Recommendations for Pick Operations

Best practices to optimize picking efficiency.

IN THIS TOPIC

• Warehouse Floor Setup
• Slotting For Pick Optimization
• Practices to Avoid
• Current System Considerations

Below is a list of beneficial processes which have been shown to improve warehouse workflow efficiencies for both retail and fulfillment. These can be used when setting up a warehouse at reservation launch phase, as well as improvements post launch based on need.

If practices are not currently facilitated by the Flexe system or reporting they will require manual user implementation, observation, and maintenance.

For questions, assistance, or anything regarding complex projects please contact your Flexe Logistics Analyst.

Warehouse Floor Setup

Flexe System Driven Facility Design

• Add systemic locations for pick line expansion (long term projects). Lock and do not label these locations until needed.
• Use pick sequencing in the Flexe system for a zig zag, or Z pick line, to reduce travel. This is not always ideal but it does work most of the time. 

Manually Driven Facility Design

• Leave designated spaces for trash, pallets, & dunnage. 
• If something is not easy, post simple signs with directions to help the pickers. See our Job Aids Section for readily available options.
• Allow for multi directional flow in aisles when aisle widths permit. This is particularly useful for floor pick line, high volume, short duration projects such as product launches or temporary fulfillment.
• For facilities with long aisles, leave space in the middle running perpendicular to the long aisles in question to allow a walking path. This reduces travel distance when inventory is being put away and picked.
• Label as close as possible to the pick location so that the locations are clear. Adding arrows to location labels can also be helpful in preventing the floor associate from having to guess which location is correct. 
• Use adequate lighting in pick aisles as it assists employees performing verifications and promotes safety. 
• Detrash floor areas and remove outer shrink and packaging, when safe to do so. Leave areas for trash and other packaging to allow for quick disposal. This increases picker productivity. 
• If shipping retail or picking to pallet, set up the pickline by arranging items in order from large and heavy to light and small. 
• Pick lines should be designed based on the appropriate unit of measure. For instance, you will need to have separate each, case, and pallet picking areas if the operational profile requires picking in both full pallet, case, each and/or inner pack levels. Picking multiple units of measure from the same storage and/or picking areas leads to inventory control issues and mispicks.

Slotting For Pick Optimization

One of the biggest opportunities for time savings in picking operations is employee travel distance. The goal is to reduce travel time and distance to increase units picked per hour, while being mindful of physiological and ergonomic factors such as congestion and placement of pick location labels. There are many things to consider, and often there are competing interests which must be weighed against each other. 

Below are some ways to optimize picking efficiency.

Flexe System Driven Facility Design

• Place Ship alone items together, they do not require overboxing and can go to their own pack station. 
• Store only one SKU per location, not a mix of SKUs.
• Choose the right size and type of MHE for the project 
  • If requested, Flexe can help with this selection process. 
• Choose the right sized location for the goods
  •  Faster moving items generally require bigger locations than slower moving items
• Wave and Batch Ship Alone together, this will streamline the packing process. 
• Wave and batch as many orders as you can at the same time. The system will work to produce more efficient pick paths. 

Manually Driven Facility Design

• Alternate Fastest moving SKUs with slower moving SKUs to help prevent pickers from congregating at one location, waiting to pick an item.
• Replenishment operations should be done in a way that doesn’t impede picking efficiency (i.e. replenish from behind primary storage areas when possible, consider replenishment on alternate or staggered shifts, during breaks and/or lunch-times).
  • If operation is large enough, consider replenishment-specific aisles with a driver stocking a location from the back. 
• Reduce travel distance
  • Reduce trips to and from pack station.
  • Put items that ship together next to each other.
  • Put faster moving skus closer to pack station.
  • Put heavy skus near waist height and lighter skus above or below.

Practices to Avoid

Some actions to avoid when planning and placing goods in storage locations:

• Don’t put different SKUs that look alike in adjacent locations.
• Don’t put SKUs that have similar item numbers in adjacent locations.
• Don’t put items that have similar descriptions in adjacent locations (Strawberry Pop Tarts next to Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts).
• Don’t put high velocity items in adjacent locations without sufficient pick line locations or spacing between product.

Current System Considerations

Primary Pick Location VS Sequence ID

• Primary Pick True/False defines a location as allocatable or non-allocatable for reservations with sortation enabled.
  • Primary pick for all non-sortation is set up to suggest primary locations over those that are not set as primary.
  • Normal setup allows you to pick from non primary pick locations.
  • Modified setup does not allow you to pick from non-primary pick locations, and will not generate a batch for any items not in a primary pick location.
• Sequence ID
  • Sequence ID is a travel sequence.
  • It does not tell the computer which item to pick but rather how the picker should travel through the warehouse.
  • If possible you should use Sequence ID even if you are not using primary pick locations. Setting up Sequence ID disables the alphanumeric sorting by location name. (Example: A02->A20->A21…A29->A200->A201->A202->A03->A30)
• Situations where Primary Pick Locations are most useful:
  • Smaller SKU count high velocity items.
  • 80/20 rule 20% of items account for 80% of volume. Fast movers on the ground and slow movers in reserve locations. 
  • Consistent volumes across all SKUs: 
    • Pick from floor store in rack/bulk.
    • Pick from bins store in bulk/rack.
• When it may not be necessary to use primary pick locations:
  • Full pallet picking in a sortable reservation.
  • Consistent volumes across all SKUs and no reserve storage is needed.
  • Replenishment is not an option in a sortable reservation.