Logistical analysis-based relay picking system maximizes conveyor use
- Product Category:General Goods
- Industry:E-commerce
- Solution:Deal with Massive Workloads
- Picking System:Pick to Light
Issue background
- Keihin Distribution needed to perform picking for a large number of orders (roughly 6,000 per day).
- The company sought a highly efficient workflow built on the visualization of A products, B products, and C products based on logistical analysis of item hit rates.
Benefits
Picking efficiency and inventory accuracy improved
- Productivity improved such that the company can now process roughly 7,000 orders per day (busy period productivity level).
- Picking speed increased after two conveyor lines were introduced for high hit-rate items (A product) to enable picking for two orders at a time.
- The final conveyor is split into a line for B/C products (low hit-rate items) and an inspection line, and orders that have already been picked are allowed to bypass the B/C line and go straight to the inspection line. This configuration has improved work efficiency.
Solution
Pairing conveyors and pick to light
The final result is a pick to light system linked to free conveyors that comprise two lines with identical flow rack and conveyor layouts for high hit-rate items (A products), and a conveyor with a mid-sized rack for low hit-rate items (B/C products).
