equipment&applications
get
YOU KNOW THAT PICK-TO-LIGHT
technology can boost picking accuracy
and accelerate throughput. But times
are tight, and these systems aren’t
cheap. How can you make sure you’ll
see a quick return on your investment?
With most technologies, the answer
is simply to go out and find as many
applications for the new system as possible. But that’s not the case with pick
to light. In fact, order fulfillment
experts—including some who sell pick-to-light equipment—strongly advise
against it. With pick to light, they say, the
key is to use the technology selectively,
reserving it for applications that meet very
specific criteria (and finding alternate picking
methods—like radio frequency (RF), voice, or
even paper—for those that don’t).
Although that might seem unduly complicated,
this type of blended approach is the key to a smooth-running picking operation, according to the experts. “No
one solution meets 100 percent of everybody’s needs,” says Ed
Romaine, vice president of marketing for Remstar International, a manufacturer of automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) that use pick to light.
At the same time, pick to light’s advocates also maintain that virtually any operation can benefit from the technology. “I do believe there is a limited number of
SKUs within every DC that pick to light really makes the most sense for,” says Lance
Reese, group manager, sales support for FKI Logistex, which makes automated
material handling solutions.
more bang
from your
pick-to-light
buck
At $50 per light,
pick-to-light
systems aren’t
cheap. Here’s
how to get the
most from your
investment.
The need for speed
Since their emergence several decades ago, pick-to-light systems have become a
fixture in DCs around the globe. Designed to promote efficiency, the systems use
lighted beacons, usually mounted on storage racks, to direct order picking activity. In a typical pick-to-light operation, warehousing software electronically
“reads” order pick tickets, determines the best picking sequence, and transmits
signals to the light modules on the racks. Flashing lights then guide workers to the
items they need and indicate the quantity needed. When the worker is finished,
he or she presses a button so the computer can verify that the correct item has
been picked.
So where does pick to light provide the biggest bang for the buck? To answer that
question, you have to look at the items being picked in a given zone, how they’re
picked, and the method of storage, says Richard Gillespie, senior project engineer
for TriFactor, an integrator of material handling systems. Are the stock-keeping
