Logistic providers manually handle millions of cases and pallets every year. They even have to handle cases of goods instead of a fully loaded pallet to ship to retail locations and direct customers. Assembling mixed pallets is time-consuming and labor-intensive. It significantly increases the warehouse operating cost. A small warehouse with energetic workers capable to pick 250 cases in an hour finds it tough to handle the high-volume demands.
Small-margin warehouse owners feel that automation is risky because they handle short-term contracts. Therefore they believe in their facility’s manual high throughput and don’t desire to jeopardize this.
A customized layer picker system from TopIndustries allows for gathering diverse products from sourced pallets and relocating them to customer pallets. It is patented machinery called ‘Side Press’. It can divide product tacks safely and is even used to lift and move pallet loads. The layer-picking solution can handle every kind of packing type and stacking pattern.
Today, customers order 25 cases of a single item without the knowledge that 35 would be a full layer. For an efficient layer-picking process there is a need to receive full layer volume order. Besides, packaging material, packaging dimensions, and the number of cases in a layer or pallet are changing. So, the best solution is to automate the layer-picking process.
Why automated layer picking solution is great?
- The system can handle loose products in trays, shrink-wrapped articles, and every pallet pattern type even void pallets.
- Users can build multi-product pallets for order fulfillment without labor concerns, product damage manual handling] and operational cost.
- Layer picking solution is reliable, fast, and cost-efficient to handle multiple or single layers of any product.
- The unit can handle significant layers or cases within an hour, which takes more than a dozen workers to attain the throughput level manually.
- The system can be integrated into existing WMS for semi or fully-automated functions like order assemblage of sandwich or mixed pallets, de-palletize whole layers, and feed cross-docking systems. It can replenish flow racks or layer pick to insert slip sheets.
- Increases order handling capacity while reducing manual labor needs and enhances efficiency for quick distributions across supermarket chains.
- Accuracy increases with reduced manual labor.
Even if the layer picking system needs initial investment the payback is attained within 2 to 3 years. The majority of savings are attained via substantial manpower reduction. An area that needs 15 workers per shift will need only 4 employees to supervise the automated equipment operations.
Besides, reducing labor costs the occupational hazard concern also gets eliminated. Workers get injured during bending, lifting, and stretching while working in the warehouse. The worker’s compensation cost and productivity setback due to illness and injuries are also removed.
Product damages due to poor manual handling along with pick errors are also lessened. Warehouses and logistic providers doing plenty of manual picking can benefit a lot from an automated layer picking system.
TopIndustries is on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Follow them to learn more about their new patented pallet exchangers and automated systems.
