Factors Affecting Picking and Despatch Performance and Their Measurement

(i) Some goods maybe suitable for conveyance by goods-to-picker systems, which usually involve a conveyor belt, carousel, or Kiva-type robot. These can be time saving, since the picking system is much more automated, goods move at regular speed, operatives have a more ergonomically supportive station that helps them work better, errors are relatively few, and the system is intuitive for the human operative. Since the travel time of the human is drastically minimised, this cause of delay to despatch is markedly reduced. The implications are two-fold: high initial costs are incurred when the system is introduced (major reconfigurations of warehouse layout and significant installations are required) and despatch can be better controlled since there is much less time variance in the order assembly/picking process. With such a system in place, management can choose to have despatches more frequently (ideal for supporting clients who want JIT supply) or less frequently (better for reducing transport costs, but requires a larger, well-managed staging point).

(ii) Data from orders received will show how many SKUs are picked in what areas of the warehouse. A map of “hot spots” may thereby be produced. This information will show management how the goods in those locations might be repositioned to enhance pick efficiency or pick routing optimized. Also, if slow-, medium-, and fast-moving SKUs can be identified, then automation may be applied to the picking and conveying of the fastest-moving SKUs, which would have serious benefits for labour allocation and speed-to-despatch. If despatch can be regulated by improved efficiency in the picking and order assembly process, then it may be possible to reduce the space required for orders awaiting collection. KPIs may also encourage management to see how automation will improve performance more generally if applied more generally. Numbers of pick errors, mislabels, delayed despatches, overdue back orders, stock-outs, and handling-damaged SKUs could be provided to demonstrate the efficiency of the system and elevate the overall effectiveness of the warehouse function. Such figures will be especially informative and persuasive if they are used to report on two systems – one automated, one manual – running concurrently in parallel.