SPLIT-CASE PICKING SOLUTIONS

The shift to smaller, more individualized and more frequent order fulfillment makes controlling order picking costs one of the most significant challenges for warehouse management. The good news is that order picking methods and technologies are advancing with the industry shift and SRSI has made it our goal to know how and when best to implement these tools.

We begin with a thorough understanding of your inventory, its cyclical/seasonal nature, peak rates, and future projections. We also evaluate your current picking and quality control methods.

Goods-to-Person Picking solutions deliver items directly to pick stations, eliminating non-value added time needed for operators to search for items. These solutions address the most challenging fulfilment needs by combining high-density, secure storage with the high-speed and accuracy of directed picking. Goods-to-Person Picking is specifically designed for high demand applications, including retail store replenishment, direct-to-customer order fulfilment, business-to-business fulfilment, and just-in-time delivery of parts in manufacturing.

Voice picking, also referred to as pick by voice or voice-directed warehousing is a proven process for increasing efficiency and accuracy of pickers in warehouses or distribution centers.

Voice picking is a hands-free and eyes-free system that utilizes an intelligent voice agent and speech recognition software to direct associates through their tasks.

As the name implies, RF Picking requires a Radio Frequency wireless network within the facility. The RF Picking system has a host server that communicates directly with the higher-level Warehouse Management System (WMS), Warehouse Execution System (WES) or Warehouse Controls System (WCS) to send and receive order information. The information is relayed to the RF terminals that warehouse operators and order pickers use to operate either a RF Gun or wearable device.

Pick-to-light is acknowledged to be the fastest operator-based picking strategy available to execute broken case quantity order fulfillment operations. Ideal for team-based approaches like zone picking, the LP Pick solution increases the pick rate productivity, accuracy and cost efficiency of this labor intensive process. Pick-to-light improves order fulfillment performance by reducing the time spent walking between items required by an order, and removing the errors associated with reading paper pick lists.

Gravity flow racks act as non-powered, downward-sloped storage conveyors, which allow for all subsequent pallets or cartons to move to the forefront, once the preceding item has been removed, otherwise known as first in first out (FIFO) racking. Items are loaded into the high end of the rack, one by one. In utilizing gravitational forces, pallets and cartons naturally find their path, filing in an orderly fashion, while consistently refilling the forward-most position for easy retrieval.

Mobile carts are mobile pieces of equipment used in logistics warehouses, fulfillment centers, and manufacturing facilities to move items from one location to another. Because of their mobility, these units are critical in facilities where product needs to be picked from various locations and moved throughout the operation. A well-designed picking cart will improve speed, accuracy, and worker comfort to increase efficiency and cut costs. Picking carts are ideal for each picking, case picking, or picking and replenishing on the factory floor.

‘Augmented vision’ can be highly useful for various industries, especially for logistics and warehouse management. Of all the tasks associated with warehouse management, the area where AR enhancements can be most effective and promising is item picking. By guiding warehouse employees through order picking operations, handheld mobile devices and smart glasses with augmented reality software reduce time expenditures and the error rate.

Put wall solutions optimize labor by batch picking a large volume of orders from conventional or automated storage systems and using smart manual sortation techniques for rapid and accurate order fulfillment. Put walls have numerous slots, similar to mailboxes in a mailroom.