Warehouse Management and Order Picking

Order picking is usually the most demanding process of a warehouse management system. Of the transactions involved in distribution and fulfillment, outbound transactions are mostly greater and labour intensive than inbound ones.  Therefore the outbound transactions require a larger portion of the total labour budget for the warehouse.  Also related to order picking process is customer satisfaction which increases the importance of this area.  The speed and accuracy of processing order is an extremely important part of business.

There are a variety of methods for order picking

There are many differences and it is important to choose the best method for your company’s operations.  To decide the best order picking method for your company should be based on the number of transactions, the number of picks for each order, quantity of items for each pick, number of orders, product being handled, number of SKUs, number of picks for each SKU.  And other factors as well, for instance, private labeling, and whether you are picking pieces, cases, or pallets.  Often, all picking methods may be necessary in order to deal with a wide variety of orders and products.

To measure productivity, you must rely on the order pick rate. Piece pick operations usually measure the pick rate in terms of line items picked per hour while case pick operations will probably measure in cases per hour and line items per hour. When concerning pallet pick operations it is actually best to look at the number of total pallets processed per hour. Because the amount of time spent physically removing the actual product from a location is usually fixed without regard to the picking method used, productivity gains can be found by reducing the time spent on travel. Another aspect of time which must be monitored for an efficient operation is cycle time.

No matter what type of operation you run, accuracy will be an important objective. Nearly every decision made in configuring a warehouse will have an impact on accuracy. From the design of product labeling to the product numbering scheme, packaging, and even the design of picking documents, accuracy should be a main goal. The location numbering scheme, storage equipment, lighting conditions, and picking method used also affect accuracy. Technologies which improve picking accuracy include pick-to-light systems, bar code scanners and counting scales. After considering the design aspect of an order picking operation, employee conditioning, tracking accuracy, and maintaining accountability all lead to higher levels of accuracy. Using these three objectives as a guideline, order picking methods can be selected as they best fit your warehouse operation.

10 Order Pulling Ways To End Your Ad Copy

1. You could end your ad copy by telling people what will happen if they buy your product. Use your most powerful benefit as the example....

15 Mail Order Reports

These Reports are sold as information only. The contents of these reports were correct at time of publication. Purchase of these reports includes full reproduction rights and the right to resell this information in any manner desired. If You come...

Picking Your Hosting Provider

If you are in a position where you want to work or communicate online, you will automatically think about getting a web page, but before that, you need to think about getting a webhost. Essentially, a webhost will provide you...

10 Ways To Propel Visitors To Your Order Page

1. Write your ad copy like you\'re talking directly to your visitors. Use the words \"you\", \"your\", and \"you\'re\" a lot in your ad copy....

Management Classes – Understand Your Business

The sole purpose of management classes is to bring out the importance of managers in a business organization. Anyone can take up such management classes and it would definitely benefit whoever is taking up such classes. There are even management...