I just got done adding some mobile automated pick dispensers to our website and got thinking about how a fulfillment manager can know when they need to add pick dispensers. So I went out on the internet and found some great info at the website hosted by MHI, an industry organization for material handlers.
Order Picking that Doesn’t Pull any Punches
July 11, 2014
by Scott Stone
Tags: automated systems, dispensers, Order Picking & Fulfillment, picking systems, Time-savings, warehouse space savings
Posted in Automation, Material Handling, Order Picking & Fulfillment, Product Ideas| No Comments »
Vertical Lift Modules vs. Horizontal Carousels
May 2, 2012
by Scott Stone
When you are considering an automated picking solution, you have lots of choices. One of the more frequent comparisons is between horizontal carousels and VLM’s – vertical lift modules. Both promise similar efficiency gains: they bring products to pickers rather forcing pickers to move to picking stations in shelving or racks. But which is best? That depends on what set of criteria you use, and what’s important to you.
Tags: Automation, picking systems, warehouse technology
Posted in Automation, Conveyor, Material Handling, Order Picking & Fulfillment, Safety & Ergonomics| No Comments »
Optimize Picking in Tight Spaces
August 20, 2008
by Scott Stone
You know the pareto concept – 80% of the productivity can come from 20% of the operation. That also applies to floor space in many warehouses and industrial operations.
One easy way to save space in your warehouse is to look for big, open spaces in your rack system. If you have pallet racks but not all of your inventory goes into full pallets, one quick way to save space is to use that rack space for higher productivity activities. Could you move each-pick or case-pick operations off of floor pallets or static shelving into flow storage embedded in your racks?
Tags: Carton flow rack, gravity flow systems, Material Handling, order fulfillment, picking systems, Span Track, Unex
Posted in Material Handling, Order Picking & Fulfillment, Pallet and Industrial Racks, Space Optimization & Planning| No Comments »
Comparing Gravity Flow Rack Types
June 15, 2008
by Scott Stone
Walk into any order fulfillment operation, and you will see gravity flow rack.
The reason is obvious–it’s one of the best ways to pick orders utilizing first-in, first-out principles. It used to be that there was one kind of the stuff, the plastic-wheel tracks, but these days the choices are more diverse than ever. For the most part, these flow rack types act the same; they decline toward the picker and boxes or totes or even larger components flow toward him. They’re restocked from the rear and picked from the front onto a takeaway conveyor line, a cart, workstation, or another step in the process.
Tags: carton flow, Conveyor, distribution center, gravity flow rack, Hytrol, Keneco, Material Handling, order fulfillment, picking systems, Supply Chain, Unex, warehousing
Posted in Manufacturing, Material Handling, Supply Chain, Warehousing| No Comments »