ORDER PICKING OPTIMIZATION

Chapter eight RightPick RightShip: Order Picking and Shipping

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marketing strategies such as micromarketing and megabrand strategies. These programs require (1) that smaller orders be delivered to warehouse customers more frequently and more accurately and (2) that more stock-keeping units (SKUs) be incorporated in the order picking system. As a result, throughput, storage, and accuracy requirements have increased dramatically. Third, renewed emphasis on quality improvements and customer service has forced warehouse managers to minimize product damage, transaction times, and picking errors. The conventional responses to these increased requirements—to hire more people or to invest in more automated equipment—are often stymied by labor shortages and high hurdle rates owing to uncertain business envi ronments. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to improve order picking productivity without increasing staffing or making significant investments in highly automated equipment. The most effective of those improvement strategies are described and illustrated in this chapter. The strategies are aimed at reducing the amount of time order pickers spend in their most time-consuming task elements (Figure 8.2). The RightHouse first option is always to minimize work content. When work content cannot be eliminated, we work to simplify it. When it cannot be simplified, we work to combine work elements. This approach to order picking is presented in the next three subsections. Optimize Issue Packs By encouraging customers to order in full-pallet quantities or by creating quarter- and/or half-pallet loads, much of the counting and manual physical handling of cases can be avoided both in your warehouse and in your customers’ warehouses. In similar fashion, by encouraging customers to order in full-case quantities, much of counting and extra packaging 8.1 Minimize, Simplify, and Combine

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