FEATURE Automated Warehousing
DCs are changing their order picking strategies
The growing popularity of online and convenience store shopping together with the emergence of automated order- picking robot technology has caused many grocery and retail DCs to rethink their intralogistics strategies and place less emphasis on ‘zone picking’, says Narrow Aisle’s John Maguire
O
f all the processes involved in modern warehousing, the ability to quickly and accurately collate picked goods
with an effi cient order-picking regime has the greatest impact on a warehouse or distribution centre (DC) performance, costs and ability to deliver customer satisfaction. It has long been accepted that those storage facilities that serve the grocery and retail sectors can achieve optimum order picking effi ciency by using a picking strategy commonly known as “zone picking”.
In simple terms, this involves dividing stock keeping units (SKUs) into diff erent product zones within the store, and assigning pickers with pick lists to work within each zone. Each picker is responsible for picking all SKUs located within their area of the store for each order; in this way, the roll container or pallet is loaded with similar product types to aid effi cient decanting into shelves on arrival at a retail store. Zone picking off ers many benefi ts. For example, because pickers remain in their assigned zones rather than moving all around the warehouse, operative travel time between picks is minimised. In addition, as they work within a smaller area of the store, pickers become more familiar with the SKUs and pick locations within their zone, making pick rates faster and more accurate.
Changing habits However, shopping habits and consumer preferences are changing and, as a result, convenience stores – smaller, local, corner shops – are now fl ourishing. According to Lumina Intelligence, in the fi ve years between 2015 and 2020, convenience sector sales grew by an average of 2.6%. In the year of the pandemic (2020), sales grew 6.3% and, looking ahead, the sector is expected to be worth over £47bn by 2024.
28 May 2023 | Automation
at the heart of these robots, which are constantly reconfi gured in response to data received from the warehouse management system. By identifying fast-moving items as well as the slower lines, the most time- effi cient pick locations can be allocated within the storage system. In addition, dynamic route management within the warehouse further reduces congestion in the aisleways and eliminates the need for one picker to overtake another within the aisles. This allows the width of the storage building’s aisleways to be signifi cantly reduced, which in turn increases storage capacity and adds to those all-important ground-level product locations.
Narrow Aisle’s John Maguire with the Flexi truck
The growing popularity of the convenience model has caused order- picking techniques to be reconsidered within many grocery DCs. Convenience stores require more frequent stock replenishment, with fewer items. This means that within the DC or warehouse, pickers are picking fewer items per line visit, but more frequently. This method also requires operatives to travel greater distances than in zone picking, but also more ground-level picking locations are required. All this requires new technologies, including AI-driven picking robots and cobots.
Developed to maximise productivity and lower cycle times, automated robotic picking technology means workers no longer must push heavy roll containers or walk behind slow-moving carts that can clog the aisles. Unproductive walking time is eliminated, too, signifi cantly improving workplace ergonomics and health and safety.
Picking speeds are dramatically improved thanks to intelligent software
automationmagazine.co.uk
Flexi truck The Flexi truck range of articulated forklift truck-based intralogistics systems can be the ideal choice for sites where robotic picking technology is running. Capable of performing in aisles just two metres wide and with the ability to lift palletised loads to heights of 15 metres, Flexi trucks are ideal to operate during the pick cycle, unlike traditional, guided VNA machines which require the storage cube to be free of pedestrian and other truck traffi c, at all times. There is no doubt that higher through- puts, greater picking accuracy and increased emphasis on ground and fi rst-level picking are now key goals at many sites. As a result, the type of materials-handling equipment within the modern order-picking environment is changing, too. Automated picking robots deliver many advantages, but some of these benefi ts can be lost if they are not complemented with the most suitable materials-handling equipment.
CONTACT:
Narrow Aisle
www.flexi.co.uk
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