What are the most effective ways to improve order picking efficiency in a distribution center?

The order picking strategies are governed by the product category & market supply, for ex. batch picking for E-com in fashion and other low ASP items, single order picking for retail and high ASP categories in E-Com, including white goods etc. and Cluster picking for businesses like groceries. Apart from this, there are a couple of more factors which significantly contribute to a successful picking strategy: 1) Inventory Slotting: How effectively the warehouse understands the flow through of the inventory and translate that to a storage slotting exercise, will define the long term success 2) Storage Design: The warehouse storage design defines the physical possibilities, ex. multi-tier mezz structure or single level pick floor.

Operationally speaking, for products that are not stored in full pallets, choosing the correct picking method has a direct correlation between the number of customers we manage and the volume of order lines they order. I think a good baseline is: 1. The lesser the customers with higher amount of order lines then we could aim to choose discrete picking. 2. The higher the amount of of customer but fewer lines then we should be aiming to do batch picking. On top of that we should consider what kind of equipment the pickers have, either picking carts, Transpallets, etc... Lastly, what makes this work is the WMS supporting this activities, to plan to reduce the empty moves and optimize the routes by performing smart task interleaving.

Evaluate zone picking if that helps, provided the warehouse footprint is substantial. This would require an effective pick segregation and consolidation zone within the handling area.

1. Optimize warehouse layout for streamlined picking paths. 2. Implement a robust inventory management system. 3. Utilize barcode and RFID technology for accurate tracking. 4. Train staff on efficient picking techniques and use of technology. 5. Employ batch picking and zone picking strategies. 6. Regularly review and update pick lists for optimization. 7. Invest in automation, such as conveyor systems or pick-to-light technology. 8. Analyze data to identify and address bottlenecks in the picking process. 9. Implement a well-organized storage system to reduce travel time. 10. Continuously monitor and improve processes based on performance metrics.

Very Simple and effective place your stocks according to the system placement Like, if you have a code system than it should be place and start with 01 and if you have a alphabetical than it should be place with A. Second depute person on all specific principles and assign Racks to each individual. This will help you to reduce Discrepancy. Than after you must have supervisor to check stocks according to picking.

A few additional layout and design features to consider: 1. Task Interleaving: limits the number of trips to and from your picking area. It allows a material handler to perform varied tasks in a system-directed sequence. 2. Safety and Ergonomics: Employ golden zones for picking and replenishment of smaller goods/parts shelving areas. That is, heights between knee and shoulder height, reach of ~70cm straight-on and ~45cm from side to side. 3. Product Adjacencies: consider putting products that are sold, ordered/delivered together, together; compare to see how it affects travel distance. 4. Goods to Picker Automation: where suited, you can simultaneously employ all of the above (and more) using a fit-for-purpose G2P system.

Implementing a WMS has to be the most gratifying experience of all. Although we can talk about how to implement, i think it's more relevant to talk about the mistakes not to make. Here are my main takeaways 1. WMS is operational. The process design should focus on making it operational, simple & robust, not complex and fragile. 2. WMS implementation projects are often "agile" labeled but very "Waterfall" in its essense. We should decouple the project in an Agile way that makes sense. 3. from the moment you start on conception phase until you reach the deploy phase things would have changed. Don't change processes before GL, suck it up, stabilize your solution and then deal with Change request. this is recipe for disaster.

You can effectively attribute picking efficiencies against previous processes or designs by benchmarking or comparing key metrics i.e. reduced distance traveled or time required to pick, or the increase in lines/hour/person. Validate this with an engineered standard (time motion study or similar) mapping the existing conditions at each "touch" point during and after. However, Process Mining (with AI), simulation tools, and digital twins provide a game-changing glimpse into the way forward, leveraging technology to review and continuously improve picking processes in real-time. These systems demonstrate abilities such as prescriptive analyses and agile option/scenario formulation, making the evaluation for improvement more efficient.

1)Picking is the most labour intensive activity in Distribution Centres and takes upto 60% of manpower deployed, walking is NVA that takes upto 50% of the time of an operator who is performing picking. Evaluate a Goods-To-Person picking solution that eliminates the need for travel time and increases picking efficiency and accuracy 15-20 times, especially for E-commerce 1)Map fast moving SKUs through WMS to golden zones with efficient slotting. Golden Zones are accessible locations of warehouses and levels of shelves/racks that are easier to access. 2)Use HHTs/Pick-To-Light/Pick-By-Voice to automate picking rather than going for paper based picking. These automation solutions optimise the pick tour for operators to cut down on time

Since productivity depends on speed and utilisation both. So the 6th step is to provide target to your picking staffs (number of orders, order lines, order quantity etc ) and continuously monitor the output against given targets on hourly basis to ensure the 100% utilisation of working hours.