Close
Back
Close“Kopiyochka”: optimization of order picking at all stages
We were approached by one of Ukraine’s largest chains of household and everyday consumer goods stores with 300 stores in twelve regions of Ukraine.
The client’s assortment includes dishes, tableware, kitchenware, electrical appliances and appliances for home use, household chemicals, hygiene products, stationery, cosmetics, jewelry, haberdashery. The number of SKUs is constantly increasing.
The retailer is actively developing, so one of the key tasks is to optimize the processing and picking of orders for 240 stores daily within the current business strategy.
Task:
- automate the processes of order processing and picking in the warehouse for 200-250 lines per hour per 1 person;
- to organize a buffer zone for boxes with orders that are sent to stores;
- to introduce automatic identification of goods and automatic weight control of boxes with accuracy up to 25 g;
- organize automatic transportation of orders to 240 stores by shipping directions.
Based on the detailed technical specifications of the client, we proposed a comprehensive warehouse automation system that takes into account the need to process and sort boxes with orders in different directions. It allows the client to ship orders for 240 stores daily.
The first step was to organize a buffer zone in the warehouse for the boxes with products sent to the stores. We solved this task by installing KAPELOU gravity racks, which give high processing speed and storage density of SKU.
The KAPELOU conveyor system gently transports the trays with the order items in the warehouse and takes them to one of the sorting stations using diverters. In order for the sorter to be able to orientate himself more quickly in order processing – what to put in which cell – we have implemented Put-to-Light. When a tray with an order is scanned, the light indicator of the corresponding cell lights up along with the number of items. This not only simplifies the work of the warehouse worker, but also directly affects the accuracy and speed of order processing and picking.
Each order box is subjected to a check weighing at the output. Before checking the weight of the box, the boxes are automatically identified using a barcode scanner. If the weight difference is less than the permissible deviation of 25 grams, the box with orders follows the route.
A special feature of the automated warehouse project for “Kopiyochka”: maximum productivity of order processing and picking.
The workplaces of warehouse workers are organized in such a way as to maximize the productivity of order processing and picking. Each warehouse employee is assigned a certain number of picking stations. KAPELOU’s automated goods processing system is flexible: with a small workload, the operator can processing orders for more stores. The introduction of G2P technology allowed to significantly reduce the time of movement of employees and efficiently use their time.
The list of installed equipment manufactured by KAPELOU and technologies applied in the project:
- Automated conveyor system
- System for automatic tray identification
- Sorting on the basis of Put-to-Light technology
- Gravity racks
- Automatic weight control
- Software with the possibility of remote management within the local network of the warehouse
- Integration with WMS
- Goods-to-Person technology
Together with the client we optimized the process of processing and picking orders in the warehouse at all stages, taking into account the main feature of the company in the retail industry – the variety of sizes and shapes of SKUs. As well as the need to process and sort boxes with orders in different directions.
The solution helped reduce the requirements for warehouse workers, increased the productivity of order processing and picking, and increased the overall productivity of the warehouse. Today, the warehouse automation solution allows processing an average of 200-250 lines per hour by one person. It also allows the client to ship orders for 240 stores daily with the possibility of scaling this figure to 288.
