OMSAN LOJİSTİK. September 14, 2004 James M. Apple, Jr. The Progress Group, LLC Case Picking and Cross-Docking Mechanization Warehousing Short Course

OMSAN LOJİSTİK

September 14, 2004

James M. Apple, Jr.The Progress Group, LLC

Case Picking and Cross-Docking Mechanization

Warehousing Short Course

Case Storage/Picking SystemsAgenda

• Picking Rates

• Picking Processes

• Picking Methods

• Special Case Picking Opportunities

Case Storage/Picking Systems

What is a case?

– 5 to 50 pounds

– Generally shippable, without overpack

– Sometimes bags and shrinkwrapped trays

– Most are conveyable

Case Storage/Picking SystemsCases picked per hour

50 500!

Why such a wide range?

Case Storage/Picking SystemsHow many do you pick?

50 100

100 200

200 300

300 400

400 500

>500

Don't know

Case Storage/Picking SystemsFactors Affecting Pick Rate

What slows us down?

– Walk between picks

– Cases/pick

– Palletizing

– Bending and reaching

– Labeling and checking


What slows us down?

– Heavy cases

– Oversize cases

– Fragile product

– Fragile package


What slows us down?

– Congestion• other pickers• storage and

replenishment

– Can’t find product

– Out of stock

– Waiting for work

Case Storage/Picking Systems

What makes us fast?

Riding, instead of walking

Case Storage/Picking SystemsPicking with a Rider Pallet Truck

Using an orderpicking truck to access more SKUs

Case Storage/Picking SystemsCase Storage/Picking Systems


What makes us fast?

– Easy to locate• always in the same place• locations logically arranged• location ID easy to read

– Easy to follow instructions• large print• pick with one label per case• radio frequency

– display– voice


Voice commands


What makes us fast?

– Conveyor take-away


What makes us fast?

– Conveyor take-away• but, who does the

other half of the job?


What makes us fast?

– Easy to palletize• cases the same size or height• heaviest cases on the bottom


What makes us fast?

– Good ergonomic access to cases

– Monetary or other incentive

– Management expectations

Case Storage/Picking SystemsSystem Design Issues

4 ways to pick

– Single order

– Multiple orders per trip

– Parallel zones

– Batch pick and sort

Case Storage/Picking SystemsForward Order Selection Area Options

• Pick from floor level within storage area

• Forward pick line– Pick to pallet jack– Pick to conveyor

• Selection at all levels - order selector truck or man aboard crane

Case Storage/Picking SystemsSystem Planning Issues

Replenishment

– How much to store at pick face

– Fixed slotting for “n” days/shifts

– Dynamic slotting

– Pallet flow lanes

Pick to Pallet From Pallet Flow Lanes

Ready-reserve of restock pallets for high mover items

Depiction of a pallet jack that carries two pallets for order picking.

Replenishment Aisle

Pallet flow lanes can be installed in the rack bays closest to the conveyor for the fastest moving productsin each product group.


Zoning the Product

– By activity

– By throughput cube

– by order categories• commodity• catalog• store department/aisle


How are cases loaded and shipped?

– Palletized

– Floor loaded

– Parcel carrier• Order integrity?

– Reverse delivery sequence


Manual batch picking

– 2 pallets per trip• One order on each pallet

– Order picking truck• Batch pick slow moving products for

several orders and manually sort after picking

2-10 SKUs/ Pallet

1-2 cases to most stores most days

Every once in a while a case to a store

TotalCaseActivity

100%

Total SKU’s (ranked by activity) 100%

Using Pareto’s Law• Blocks of activity will help to identify appropriate

picking modes.

