The Technology Behind High-Volume Order Picking Success

Could Your Order Picking Use a Technology Boost?

High-volume order picking is an area of warehousing and distribution that is tailor-made for technology. That doesn’t have to mean robotic armies… although it can… but it should mean applying make-sense systems and solutions to ensure your team can keep up with demand.

The distribution challenges that have predicated the importance of applying an order picking strategy are nearly universal across industry and sector. There is a labor shortage, operational costs are rising, SKU volume is increasing along with demand, while turn rates are tightening. Customers have so many choices that all it takes is a delayed shipment or fulfillment mistake to send them to a competitor. The good news? Technology has kept pace with the rapidly changing order fulfillment landscape giving you a choice to apply the best solutions to your particular order processing needs.

Labor Supportive Order Picking Systems

• Pick-to-Light
• Voice Picking
• Goods-to-Person

Pick-to-Light Order Picking Shines

Pick-to-light order picking systems are not new, but they have grown to become one of the most productive warehouse automation solutions with increasing technological advances. Several key features make pick-to-light a shining star in order picking automation. 

Pick-to-Light Benefits

• Easy to learn
• Improves pick accuracy upwards of 30% – 50%
• Eliminates searching
• Low barrier to entry
• Pairs with warehouse software

The system is easy to learn, making it a reliable go-to for facilities with high turnover and seasonal workers. It uses lights to direct the picker to the SKU and numbers to signify the quantity to pick. The automation is easily affixed to static rack or gravity flow rack systems for high-volume SKU storage. 

Pick-to-light is often used in conjunction with a zone pick strategy that assigns workers to specific pick areas. The benefit is that workers become familiar with the inventory and naturally increase pick rates and accuracy. Paired with pick-to-light, workers can improve zone pick rates and accuracy upwards of 30-50%.

You can choose to integrate your pick-to-light system with your warehouse control system for improved inventory tracking and labor allocation. 

Go Hands-Free with Voice-Directed Picking

Voice picking technology is a hands-free solution for fast, accurate order picking. The tools of the trade are a headset, microphone, and wireless scanner. Workers follow voice commands directing them to the pick location, which they can confirm using the microphone. Then they scan the UPC to confirm the pick. It’s a simple and highly accurate order picking technology that drives results.

Benefits of Voice Picking

• Cut employee training time in half
• Achieve nearly perfect pick accuracy 
• Increase pick volume
• Monitor picks and inventory in real-time
• Improve warehouse safety

With workers directed to the pick location using voice technology, they can move about the facility with eyes up and hands-free improving overall warehouse safety by as much as 5%-20% in some instances. As with pick-to-light, the software is integrated with the warehouse control system enabling real-time monitoring of inventory and order processing at each stage.

Let Good Things Come to You with Goods-to-Person Picking

Goods-to-person picking is as it sounds. It’s an order picking solution where the picker remains at a pick location, and the SKUs are brought to them for selection and processing. It’s a very efficient solution for high-volume, high-SKU operations because it eliminates worker travel time and expense and increases pick rates and accuracy.

Benefits of Goods-to-Person Picking

• Maximize storage space
• Accurate item selection
• Eliminate travel time
• Ergonomic positioning for workers
• Scalable solution for most operations

There are several ways that technology has impacted goods-to-person order picking. Two solutions include vertical carousels – motorized shelving units and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Either way you set up your system, the picker remains stationary while the goods come to them. AMRs are battery operated and controlled remotely to maneuver around the warehouse collecting either whole racks of goods for the picker to select an item from or individual items. AMR goods-to-person systems can achieve upwards of 600 picks per hour.

Make the Right Pick  —  Contact WOI for an Order Picking System Tailored to Your Needs

Our material handling experts have decades of experience equipping customers with the storage and inventory processing systems and solutions that make sense for their operations. Every facility has unique challenges, and we can help you identify and design the order picking technology that will meet your current needs and take your team into tomorrow. We guarantee it.

The WOI 5-Step Total Satisfaction Experience™ is the process that ensures success. We will:

1. Listen to your needs and execute a solution
2. Execute your project with special attention to your unique application
3. Commit to and communicate project timelines
4. Ensure a safe environment and safe installation
5. Pay close attention to the detail  of the finished product

Call WOI today and let’s talk about your order processing strategy and expectations. Call (865) 540-4004 or reach out to info@warehouseoptimizers.com. for a prompt response. We proudly serve customers throughout the Southeast, including KENTUCKY, TENNESSEE, NORTH CAROLINA, ALABAMA, AND FLORIDA.