Growing wholesale, retail and e-commerce companies often recognise similar challenges in logistics. The rapid growing of orders is making it harder to process them in time while keeping up the quality of delivery.
There are some clear signs that your logistics operation is suffering from order picking inefficiencies.
Staff is working overtime
Extra costs due to inefficient process
No more space for the growing product range
“Our productivity has increased from 25 lines per hour to 115 lines per hour, resulting in a 460% increase in productivity.”
Diversco
Order picking at the speed of light
Efficiency is the key to increasing the throughput in any logistics operation. The first step in increasing efficiency is locating the most labour-intensive processes. In most warehouses the order picking process is the biggest bottleneck.
This could be caused by inefficient picking routes, mispicks due to a lack of picking guidance or outdated inventory data.
This is where goods-to-man solutions come in. By implementing automated storage solutions time can be saved and mistakes can be prevented.
Benefits of automated storage solutions
High picking speed
Pick faster and more accurate
Compact storage
Save up to 85% of space
Less dependant on FTE's
Always flexible & productive
High picking speed
Pick faster and more accurate
Compact storage
Save up to 85% of space
Less dependant on FTE's
Always flexible & productive
Faster Accurate Order Processing in ecommerce
Wildkamp is a technical hardware company delivering to their own retail outlets and to customers directly. Due to fast growth and a 24-hour delivery system they required faster more accurate picking as well as enabling them to maximise their available space.
By automating their processes Wildkamp increased their picking speed by up to 300%, greater availability and delivery of products direct to picking staff. No need to increase staff and they were able to stay in their premises by utilising unused air space of their warehouse.
How we took our customer from task to solution
Wildkamp is a wholesaler of technical hardware in the Netherlands. Goods are delivered to 50 of their own stores and to customers directly, including building sites. Due to growth more space and accuracy was required. They turned to Kardex Vertical Buffer Module (VBM) solution was the answer to these needs.
Customer and task
Wildkamp delivers goods within 24 hours, requiring a very short order processing time. A growing number of orders and articles led to the situation that Wildkamp had to decide to either move to a larger warehouse or make more efficient use of the available space. Another crucial factor was to increase picking speed. Operators had long travel times going down isles by man-up trucks or walking, requiring an increasing workforce. Therefore, Wildkamp was looking for a solution that combined saving space, shorter travel times, less personnel, faster order picking and connection to their new ERP system
Solution
They chose the most efficient solution from Kardex which was installing 6 Vertical Buffer Modules (VBM). The mezzanine floor at Wildkamp was cut out to fit the 6 eleven meters high systems, utilising height to the maximum. Every unit has its own turntable and LED light, all controlled via Power Pick Global software, enabling rolling batch features and storage preparation. Specifically designed pick frames with trolleys were installed opposite the VBM systems. With the help of Power Pick Global software and the display tool picking is facilitated by pick-to-light functionality, article pictures and exact location information. Put-to-light, barcode scanning and colour identification of exact putting bin location in the frame guarantee correct and fast handling. Picking speed was almost tripled. Articles from various storage locations were consolidated in the VBM systems, reducing travel times drastically. The number of operators was cut down to 1-2 persons at regular times, with up to 3 people at peak times.
