Order picking is the foundation of a successful order fulfillment process and is essential to any flourishing retail or e-commerce business. Arguably the most significant activity in fulfillment centers, order-picking accounts for more than 50% of operations and 55% of warehouse operating costs; therefore, an efficient order-picking system is essential. Warehouses can increase accuracy and productivity by implementing a variety of order-picking systems.
Because order-picking activities carried out by warehouses quickly and precisely are typically the most effective, businesses should choose their order-picking systems carefully. Let’s examine the many kinds of order-picking systems and picking techniques that are currently in use in warehouses.
1. Wave Picking:
The idea behind wave picking is to create a picking sequence that focuses on individual line items so that an order may be filled in a single trip through the warehouse. Less walking with never-duplicate steps is the aim.
This could be gathering stuff on one side of a broad aisle by strolling down it, then grabbing items from the opposite side by walking back up the aisle. When aisles are near to one another, pickers could proceed to a second aisle after moving in one direction and picking from the right and left as they go. It doesn’t matter how the path appears. It’s crucial that it makes sense, eliminates stages, and doesn’t need to go back.
The significance of the warehouse layout is further demonstrated by our example. The picker in the wide aisle scenario ends up where they began, at the end of the aisle. They’re going to the other end of the small aisle. It matters where the staging or packing facility is located, which is the picker’s destination.
The selection of equipment affects the warehouse picking procedure as well. The width, turning radius, and direction of cart or lift truck traffic must all be considered while placing aisles. Neglecting to take these factors into account may result in gridlock, slow-moving traffic, or even crashes. All of which are going to impede productivity.
To gain a deeper comprehension of the idea of wave picking, let’s examine a typical situation involving a parent who has three children. Three kids are in class: one is in karate, one is at band rehearsal, and one is taking swimming lessons. Three journeys to take each child home separately wouldn’t be logical, assuming they are all ready to go home at the same time. Rather, they will determine the quickest path between locations and pick up each child Enroute to their house.
2. Batch Picking:
The idea of batch picking is like wave picking, but it handles multiple orders at once. Multiple orders’ line items are combined into a single pick list. The picker completes the batch of orders in a single “wave” or passes down the pick path.
The selected orders can be assembled using one of two techniques. In the first, the picker transports the completed batch of orders to a staging area after they have been chosen. Here, the chosen goods are arranged into separate orders and made ready for packaging and delivery.
One further method for batch picking is to construct the orders as you go. Bins representing each order are attached to the picker’s vehicle or cart. They will sort selected things into the proper bins as they proceed down the pick path. Orders that are complete can move directly from the picker’s cart to the packing area, possibly doing away with the requirement for a separate staging space.
The quantity that batch pickers can load onto their carts in a single trip determines their limit. The arrangement of a batch will depend on the size of the cart and the quantity and dimensions of the order bins it contains. Batching usually functions well on orders with fewer than four SKUs. Using wave picking may result in more efficient order fulfillment for orders with numerous line items.
In keeping with our parent/child comparison, batch picking is comparable to a carpool. One parent volunteers to pick up multiple kids from band, karate, and swimming, and drop them off at a predetermined spot. To choose the most effective path, they employ the wave-picking technique once more. However, on this occasion, they packed their van with multiple kids at every stop. They head to the meeting place, where other parents are waiting to pick up their children after they have gathered the children from all three sites.
3. Zone Picking:
Employees using this picking technique are grouped into a designated “zone.” Despite the possibility that an order may contain line items from many zones, they will only select products inside their allocated zone. Items from each zone are pooled in a staging location once the products from that zone have been picked. When products are highly distinct from one another or a warehouse is very big, zone picking can be useful. A dry goods zone and a refrigerated zone, for instance, might exist.
Zone picking can be used in conjunction with wave picking and/or batch picking. To establish the most effective warehouse picking procedure, one must combine all three picking techniques.
Using our analogy once more, let’s assume that three school buses exist. One person heads to the band practice area, another to the karate dojo, and still another to the swimming pool. Once they get to their location, they individually choose the fastest way to pick up all the children. The youngsters are then taken home by their respective parents after they arrive at a bus stop.
Quality Control:
Where to carry out your quality control operations is one choice you should make when establishing a warehouse order-picking method. Barcode scanners are a useful tool for pickers as they remove items from shelves. As a second layer of quality control, packers may scan items once more as they place them into boxes.
It might be excessive to do two separate scans, adding a step that isn’t essential and personalizing the final product. Multiple QC tests, however, can be required if there are issues with misdirected shipments or wrong orders.
Analytics should be used to establish the location and frequency of quality control. To strike a balance between speed and quality control, the warehouse manager needs to be aware of the trouble spots. In the end, someone must make sure that orders are being sent out accurately. The warehouse manager will decide where it fits into the process.
Automation is Essential for Order Picking and Warehouse Pick Path Optimization
It is practically hard to design and execute a warehouse order-picking procedure without WMS software and sophisticated analytics. In the absence of those, a warehouse manager would have to rely on trial and error to determine an effective strategy. Alternatively, worker availability, equipment capacity, inventory data, and other analytics can be integrated by automated systems. Using it, a manager can organize batches for maximum efficiency and map out productive waves and zones.The difficult part is figuring out what will work best for the warehouse and carrying out the plan. Developing a quick and precise method is the aim. The warehouse order-picking process needs to be continuously assessed to maximize efficiency, regardless of whether wave picking, batch picking, zone picking, or some combination of the three is being used.
It requires effort and time to properly adopt technology. You don’t have to travel there alone, which is fortunate. Warehouses seeking advice on what technology to implement or acquire are referred to Radius. We guarantee proper execution by guiding all aspects, including installation, integration, rollout, and training.