How technology improves order picking in the warehouse

Order picking is the most labour-intensive process in the warehouse and is a significant portion of the operating costs. It is also where error rates are high. There are several ways that technology reduces picking mistakes and makes the activity more efficient.

In a large warehouse, pickers with aisle-picking trolleys can walk several miles in a shift under time pressure to pick order items quickly. This causes fatigue, and it is tiredness that causes errors, picking the wrong items and damage to inventory. To prevent worker fatigue, some warehouses use robots to take goods to pickers at ergonomically designed picking stations, where items are collected and checked, ready to be packed. This saves pickers from having to walk far and reduces stress.

If expensive robots are beyond the budget of the warehouse operator, the next best option may be warehouse management software that plans and optimises picking routes to prevent unnecessary long picking journeys.

RFID tracking systems can check that the picker has located the correct items. This needs to work with inventory checking systems that monitor that the inventory records are synchronised with physical reality so that pickers are not directed to non-existent stock.

According to Alastair Walker, a writer at Insurance-Edge, there needs to be a balance between robotics and the workforce, where technology handles routine activities that require precision, such as order picking, and people are required for processes that benefit from human judgment or have high variability.

Warehouses that use automation to assist workers, not replace them will thrive rather than struggle.

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