Shelving.com
Warehouse Conveyor Guide
What Are Conveyor Systems?
Conveyor systems help move products through a warehouse, distribution center, fulfillment operation, manufacturing space, or packing area. They reduce manual handling by moving cartons, totes, pallets, packages, containers, or other loads from one point to another using gravity, manual push, or powered movement.
A conveyor system is not just one piece of equipment. It is part of a workflow. The right setup depends on what you are moving, how heavy it is, how fast it needs to move, where it needs to go, and what happens before and after each transfer point.
If you are comparing conveyor options for your facility, Shelving.com can help you understand the choices and review custom conveyor system options for your layout.
How Conveyor Systems Help Warehouses and Material Handling Teams
Conveyor systems are used to create more consistent product flow. Instead of relying on workers to carry, drag, lift, or manually move every item, a conveyor can help move products through common warehouse and production steps.
- Receiving
- Picking
- Packing
- Shipping
- Sortation
- Inspection
- Assembly
- Staging
- Pallet handling
- Order consolidation
- Manufacturing lines
The goal is not only speed. A well-planned conveyor system can also reduce unnecessary touches, improve workflow consistency, help control spacing between products, and support safer handling of repeated or heavier loads.
Where Conveyor Systems Are Used
Conveyor systems are commonly used anywhere products need to move through a repeatable process.
Receiving, Picking, and Packing
In receiving areas, conveyors can help move cartons, totes, or packages from unloading areas into staging or storage zones. In picking and packing areas, they can help move orders between workstations, packing benches, labeling equipment, inspection points, or consolidation lanes.
Shipping and Manufacturing
In shipping areas, conveyors can help move completed orders toward staging, sorting, wrapping, or outbound dock areas. In manufacturing environments, conveyors may support movement between production steps, inspection points, assembly stations, or pallet handling equipment.
The best conveyor layout depends on the building, workflow, product type, and available space.
Gravity vs. Powered Conveyor Systems
Most conveyor systems fall into two broad categories: gravity conveyor and powered conveyor.
Gravity Conveyor
Gravity conveyor uses slope or manual push to move products. It does not require motors, wiring, or powered controls for basic movement. Gravity conveyor can be a good fit for staging, shipping lanes, receiving areas, temporary setups, and lower-cost conveyor extensions.
Powered Conveyor
Powered conveyor uses a motorized system to move products. Powered options can help when products need consistent movement, controlled spacing, accumulation, merging, or integration with equipment such as scanners, sorters, wrappers, strappers, or labeling stations.
Gravity conveyor may be enough when products can move safely by slope or light manual effort. Powered conveyor is usually better when the workflow requires consistent movement, controlled flow, or more automation.
Common Types of Conveyor Systems
Different conveyor types solve different material handling problems. Some are better for cartons and totes. Others are better for pallets, drums, dense products, or irregular loads.
Belt Conveyor
A belt conveyor uses a continuous belt surface to move products in a consistent direction. Belt conveyors are often used for longer runs, inclines, declines, staging, and products that need more surface support than rollers provide.
They can be useful for cartons, packaged goods, polybags, flat items, and irregular products that may not travel well on roller conveyor.
Gravity Roller Conveyor
Gravity roller conveyor is a non-powered conveyor that uses rollers to move products by slope or manual push. It is commonly used for receiving, shipping, staging, and simple product movement.
Roller size and spacing matter because the product needs to stay supported as it moves across the conveyor.
Gravity Skatewheel Conveyor
Gravity skatewheel conveyor is a flexible, light-to-medium duty option often used for fast manual handling. It can work well for cartons, mailers, totes, and changing layouts where a lightweight conveyor solution is helpful.
Skatewheel conveyor typically has low rolling resistance, which can make it easier for operators to move products by hand.
Belt Driven Live Roller Conveyor
Belt driven live roller conveyor is a powered roller conveyor used for controlled product flow. It is often selected when products need to move through automated lines, merge points, inspection areas, or downstream pacing points.
This type of conveyor can support accumulation and controlled release depending on the system design.
Chain Driven Live Roller Conveyor
Chain driven live roller conveyor is a heavy-duty powered roller conveyor. It is commonly used for pallets, drums, metal bins, dense products, and industrial loads that need stronger powered movement.
This conveyor type is often used in manufacturing, shipping, pallet handling, wrapping, strapping, and heavy-load transfer areas.
Lineshaft Driven Live Roller Conveyor
Lineshaft driven live roller conveyor is a powered roller conveyor often used for lighter unit loads such as cartons, totes, parcels, and packaged goods.
It can be a good fit when quiet operation, energy efficiency, and gentle accumulation are important, especially in e-commerce, parcel, packaging, and order consolidation workflows.
Ball Transfer Tables
Ball transfer tables allow products to move in multiple directions across a table surface. They are often used where operators need to rotate, align, reposition, or manually transfer cartons, totes, or flat-bottom loads.
They can be helpful in packing areas, workstations, inspection points, and conveyor direction changes.
What to Know Before Choosing a Conveyor System
Choosing the right conveyor system starts with understanding what needs to move and how the workflow needs to function. Small differences in load type, weight, spacing, layout, or speed can change which conveyor type is the best fit.
