“The Perfect Pick aisle is passive when it comes to that—
we bring you the tote you ask for,” he explains. “That
works well in the pharmaceutical and food and beverage
[markets].”
Screen- and light-directed picking technology ensure
that workers are picking the correct items. A touchscreen at
each station displays the current
order and indicates the quanti-
ty of items to be picked, while
a pick-to-light system indicates
where the items are located in
the tote. Pickers may use a veri-
fication scanner to ensure they’ve
picked the right item from the
tote; they then load items directly
into boxes or totes for packing
and shipping.
The solution is also helping
to save energy. Perfect Pick’s iBots are powered by ultra-capacitors, so they charge quickly and run on demand.
Knipper’s 30 iBots ( 15 per aisle) can sense slow periods and
will stop or hover when not in use, automatically returning
to a charging rail if power is running low. The iBots can be
powered by solar panels as well, helping users meet net-zero
energy goals.
LEAVING ROOM TO GROW
Ricci describes Perfect Pick HD as a tool for business
expansion, which was a driving force behind making the
investment in the system. The 3PL put its logo on the outside of the Indiana system so that it could serve as a model
for potential clients, emphasizing the company’s high-tech
capabilities in an increasingly
fast-paced business.
“You don’t employ technology
for the sake of technology,” Ricci
explains. “It needs to be practical
and good for the user, and to run
parallel to the business. [Perfect
Pick HD] solved the client’s need
and has allowed us to be efficient
and keep our costs down.”
As of late summer, Ricci said
Knipper was continuing to eval-
uate the existing customer’s use of the system to determine
how it can use Perfect Pick HD to accommodate other
business. The key word being how, not if, Knipper can apply
it to other needs.
“As we prove this over the next six months, we will start
using it with other business,” he explains. “We have the
asset; we’ll use it.”
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