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March 21, 2006 The Truth about Paper vs. Paperless Picking Systems What is the most labor-intensive function in a warehouse? What same function requires more skill than other positions and often commands a higher pay scale? ORDER PICKING! Just as we have previously discussed in Issue 51, 40-50% of the total labor cost is based on picking alone. While paying top notch pickers who can maneuver rapidly and precisely through your warehouse to carry out orders efficiently may be money well spent, imagine the cost savings and improvements that could be had if the skills of the best pickers could be transferred to your whole picking panel! Think you’re the only one still using a paper based system? Think again. Although they represent a particularly “low-tech” approach, pick tickets are still the most widely used method for picking orders. A list of selections is typically printed out on a sheet of paper that a worker carries with them to the picking areas of the warehouse. When the worker finds the items he/she grabs the needed items and then simply crosses them off the pick list. Also widely used are pick labels. These labels contain printed information on which items are needed to be picked for an order; often these pick labels even double as shipping labels. Workers pick necessary items, deposit them into a carton, and then stick the label on the carton’s side. And if your staff is efficient, accurate, and unwavering there may be little to gain in cost savings for you with wireless Radio Frequency technology. Furthermore it is likely that productivity will temporarily take a dip with the implementation of wireless picking. Since the path is predetermined and pickers are not given visibility of upcoming items, the ability to redirect is eliminated by wireless picking. If your company falls into this category then wireless picking isn’t for you……yet. Keep in mind the technology is constantly being improved upon and costs will decrease as its popularity of use increases. This will make it a workable solution in the near future. Companies that are inefficient, highly seasonal, have a lot of variable weight products that are labeled properly, or prone to employee turnover can benefit enormously by installing wireless picking technology today. Your costs of implementing will quickly be offset by the savings from improvements in productivity and accuracy. Paperless picking technologies help to attack errors in order picking. To error maybe human nature but many warehouse managers don’t realize how simply order picking errors can be eliminated.
The chart above shows a clear breakdown of the causes of common order picking errors within a paper based warehouse. A Radio Frequency system is the most useful because it: 1. uses RF to eliminate paper 2. uses bar codes to minimize or eliminate key data entry 3. lets the system make decisions instead of the employee 4. Can automatically record variable weights and serial numbers of cases for product recall if the proper bar code is used What exactly is a wireless picking system? Also known as a Radio Frequency System, a wireless system uses handheld wireless devices operated by the picking staff that directs them through the picking process. In older technologies a pick list is generated by the main computer and is downloaded to the device. Newer RF technologies have the device connected directly to the system as a “wireless terminal” and are totally interactive with your database. The operator is then directed to a location by the handheld, where he/she scans the location/item bar code to verify that they are at the correct place to begin picking. The device then tells the operator what specific quantity of items needs to be picked. When the pick is finished, the operator enters the number of items picked in to the device for further confirmation purposes. While RF Picking may extend the time it takes to complete an individual pick task (the scanning adds a step or two) it will increase the overall productivity of workers by ensuring that they are fed with a constant line-up of work needed to be done. Gone will be forklift drivers found sitting around waiting to be told what to do next. Pickers walking around looking for work or looking for a location to put something away will be seen as a thing of the past. Wherever the most important work is, is where the RF system will send the worker to. Plus they can be used on most systems to do Physical Inventory and receive Purchases. Also, Radio Frequency systems are cheaper then their wireless picking system cousins “Pick to Light” and “Voice Picking” technologies and the systems are very accurate. A company that implements a Radio Frequency picking system will realize significant improvement over manual systems, with an increase in accuracy up to 99%. These verified picks bring the gross accuracy rate of a RF user down to fewer than 5 errors per 1,000 picks versus 150 per 1,000 picks (with paper based systems). Wireless systems are also very transportable and can easily accommodate changes in volume. RF picking also makes it quicker for the picker to catch errors, to record catch weights (this is considerably faster with RF particularly if the items are bar coded), to mix picking with other activities such as refills and put aways, to meet precise customer requirements, such as specific date requirements, unusual pallet restrictions, etc and to focus on tasks one step at a time. Cut Costs With RF But Make Sure It Fits To Unsubscribe
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