SpanTrack Lane Carton Flow Rollers
Efficient, durable, and dependable, SpanTrack Lane carton flow rollers drop into existing structures to create the ultimate carton flow rack system for manufacturing facilities and order picking operations.
Order picking is vital to order fulfillment and operational efficiency, and the right method can save time and resources while preventing delays. It can also solve the biggest challenges that warehouses face today.
In a 2023 survey of warehouse operations and logistics professionals about the issues they’re experiencing and expect to continue to manage in the future, the highest percentage of people named lack of sufficient space as a major challenge (44%), with outdated storage, order picking processes, and material handling equipment as another major issue (35%). Optimal order picking methods can solve both of these challenges at once.
On the customer side, two out of three customers surveyed said they expect to receive an order within 24 hours. This number includes one in four people who say they want to receive orders in less than two hours. Improving warehouse layout and optimizing the order picking process can directly enhance customer loyalty and retention, ultimately improving top line revenue while reducing expenses.
Driving Efficiency with Order Picking
Simply stated, order picking is the process of pulling items from warehouse storage to fulfill customer orders. Unorganized SKUs, wasted travel time during picks, and congestion in pick areas can increase errors and costs. The average industry order picking error rate ranges between 1% and 3%, which translates to a cost of $50 to $300 per error, and order picking success can be measured in mere seconds. The more efficient and seamless the order fulfillment solutions and processes, the more orders can be fulfilled, and the fewer errors or delays a warehouse will rack up.
Learn to optimize warehouse space for increased speed and accuracy. Download the Guide to Understanding Throughput for Fulfillment!
Choosing the Right Order Picking Methods for Your Warehouse
The right order picking method - designed for the type of orders, utilizing the right solutions, and customized to the space - can significantly improve both the order fulfillment process and your bottom line. The best method for you depends on a number of factors, including the type of inventory or SKUs and your warehouse layout.
- Single order picking or discrete order picking enables pickers to focus on one item at a time. This basic order picking style is ideal for smaller operations with fewer SKUs.
- Batch picking involves groups of orders simultaneously, is also called multi-order picking, and is helpful for small items or orders with minimal SKUs. This type of picking reduces the amount of time needed to process SKUs.
- Wave picking is where one worker picks one order, one SKU at a time, but orders are scheduled to be picked at certain times in a specific wave to maximize picking and packing operations. This method is very efficient when large numbers of SKUs are picked because it significantly reduces travel time.
- Zone picking is when pickers are assigned to one specific warehouse zone to pick within, filling orders with the SKUs in that area.
Choosing the best order picking methods for your unique product mix and warehouse layout will improve customer service, boost worker productivity, reduce costs, and increase your bottom line. No matter the method(s) you choose, focusing on how you can best optimize your space for optimal order picking is key. There are simple steps businesses can take to ensure order picking operations are running at peak efficiency, like improving speed, reducing labor costs, increasing storage density, and improving overall picking processes.
UNEX Order Picking Solutions
On their own, pallet racks help maximize space and organize picks throughout a warehouse. To improve order picking procedures, businesses can implement rack enhancements such as UNEX SpeedCell, SpanTrack, and Pallet Track. A trusted industry provider of robust, made-to-order storage solutions, UNEX products condense storage space to improve SKU layout, reduce pick times, and reduce labor costs
Travel time is a major efficiency challenge for order picking operations, and improved storage density helps prevent long walks to find products. When picks are spread out across a large warehouse, the time spent walking through rows of shelves and racks limits the number of orders fulfilled on a given day. Warehouse rack enhancements such as UNEX SpanTrack, Pallet Track, and SpeedCell, improve storage density to help increase order picking speeds, reduce labor costs, and ensure accurate order fulfillment.
Here are the top 3 UNEX solutions to improve order picking in your warehouse:
1: SpanTrack Carton Flow
Efficient, durable, and dependable, SpanTrack Lane carton flow rollers and wheel beds drop into existing structures to create the ultimate carton flow rack system for order picking operations. Carton flow allows for more product in less space and less moving and reaching for your pickers. UNEX SpanTrack Lane and SpanTrack Wheel Bed are customizable, durable, and reliable for full case and split case order picking, reducing the need for manual searching and handling and directly improving labor productivity.
2: SpeedCell Dynamic Industrial Shelving
SpeedCell is a dynamic industrial shelving solution that maximizes space utilization within standard pallet racking, helping order picking operations improve pick speed and accuracy for valuable time and cost savings. SpeedCell reclaims unused space. It can be installed into existing pallet rack bays, giving a highly efficient storage solution for low-throughput items. SpeedCell expands storage density by up to 60% while dramatically increasing pickfaces, reducing travel and search time.
If you have pallet racking, you’re ready to install SpeedCell. It’s that easy! But if you don’t have existing rack, would like to purchase a new one, or you have an application where overhead space is limited, SpeedCell Ready Bay is the answer. Ready Bay is offered in 6 standard sizes ranging from XS to XXL. Each Ready Bay includes SpeedCell columns in your choice of size, SpeedCell steel set suspension system (fully assembled), UNEX-supplied racking, and wire deck for extra storage space above your SpeedCell bay.
3: Pallet Track Pallet Flow Systems
Durable pallet track rollers or wheel rails create a dynamic pallet flow system for fast movers. UNEX Pallet Track optimizes flow, increases efficiency and storage density, and can be customized to fit an operation’s unique needs. Pallet Track is a pitched pallet flow solution that can be fully customized to optimize storage and retrieval for palletized inventory. Space-efficient Pallet Track helps order pickers quickly move pallets forward and replenish high-throughput SKUs.
UNEX dynamic storage solutions are ideal for both case picking and each picking applications, and are compatible with every order picking method. They can also be integrated into pick modules to create efficient, multi-level order picking systems. Implementing UNEX order picking solutions increases throughput and pick rates while decreasing mispicks and improving ergonomics at the point of pick.
Boost Order Picking Efficiency with UNEX
Order picking is the backbone of any order fulfillment operation, and the best-fit solutions can provide significant competitive advantages. UNEX solutions solve the fulfillment challenges that warehouse professionals face today and provide the speed, accuracy, and efficiency that consumers expect. Contact the experts at UNEX to maximize your warehouse space through dynamic storage and order picking solutions that give you a competitive edge.
