How Picking Frequency and Goods Type Determine Optimal Despatch Methods
Picking frequency can influence despatch control. Products can be stored at a proximity to despatch that corresponds with their pick frequency. If applied, this system facilitates speed to despatch because picker travel time is minimized. This means that orders that comprise of frequently picked items can be consolidated and despatched quickly.
Mixed orders will be less rapidly despatched. All other things being equal, speed to despatch of any particular order will be broadly determined by the pick frequency of the items that comprise the order – if infrequently picked items constitute the majority of an order, then that order is likely to be slower to despatch than an order in which frequently picked items are in the majority. Orders that comprise picks of various types of goods will show similar patterns. Generally, the more types of goods that feature in an order, the slower it will be to pick, and thus, the slower it will be to despatch.
The main reason for this is that types of goods tend to be stored in similar areas, and all forms of product mixing (mixed pick frequencies and/or mixed types of goods) will incur a more complex/time-consuming picking and despatch process. Travel time around the warehouse and packaging/bundling times are likely to be higher if the order being assembled features highly dissimilar goods. Despatch efficiency will also be impacted, especially if multiple mixed orders are being consolidated into vehicle loads, which is usually the case with consumer goods.
If high-volume mixed orders are frequent, then the manager should allocate labour to reflect the higher workloads/extended pick times that such orders require.
To regulate/control despatch, picklists must be intelligently composed so that the pick can be performed, assembled, and despatched with as much linearity as possible. The more intelligently composed the picklist, the more efficient the pick, the more controllable the despatch. Because orders may arrive irregularly and multiple orders may have to be split into multiple picklists to simplify picking and then reaggregated into bundled customer orders for despatch, a sophisticated digital system is required. The organisation and reorganisation of orders-into-picklists-into-orders requires a degree of coordination and accuracy that is likely beyond human capability, especially when time pressures apply, complexity is high, and penalties for errors are costly.