicable, cleaning interval, management build, application sign-out and responsibility for a missing unit. The charging-cradle guide separates physical slots, spare-battery charging and data connections.
As a named vendor example only, Zebra’s MC94 4-slot Charge Only ShareCradle documentation states that its specified cradle can charge up to four compatible MC94 mobile computers simultaneously and lists compatible battery variants. That does not establish that any AIDC GO handheld fits that cradle, that four units can finish charging inside this warehouse’s turnaround interval, or that a charge-only cradle distributes data. Require the exact proposed model, battery and cradle part numbers with their current manuals before putting a slot count in the purchase order.
For an optional managed pool, a vendor may provide check-out and status software. Zebra’s Device Guardian Access Management 2.0 documentation distinguishes its own system’s Available, In Use and Missing states. These are product-specific features, not a promise that the proposed AIDC GO kit includes location tracking, automated checkout or those states. A simple signed issue log may be appropriate if it closes the same operational question in the buyer’s process.
Decide what evidence changes the order quantity
Before approving the batch, run a representative peak interval with the intended application and accessory set. Record actual issue and return times, how long a returned unit remains unavailable, devices delayed by updates or charging, and whether the replacement can complete the same controlled task. A ten-minute demonstration outside a shift change cannot establish a 38-unit overlap. If the operation has seasonal peaks, model those as a separate scenario instead of hiding them in the average.
Compare three quote lines: active pool by compatible role, turnaround capacity including physical charging space and power, and ready replacement coverage. Ask for the actual device configuration, battery, dock/cradle, charger, holster or handle, management support, software handover path and service arrangements. Mark any unverified compatibility as a decision still open, not an included feature. Buy the smallest configuration that covers the measured peak and the chosen interruption risk—then retain the assumptions so a later shift redesign can change the quantity honestly.
Use the AIDC GO handheld category to identify candidate device forms and the contact route to discuss the documented shift map and complete kit. AIDC GO model-specific battery life, cradle compatibility, management support, price and supply terms must be confirmed in the actual quote; this article does not assert them.