DC Velocity - July 2013

“So you have to look at different ways to
do it.”
To handle that kind of volume, Johnson
suggests using sortation systems that offer
a lot of sort points in a small area, like a
tilt-tray sorter or a cross-belt sorter.

In addition to volume, the type of packaging used will affect the choice of sorter. If you’re just handling cartons, Reed recommends using a sliding-shoe sorter. This type of sorter is well suited to the small, mostly lightweight cartons that are common in e-commerce operations, he says. Sliding-shoe sorters also work well when you’re routing a high volume of goods or totes to different order processing or consolidation areas, says Clint Lasher, divisional president, engineering and integration, Oak Lawn (Ill.) for systems integrator Wynright. For lower volumes, a pop-up sortation system would work well, he says. JustFab, for example, is using a pop-up wheel divert sorter.

If you’re sorting bagged items, however, things change—including the criteria you use to decide what type of sorter to deploy. According to Kraus, with cartons, you only have to know the size of the cartons, the range of carton sizes, and the rigidity of the cartons. With bags, you not only need to know the size of the bag, but also the size and rigidity of the item(s) inside the bag and how closely the size of the item or items matches the size of the bag. “If it’s a large bag with very small items, that becomes more difficult to handle because there are more catch points and a bigger opportunity for snags,” he says.

The rigidity of the bag itself also plays a role, says Kraus. Most direct-to-consumer orders use a very thin polybag with no structure or rigidity. In those cases, Kraus says, a loop-type sorter, such as a tilt tray, cross belt, or bomb bay, is a good choice, assuming the operation or layout will accommodate it. Another good choice is a positive line-type sorter, such as a sliding shoe, pusher, or sweep divert. However, friction-based line sorters, such as pop-up wheels, pop-up rollers, or angled roller belting, do not work as well because of the bag’s lack of structure or rigidity, Kraus says.

mends cross-belt sorters for handling polybagged items. A cross-belt sorter does a good job of sorting soft goods without their becoming tangled or being mishandled, which is known to happen with nar-row-belt sorters, sliding-shoe sorters, and tilt-tray sorters, he says.

TIME FOR A PARADIGM SHIFT?

Although analyzing equipment needs is an important part of the process, there’s more to preparing an operation for e-commerce than modifying or replacing the conveyors and sortation systems, cautions Steve Schwietert, vice president of integrated systems sales for systems integrator TGW. Schwietert strongly urges DCs to re-examine their entire paradigm for picking, packing, and shipping items. For example, he argues that goods-to-person systems, such as automated storage and retrieval systems and miniloads, are much better suited to e-commerce than traditional picking methods.

Conveyors, of course, will still be needed to transport goods to and from those systems. Indeed, Lasher says that e-commerce fulfillment will require a lot more routing conveyors to ensure goods are moved around the warehouse in an intelligent fashion.

Motor-driven roller conveyors work well for transporting goods into and out of goods-to-person systems because they’re easy to deploy and control, Schwietert says. And because they’re modular, they give users the flexibility to change configurations as needs shift, says Lasher.

The paradigm shift may extend beyond simply redesigning your distribution center. For example, Johnson of Hytrol says he can envision a day when retailers—in an effort to respond to demands for same-day delivery—install automated equipment like conveyors and sortation systems in the stores themselves. In this scenario, store employees would pick orders from the site’s inventory for customers to pick up the same day.

Whether or not these dreams become reality, this much is clear. E-commerce fulfillment presents both challenges and opportunities. And it has likely changed the fulfillment game for good. ;

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