Finding the right storage and order picking equipment will help warehousing and logistics operations achieve easy material flow in, says Edward Hutchison, Managing Director of BITO Storage Systems.
Supply of goods, particularly on a Just In Time (JIT) basis, depends on flexible and scalable warehouse storage and order picking systems. A properly designed system will give a massive increase in storage capacity and pick rates within an available space, in addition to providing smooth and easy material flow of goods through the warehouse, and, therefore, a supply chain. There are many ways that these objectives can be achieved successfully.
A good example of a lower cost and space saving method to achieve ‘right first time’ delivery of goods comes in the form of carton or pallet live systems, comprising flow shelves created from racking. With clear labelling, flow shelves help create effective pick zones by providing dense storage that results in a greater number of pick face locations than would be possible with tradition shelving and racking. Cartons or pallets are loaded into the flow lane on a first in, first out (FIFO) basis and when an empty unit is removed at the pick face, another full carton or a pallet full of parts flows into place on rollers in the inclined lane, ready to pick from.
Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) racking served by VNA lift trucks provides a more space efficient solution than traditional wide aisle racking for holding general parts, usually on pallets. This is a pretty standard solution these days, though a narrow aisle can be designed to feed a carton live structure, which is integrated into the rack, running alongside the aisle to provide a dense pick face for parts.
Simple small parts picking
Many warehouses will need to pick small items. One option is to create small parts pick locations on the reachable ground level of pallet racking, with upper storage levels serving as a buffer store for replenishment. Plastic small parts storage containers will help to store and organise small items making them easily accessible for quick and easy picking. This will result in a reasonably efficient picking process but ground floor locations within a pallet rack will be limited.
Flow shelves, however, can be easily installed into pallet racking to increase the number of pick locations and volume of SKUs located on the ground level pick face. Adding standard shelving within pallet racking is another option to create flexible small item pick faces.
Centralised multi-storey picking
Multi-tier shelving is an increasingly popular option to provide centralised storage and picking for easy inventory management. A typical installation of two or three storeys might, for example, place a high-turnover item pick zone on the bottom tier of shelving, and put lower-turnover items higher up. Board or mesh floor deck walkways on the different levels can be linked to each other by stairways and/or lifts for convenient access. Transfer options between levels include lifts, pallet transfer positions or spiral chutes that help optimise the workflow between order picking areas and despatch to the line by allowing products to be moved gently from one level down to the next.
Installation critical
Installing storage and order picking systems will require significant expertise to plan the fitting of racking and shelving with the required stock capacity within a warehouse. This is one of the crucial supplier selection factors. Another vital consideration is the performance of the physical racking and shelving itself, which will very much depend upon the quality of the components and their manufacture. Ultimately, the ability of the overall solution to deliver the customer’s requirements will rely on the supplier’s ability to produce a bespoke system that will overcome any challenges and result in an improvement in productivity and operational costs.
Plastic bins and containers will keep parts protected throughout the intralogistics process and during transport to ensure they are delivered to the line in prime condition. It is worth seeking out a storage system supplier, such as BITO, which in addition to offering racking, shelving and flow lanes, also provides a plastic container range comprising a variety of sizes and a broad choice of accessories. This will ensure the optimum system is designed to fit a given space, maximising the potential for improve picking efficiency and material flow.
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