Walk any distribution center at shift change and you'll see the problem a stock chaser solves: people walking. A lot. Order pickers, supervisors, maintenance techs, and parts runners can cover 8–12 miles per shift on foot in a large facility. That walking is unpaid-for travel time—you're paying labor rates for transportation.
What a stock chaser actually is
A stock chaser (also written stockchaser) is a compact, stand-up or sit-down electric vehicle designed for one operator, sometimes with a small rear deck or tray for parts, tools, and totes. Unlike a forklift, it doesn't lift pallets. Unlike a golf cart, it's built narrow enough for warehouse aisles and rated for industrial duty cycles.
What stock chasers are used for
- Parts running: moving small components between stockrooms, lines, and receiving.
- Supervision and inspection: supervisors covering large floor plans multiple times per shift.
- Maintenance response: getting a tech and a toolbag to a down machine in minutes, not a quarter hour.
- Order picking support: shuttling pickers to distant zones.
Stock chaser vs. forklift
A forklift is a lifting machine that happens to move; a stock chaser is a moving machine that happens to carry. Forklifts require operator certification under OSHA's powered industrial truck rules, cost more to buy and maintain, and are overkill when the payload is a person and a bin of parts. For pure transport tasks, a chaser is faster to deploy, cheaper to run, and safer around pedestrians.
When the math works
Estimate it simply: (minutes of walking per person per shift) × (loaded labor rate) × (shifts per year). If a worker spends 60 minutes a shift in transit at a $28/hr loaded rate, that's roughly $7,000 per year per worker in walking. A vehicle that cuts transit time by two-thirds typically pays for itself inside the first year in mid-size and large facilities.
What to look for
Prioritize aisle-compatible width, maintenance-friendly modular components, swappable batteries if you run multiple shifts, and a deck configuration that matches what your team actually carries. TexTrack's modular electric scooters are built exactly for this workload—industrial duty, simple to service, and configurable per facility. Request a quote to spec one for your floor.