1 case to some stores some days

Orderpicktruck

by order

Orderpicktruck

by batch Pick Car

Pick to Beltor

Induct FullPallets

@ SorterAutomatic

LayerPicking

Pick to Rider

Pallet Jack

Walk or rideWith PalletJack

Low Medium High

Mechanization Alternatives

Products Ranked By Activity

TotalCases

Shipped

FAST MOVERS

MEDIUM

SLOW

Item Activity

Applying Levels of Mechanization to Classes of Activity

Batch Picking Characteristics

• Picker stays in zone

• Shorter walk distance/pick

• Centralized Palletizing,or

• Direct Truck loading

• Automatic check via scanning

• . . .but, two people handle each case

Case Picking EconomicsHourly Operators RequiredTotal Manual Picking

Case Picking Pick 400 500 500Requirement 100 150 200 Load 400 500 500

1000 10 7 5 5 4 43000 30 20 15 15 13 135000 50 32 25 25 22 20

10,000 100 65 50 50 45 40

Batch Picking

Process Steps• Picking Mechanization

• Transportation

• Accumulation

• Product Identification

• Sortation

• Accumulation in spur

• Palletizing, or truck loading

Picking Cartons to the Takeaway Belt

Cartons Accumulating Before Sorter

Simple Sorting - select from loop

Simple Sorting - push from conveyor

Right Angle Pusher Sorter

Multi-belt Sorter with Pop-up Wheel Diverts

Sliding Shoe Sorter

Auto-Induct to Tilt-Tray Sorter

Tilt-Tray Sorter Discharging to Spurs

Palletizing at the End of Slide Spurs

Palletizing to Multiple Pallets at a Single Spur

Floor Loading a Truck with Extendable Conveyor

Balancing Pick Zones

• The picking requirements will not be the same in all zones for each batch.

• Balanced workload can be improved by:– Slotting products carefully, and reslotting

as required– Duplicating the slotting of some very

popular products– Letting zone boundaries float from batch to

batch

CaseFlowTo

Sorter Wave #1 Wave #2 Wave #3

Lost sorter capacityMax sorter capacity

Time During the Day

Sorter Utilization• Carton flow from picking does not arrive at the

sorter immediately.• The sorter operates most efficiently during the

middle of each wave.• Flow slows significantly at the end of the wave,

as all picking zones do not finish simultaneously.

Recirculation

Spurs

Typical Shipping Sorter

• How many spurs should we have?• How long should the spurs be?• How should we use the re-circulation line?

A Cross Docking Case Study

• Features

– Empty dock at beginning and end of day.– Receipts= total of outbound orders.– Processing determined by:

• Receipt schedules• Product groups

– Receipts verified via sorting process

A Cross Docking case study

• The Environment

– Large grocery retailer – Short-life products– 9 Depots, each serving 50 stores– 24-hour operation– 1200 products– 100,000 cases per day– Up to 16 family groups – 5 temperature zones– Product and packaging fragility


• Current Method

– “Pick by Line” – Receiving count for accurate allocation – Manually distribute to roll cages for each

store


• The Service Challenge

– Perfect counts and allocation to stores – Finer family grouping– Reduce package damage– Meet extreme end-of-day peaks


• The Cost Challenge

– Eliminate receiving check• labor intensive• delays processing

– Improve picking productivity– Improve ergonomics


• The Solution

– High-speed sortation, 12,000/hour – Ergonomic depalletization induct stations– 4 chutes/store for family grouping– Gentle product accumulation in chutes– WMS to manage workload for:

• family grouping• sorter utilization

A Cross Docking case studyA Cross Docking case studyA Cross Docking case studyA Cross Docking case study

Chilled Grocery Products

Unloading Pallets at the Receiving Dock

Scanning an Inbound Pallet

“Grid”, Unload Stations and Sorters

Moving from the “Grid”

Depositing Pallet at Unload

Depalletizing Cases

Q-veyor Accumulation and Merge

5-sided Scanner

Sliding Shoe Sorter

Over and Under Sorters

Loading Roll Cages for Delivery

Labeling for Store Destination

Departing for the Store

Documents

OMSAN LOJİSTİK. September 14, 2004 James M. Apple, Jr. The Progress Group, LLC Case Picking and Cross-Docking Mechanization Warehousing Short Course