Increase Warehouse Order Picking Speeds

The job of a warehouse manager is challenging. He or she is responsible for many tasks to ensure that warehouse fulfillment operations run as efficiently as possible. No one understands better than a warehouse manager that “the customer is always right.” With the rise of the internet, customers now demand everything "on demand," placing them in a stronger position. As a result, warehouses need to increase order picking speeds:

• Carry more items / increase warehouse inventory
• Pick orders faster / boost order picking speeds
• Ship items more quickly

Improve Order Picking

In addition to customer demands, a distribution center must keep customers satisfied, or they will turn to competitors. To outperform the competition, a successful company must:

• Ship faster than the competition
• Store and deliver new and popular products faster than the competition
• Achieve a payback that positively impacts the bottom line year after year
• Reduce operating costs related to the order picking system and labor

Being able to fulfill orders more quickly not only helps retain customers but also gives the company a competitive edge. This is why optimizing warehouse order picking for faster processing, quicker shipping, and striving for 100% accuracy is crucial.

Many companies employ two main strategies for order picking:

• Discrete picking
• Batch picking

Discrete Order Picking

Discrete picking involves an order selector picking for one order at a time, moving around the warehouse until the order is complete, and then starting the next one.

Batch Order Picking

Batch picking allows the order puller to pick multiple orders simultaneously. This method can be confusing unless optimized order picking solutions are used. These systems enable the warehouse to:

• Pick multiple orders at once
• Reduce travel distance
• Increase overall warehouse picking productivity

Productivity Tip

Between 60% and 70% of the cost to pick a product is due to travel time and distance between picks. Reducing travel by combining orders can significantly increase productivity and lower warehouse picking costs.

Cluster Picking

Cluster picking is defined as picking one SKU for multiple orders or picking multiple SKUs for a single order.

Summary

To boost warehouse picking productivity, warehouse managers should focus on increasing picking speed and accuracy by minimizing pick path travel and combining picking tasks within the warehouse.