Save Time in the Warehouse
How To Improve Efficiency in Small Parts Logistics
The SSI LOGIMAT® is based on the "goods-to-person" or "GtP" principle. The dynamic storage system deliberately puts the required items within reach of the operator. This virtually eliminates the need for employees to spend any time traveling. Pickers can concentrate on the job in hand, the actual picking process, and work with maximum efficiency.
The speed of the SSI LOGIMAT® can be pushed further using powerful drives, or the LOGIDUAL option. With LOGIDUAL, the next tray required is placed in a queue behind the operator opening, so that the next tray change can be completed as quickly as possible.
Intuitive guidance also reduces the time an employee needs to search for items. Nothing gets in the way of fast, effective picking, thanks in particular to the LOGIPOINTER laser-pointer-assisted Pick by Light option.
So the principle of a vertical lift module per se has some speed benefits compared to picking from shelf or pallet racking. Although this on its own is not enough to satisfy the SSI SCHAEFER experts involved in customer projects. With proper project planning, an efficient warehouse layout, and using best-practice processes, picking speeds of more than 300 picks per hour have already been achieved with one employee in implemented projects.
The fact that a tray change always takes a certain amount of time, whatever the machine technology, often leads in the high-performance order picking approach to what is called horizontal optimization. This is based on a person having access to two (or more) vertical lift modules. While vertical lift module A is completing a tray change, the next order item is being taken from vertical lift module B. This kind of interplay should always be organized so that the warehouse employee never has to wait for the next tray, but always has access to a prepared tray.
How can picking performance be further improved? This is made possible by applying different principles, such as redundant and chaotic warehousing, and multi-order picking, where several orders are picked in parallel. But picking performance can be additionally increased by direct process integration, where the label printer, barcode scanner, etc., are integrated.
Our experts will be happy to point out which performance picking principles are useful in meeting your objectives, and what an optimal interplay of vertical lift module and relevant software might look like.
