Choose by what your warehouse moves most each day. If most of the work is picking cartons or single items from several levels of racking, an order picker fits, because it lifts the operator up to the shelf. If most of it is putting away and retrieving full pallets, a reach truck fits, because it carries much heavier pallets at height. Hangcha's A Series high-level order picker carries 400 kg at 9.5 m, while the XC Series reach truck CQD25 still lifts 1,000 kg at 13 m. The two also need different licences: LO for a man-up order picker, where the operator rises with the load, and LF for a reach truck.
| Order picker | Reach truck | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Picking cartons or items by hand at height | Putting away and retrieving full pallets |
| Where the operator works | Rises with the platform and the load on medium and high-level models | Stays at ground level |
| Capacity at height (example) | A Series high-level 1.2 t: 1,200 kg to 3 m, 1,000 kg at 5 m (400 mm load centre) | XC Series CQD25: 1,950 kg to 10 m (600 mm load centre) |
| Aisle needed | Only picking: little wider than the truck, and the A Series narrow aisle 1.3 t is 1,015 mm wide. Stacking pallets: 3,535 mm for the A Series high-level 1.2 t | Always turns into the racking: 2,867 mm for the XC CQD25 with a 1000 x 1200 pallet |
| Licence | LO for man-up models | LF |
| Operator effort | Lifting cartons by hand at height | Looking up at the forks, no manual lifting |
| Best fit | Spare parts, e-commerce and distribution with many lines per order | Bulk pallet storage, cold stores and refilling pick faces |
The capacity and aisle rows usually settle the choice. Heavy pallets on the top beam point to a reach truck. Aisles too narrow for a reach truck to turn a crossways pallet, which takes at least 2,610 mm on a Hangcha reach truck, point to an order picker that only picks.
Does your warehouse need an order picker for items or a reach truck for pallets?
The deciding number is the mix of pallet moves and picking lines, not the height of the racking. Two warehouses with the same 8 m racking can need opposite machines: a spare parts store that picks a few items from hundreds of locations needs an order picker, such as the A Series high-level 1.2 t with picking heights up to 11.36 m, while a drinks distributor that moves whole pallets in and out needs a reach truck.
Count a normal week. Note how many full pallets go into and come out of the racking, how many picking lines are filled by hand, and at which levels the picking happens. Choosing by the top beam height alone can leave you with a machine that suits the racking but not the work.
How an order picker and a reach truck work differently
A reach truck is a man-down machine: the operator stays at floor level, and the mast or forks reach forward to place a whole pallet on the beam. An order picker is a man-up machine: the operator stands on a platform that rises with the forks, so they take cartons or items straight off the shelf. Medium and high-level order pickers share that layout. Low-level models such as the X Series 2.5 t come with a fixed or a lifting platform.
Order picker vs reach truck capacity at height
A reach truck carries heavier pallets at height than an order picker. The Hangcha A Series high-level order picker is rated at 1,200 kg up to 3 m, 1,000 kg at 5 m and 400 kg at its 9.5 m top fork height, all at a 400 mm load centre.
Reach trucks hold more at the top. The XC Series reach truck 1.4-2.5 t CQD25 lifts 1,950 kg to 10 m and 1,000 kg to 13 m at a 600 mm load centre. Because the two trucks are rated at different load centres, compare them on the load chart for your own pallet depth and top level, not on the headline capacity.
Aisle width for an order picker and a reach truck
An order picker that only picks needs a narrower aisle than a reach truck. It drives straight down the aisle and never turns into the racking, so the aisle can be little wider than the truck: the A Series narrow aisle order picker 1.3 t is 1,015 mm wide, and side rollers for guided aisles are optional on the A Series high-level 1.2 t.
The picture changes when the order picker also puts pallets away. Then it needs a right-angle stacking aisle like any other truck, and the A Series high-level 1.2 t needs 3,535 mm for a 1000 x 1200 pallet crossways. A reach truck always turns into the racking: the A Series reach truck 2-2.5 t (CQD20) needs 2,745 mm and the XC CQD25 2,867 mm with a 1000 x 1200 pallet.
Both machines need flat, level floors, and both work best when the racking is designed around them. SafeWork NSW's pallet racking fact sheet says racking has to suit the forklifts that work it, so give your racking supplier the truck's dimensions before the aisles are set.
Which order picker matches which job?
The right order picker depends on how high the picking goes and what is picked. The operator's working height is the main difference in how each type of order picker works, from a platform near the floor to picking heights past 11 m.
| Working height | Hangcha example | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Floor level | X Series low-level order picker 2.5 t: 2,500 kg on 2,400 mm forks, fixed or lifting platform | Large items from the lower shelves, such as in big supermarkets |
| Platform up to 3.7 m | A Series order picker 0.5 t: 250 kg front tray, 150 kg platform, 100 kg rear tray, 2,040 mm aisle | Cartons and small parts in narrow aisles |
| Picking up to 4.5 m | A Series order picker 1 t | Stores below about 5 m |
| Picking up to 11.36 m | A Series high-level order picker 1.2 t | High-bay warehouses from 5 m to 10 m |
Pick by your highest picking level, and allow for any level you plan to add. The full range of order pickers runs from 0.5 to 2.5 tonnes.
Reach trucks for pallet storage and replenishment
A reach truck is the machine for warehouses that store and move whole pallets in racking. Hangcha reach trucks lift up to 12.5 m on the A Series 1.2-2 t and 13 m on the XC Series 1.4-2.5 t.
For racking two pallets deep, a double-reach model extends further: the X Series pantograph double-reach models reach 1,067 mm to pick the second pallet. Cold stores are covered too, with A Series F2 reach trucks rated to -30°C.
The range of high reach forklifts runs from 1 to 3 tonnes, so match the model to the weight you need on the top beam rather than the capacity at floor level.
When a warehouse needs both an order picker and a reach truck
Warehouses that pick and store in the same racking can use both machines. A common layout keeps the lower levels as pick faces worked by order pickers, such as the A Series order picker 1 t with picking heights up to 4.5 m, and the upper levels as reserve pallet storage worked by reach trucks.
The other layout splits the building into zones: a reserve area of full pallets worked by reach trucks, and a separate picking area worked by order pickers. Either way, the reach truck refills the pick faces, so if it falls behind, the pickers wait.
E-commerce sites are a typical case, because orders arrive as pallets and leave as cartons, and in an e-commerce warehouse a reach truck becomes worthwhile once the racking goes higher and traffic gets busier.
Licences and safety at height on order pickers and reach trucks
A man-up order picker needs a High Risk Work Licence class LO and a reach truck needs class LF, and one doesn't cover the other. LO applies where the operator's controls rise with the load, so for a low-level model, check the licence class for the platform you choose with an RTO or the regulator.
WorkSafe Queensland says the LF licence covers forklift trucks but not order-picking forklift trucks, which need an LO licence. A reach truck is driven on an LF licence.
Working at height adds its own controls on an order picker. Operators use the fall restraint the manufacturer specifies. The A Series high-level order picker comes with a height sensor, tilt switch, guard rails, a safety pedal and automatic slowing in corners as standard.
The physical load differs as well. A reach truck operator spends the shift looking up at the forks but lifts nothing by hand, while an order picker operator lifts cartons all day at shelf height, so the weight and size of what is picked matter.
Tell the DJJ Equipment team your highest picking level, the heaviest load at that height, your aisle width, and how many pallets and picking lines you handle each day. They can suggest an order picker, a reach truck or both, to buy or hire. Call 1800 355 388 or send an enquiry to your nearest branch.
