Stepping Away from the Dark Side Pick-to-light Picking System Benefits

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Another advantage of the pick-to-light system is the ability to adjust picked order quantities as the employee picks the order. If, when a picker reaches a ‘lit’ pick position, there are not enough units in the pick face to satisfy the order demand indicated on the LED/LCD quantity indicator, the picker has the ability to decrement the quantity to the actual quantity picked. The pick-to-light control system communicates the reduced quantity to the host system, and an operation can determine the appropriate corrective course of action depending upon their order fulfillment policies.

Communication of the short pick information can allow the reduction of the order (and the customer billed accordingly); or drive an exception replenishment to bring the order up to the appropriate customer-ordered quantity; or put the order on hold until the needed items are back in stock. All these options are at the discretion of the operator's order fulfillment policies but do not require additional effort on the part of the picker to note a shortage on a pick list or a post order audit to drive any of the above resolution approaches.

Pick-to-light systems also offer a much shortened learning curve. They are much more “picker friendly” and allow for improved utilization of temporary operators, and greater productivity sooner from full-time regular operators. This can be a major benefit for an operation that requires temporary labor to meet seasonal demand requirements.

While the pick-to-light productivity advantages are clear, large SKU counts can drive large costs into a pick-to-light system. The more SKU pick faces requiring lights, the greater the cost of the pick-to-light system. Light modules can cost between $150 and $250 per SKU face, depending upon the quantity of pick-to-light modules purchased. There are several ways to reduce the cost of the system. The most common way is to utilize a bay display module to light multiple pick faces with one display, particularly for slower moving items. The bay display includes a text display to indicate the pick face within the pallet shelf bay, case flow bay or bin shelf bay from which the order requires an item. This reduces the number of displays required by as much as 80 percent.

No matter what pick-to-light approach a business utilizes, an evaluation of the order profiles generated by your operation's customer demands, and the productivity gains afforded by the pick-to-light technology, will allow for the configuration of a pick-to-light system with an appropriate return on investment. The reduced operating costs, coupled with the accuracy and learning curve advantages of a properly applied pick-to-light system, can provide an overall competitive advantage for any business with significant small part and less-then-case picking demands.

Bryan Jensen has 25 years of experience in retail and wholesale distribution, transportation and logistics, and is a vice president and principal with St. Onge Co. in York, PA, helping clients increase their picking productivity and accuracy among other logistics engineering needs. St. Onge Co. is a material handling and manufacturing consulting firm specializing in the planning, engineering and implementation of advanced material handling, information and control systems supporting logistics, manufacturing and distribution since 1983 (www.stonge.com). Contact Bryan at 717/840-8181 or at bryanjensen@stonge.com.