The bottom surface of the load matters. A stable carton, tote, or pallet may move well on one conveyor type, while a soft, uneven, damaged, or irregular load may need a different conveyor surface to prevent jams, shifting, or product damage.
Why Conveyor Systems Are Usually Configured, Not Bought Off the Shelf
Many conveyor systems are not simple add-to-cart products because they need to match the layout and workflow of the facility.
- How products enter the line
- How they move between work areas
- Whether they need to accumulate or stay spaced apart
- Whether the conveyor needs to connect with scanning, weighing, packing, wrapping, or sorting equipment
- How much space is available
- Whether the system needs gravity, powered movement, or both
- Whether future expansion should be considered
Even a small change in product size, load weight, roller spacing, or conveyor length can affect performance. That is why many conveyor systems are reviewed and quoted before purchase.
How Conveyor Systems Support Better Workflow
A conveyor system should support the way work actually happens inside the facility. The right system can reduce repeated lifting, improve product flow, limit unnecessary manual touches, and help keep materials moving between work zones.
For example, a packing area may need belt conveyor for irregular packages, gravity roller conveyor for staging, and a ball transfer table where operators need to rotate cartons before labeling or inspection.
A pallet handling area may need a stronger powered roller conveyor, such as chain driven live roller conveyor, near wrapping, strapping, or transfer equipment.
Most conveyor layouts are built from more than one type of conveyor. The right solution depends on how the pieces work together.
Compare Conveyor System Options
If you already know you need conveyor support and want to compare available system types, visit the Conveyor Systems Collection. There, you can review gravity and powered conveyor options, see which systems are best for different load types, and request help configuring a solution for your space.
Compare custom conveyor system options for warehouses, distribution, fulfillment, manufacturing, and material handling workflows.
Talk to Shelving.com About Conveyor Systems
Shelving.com can help you review your product type, load weight, layout, throughput goals, and handling needs to determine which conveyor system may be the right fit.
If you are planning a new conveyor layout, expanding an existing workflow, or trying to reduce manual handling, our team can help you start with the right questions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Conveyor Systems
Shelving.com helps warehouse, distribution, manufacturing, and fulfillment teams understand how conveyor systems work, where they are used, and what details matter before choosing gravity or powered conveyor options.
What is a conveyor system?
A conveyor system is a material handling setup that moves products from one point to another using gravity, manual push, or powered movement. Conveyor systems are commonly used in receiving, picking, packing, shipping, manufacturing, and distribution workflows.
What are conveyor systems used for?
Conveyor systems are used to move cartons, totes, packages, pallets, containers, and other loads through a facility. They can help reduce manual handling, improve product flow, support throughput, and move products between work areas.
What is the difference between gravity conveyor and powered conveyor?
Gravity conveyor uses slope or manual push to move products without a motor. Powered conveyor uses a motorized drive system to move products with more consistent control. Powered conveyor is usually better when a workflow needs controlled movement, spacing, accumulation, or equipment integration.
What type of conveyor is best for cartons and totes?
Cartons and totes may work well with gravity roller conveyor, belt conveyor, belt driven live roller conveyor, or lineshaft driven live roller conveyor depending on weight, size, bottom surface, speed, accumulation needs, and layout.
What type of conveyor is best for pallets or heavy loads?
Pallets, drums, metal bins, and dense industrial loads often require heavier-duty conveyor options, such as chain driven live roller conveyor or other pallet handling conveyor systems.
Can one conveyor system use more than one conveyor type?
Yes. Many conveyor systems combine multiple conveyor types. A facility may use gravity conveyor for staging, belt conveyor for inclines or irregular items, powered roller conveyor for controlled movement, and ball transfer tables for manual positioning.
What information is helpful before requesting a conveyor quote?
Helpful details include product type, product dimensions, load weight, bottom surface, desired conveyor length, available space, throughput goals, transfer points, accumulation needs, and any equipment the conveyor needs to connect with.
Compare Conveyor Options for Your Facility
Not every conveyor system solves the same problem. Use these related resources to compare available options, review specific conveyor types, and request help configuring a solution for your layout.
Conveyor Systems Collection
Review gravity and powered conveyor options for warehouses, distribution centers, fulfillment operations, manufacturing spaces, packing areas, and material handling workflows.
Use this page when you are ready to compare conveyor system types and request help configuring a solution.
View Conveyor Options →Gravity Skatewheel Conveyor
Learn how gravity skatewheel conveyor helps move cartons, totes, packages, and other stable light-duty loads through packing, shipping, receiving, assembly, and temporary conveyor layouts.
Use this page when you need a flexible, non-powered conveyor option for manual product movement.
Learn About Gravity Skatewheel Conveyor →Ball Transfer Tables
Learn how ball transfer tables help operators rotate, align, reposition, and manually transfer cartons, totes, containers, and other flat-bottom loads across a workstation or conveyor transition point.
Use this page when products need to move in more than one direction instead of following a straight conveyor path.
Learn About Ball Transfer Tables →